Decorative Concrete
Stamping tools, overlays, polished systems and countertop mixes — texture and finish rather than structure.
How to choose within decorative concrete
Decorative work adds no structural benefit, and treating it as though it does is the fastest way to a failure. A stamped patio is standard 4-inch flatwork over a compacted base with the same joint spacing as a plain slab — the pattern is applied during the finishing window, and everything underneath is unchanged.
Overlays are the other major route, and they exist because replacing a sound slab is expensive. A micro-topping goes down at an eighth of an inch, a self-levelling overlay up to an inch. Both live or die on preparation: overlays fail on contamination, not on age, and existing joints must be honoured through the overlay or they telegraph through within a season.
Polishing is a subtractive process on the slab you already have, worked through progressive grits. It exposes every flaw rather than hiding one, so a slab worth polishing has to be sound and reasonably flat to begin with.
What this category covers
- Stamping mats and skins
- Spray and micro-topping overlays
- Self-levelling overlays
- Exposed aggregate
- Polished concrete systems
- Engraving and scoring
- Countertop systems
Manufacturers in this category
Listed alphabetically, in no order of preference. This site does not test products and does not recommend one brand over another.