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Decorative Concrete at World of Concrete, 2008
 In
2008, the World of Concrete located its decorative exhibits in the
Silver Lot adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall.
Called “Artistry in Decorative Concrete,” the sixth
annual demonstration brought together twelve artists and numerous
vendors with varying techniques and products. From stamped, polished,
stained, and sprinkled varieties, flatwork continues to receive
a lot of attention. In addition, vertical decorative concrete has
seen a growth in both interest and techniques. One artist even has
life imitating art imitating…concrete construction, his preferred
subject matter for painting, from jobsites to equipment to workers.
Artists are perfecting their techniques and adding new and unique
products. Some things are geared toward portland cement concrete,
some toward polymer (or polymer-modified) concrete. Concrete is
literally being worked in every way imaginable: it is polished,
etched, sandblasted, and cast against every type of form facing.
It is imprinted with a grid to give the appearance of hand-laid
mosaic tiles. It is sprinkled with specialty materials for color
and texture or overlaid with an artistic imprint. It is tinted,
dyed, and stained in every way possible. It is carved on both horizontal
and vertical surfaces.
 Mold
designers are using fiberglass and other slick materials that yield
ultra-smooth surfaces for sinks, tubs, and other items. Improvements
in forming include reusable edge forms for all styles: rough/rustic
textures, curved, and routered shapes that can be used on countertops,
stair treads, pool copings, and wall caps.
Some newer finishes incorporating a polyaspartic top coat were
being demonstrated with quick installation times, “one-day
floors” that made nice looking interior pavements with several
advantages claimed over epoxy, polyurethanes, and polyurea finishes.
One vendor had a textured plastic sheet that contains tiny grooves
oriented at different angles. These impart a light-and-shadow effect
to the as-cast surface that gives the appearance of different colors
from a single mix. Whether left as the gray or colored mix cast
against the mold, or whether tinted with a post-applied colorant,
the surfaces look like tiny stone tiles and provide built-in interest.
 Still
others ground and polished concrete with up to 3000-grit materials
before dying, etching, and staining the design into a slab . Achieved
with no wax or sealers, these finishes are so shiny they look almost
like stained glass. Other artisans were showing off their sandblasting
techniques with lay-down templates.
Similarly, vertical decorative concrete is maturing as people find
new ways to work it. One of the artists carved a very realistic
hand-laid masonry grotto, a series of stone arches that were then
sprayed with various colorants to look like natural cut stone. That
particular vendor was offering classes to teach new artists the
craft of carving vertical concrete and finishing with faux techniques.
Las Vegas has a big demand for decorative concrete throughout its
many hotels, restaurants, and public spaces. The finished products
combine versatile appearance with excellent durability, earning
decorative concrete its place. This year’s exhibition further
demonstrated to the entire industry what concrete can do and what
it can look like. No doubt it’ll be showing up in more and
more projects in North America and beyond.
For information about vendors, products, and training, visit www.worldofconcrete.com
or contact Jamie Farny
at PCA.
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