How to Decide The Best Concrete Color For Your Project

How to Choose the Right Color for Your Concrete Project

If you are considering installing concrete at your home or business, you should know there are many concrete colors to choose from. Picking the right color is important, after all, the color of your concrete will greatly impact how your project and building look. But just how do you choose the right concrete color? Keep reading to learn how you can find a color that complements your entire project.

The Actual Color of Concrete

Unlike paint, which is applied and manufactured in a controlled setting, the color of your finished concrete product will not be exactly the same as the color you select from the color chart. There are numerous factors that impact the color of concrete, such as weather, aggregate, and cement, so it is almost impossible to achieve an exact color match. Often, colored concrete will be three to four shades lighter than the corresponding color on the chart.

In other words, a color chart can only give you a slight idea of what the shade of your choice will turn out like. Don’t expect your project to look exactly like the one in the photograph or one you’ve seen somewhere else. It may be close, but more than likely, it will not be an exact match. For this reason, you should avoid getting too caught up in differentiating between subtle shade differences.

The Importance of Contrasting Highlight Colors

You can expect to see contrasting highlight colors if you intend to utilize stamped concrete. These highlights are created using an antiquing agent. By antiquing your stamped concrete project, you can achieve a more realistic two-toned look. If you prefer not to use a contrasting antiquing color, the whole surface of your project will appear the same and feature a painted appearance.

Roughly 98% of the time, antiquing colors should be darker than base colors. If you did attempt to use a lighter antiquing color, it would almost totally disappear once the sealer is applied, giving your project a muddy appearance. Conversely, darker antiquing colors are significantly enhanced by solvent acrylic sealers, allowing them to stand out more from the base color. Regardless of what you choose, you can alter the overall appearance of your project simply by adding an antiquing color.

Avoid Matching Colors

Many customers prefer that the colors of their home and concrete “match.” Depending on the nature of your project, this could be a bad idea. Although it sounds good in theory, rarely would you want the color of your concrete and home to be identical. Instead, you should focus on choosing a color that will complement your home. If you did choose to match the colors of your home and concrete, the aesthetics of both your home and project would probably suffer to some degree. Finding a perfectly matching color would be nearly impossible, so it is better to seek out a complementary color that will enhance both your home and concrete project.

Final Considerations

From time to time, you will want to consider patterns and colors together. Since stamped concrete is manufactured to resemble natural building materials, selecting the wrong color for your pattern could be a problem. You will also want to consider how the color of your project will be impacted by sunlight. Darker colors tend to harbor more heat, whereas light colors tend to reflect it. For this reason, choosing a dark color for an area where you will more than likely be barefoot most of the time may not be the right decision.

We Can Help With Your Project

Here at RTS Construction, we specialize in concrete installations and applications and we are more than sure we can help you with your project. Contact us today to learn more.