Colour · Stain
Stained concrete, coloured into the slab itself
Acid stains from earth tones to vibrant hues on interior floors, patios and driveways, inside and out.
Acid stain, from earth tones to vibrant hues
Acid stain reacts with the surface of the concrete, which is why the colour reads as depth in the slab instead of a coat of paint sitting on it. The palette runs from earth tones, the tans and umbers that suit a wooded Central New York lot, up to vibrant hues for a floor that is meant to be noticed.
Colour is a decision made with the whole job in view: the house, the surrounding stone and landscape, and whether the surface is also being stamped or left smooth.
Stamped stone-pattern patio in warm tan and umber with a circular border around a firepit table
Floors, patios and driveways, inside and out
Stain works on interior and exterior concrete: decorative floors inside the house, patios, and driveways. Distinctive Stone & Concrete also installs interior decorative concrete flooring, so a basement, garage or living space can be poured and coloured as one job.
For a garage, stain is one option beside the epoxy coatings listed under floors, pads and garage coatings. Both begin with a slab that has been reinforced with solid rebar at a minimum of 4000 PSI, or with a careful look at the slab already in the ground.
If you are not sure which colour family fits a space, call (315) 676-0005. The estimate is free and done on site, anywhere from Syracuse to Baldwinsville and Brewerton.
Stain, then seal
Stained concrete is finished with a sealer, in acrylic, urethane or siloxane, and the sealer is what keeps the colour from being scuffed, rained on or salted away. Sealers run from 3 to 5 years up to 10.
Outdoors, the first reseal comes after the first winter, then about every three years depending on sun and traffic, and an anti-skid additive is recommended on reseals. Keep ice melt off stained surfaces; use calcium chloride only if you must, prefer sand, and shovel with plastic.
Distinctive Stone & Concrete has coloured and sealed concrete around Syracuse and Central New York since 2002. Google rating 4.6 from 110 reviews.
Will the colour hold up outside in Central New York?
It will if the seal is kept up. Read about the sealer options on the concrete sealing page, and follow the caring for concrete rules for cure times and winter. If the slab you want to colour is worn or cracked, a concrete overlay can give it a new surface first, and stamped concrete takes colour too, with a pattern pressed in.