If you’re looking for a more affordable concrete solution, our coloured concrete has over thirty natural colours to choose from. Coloured concrete has come a long way since slapping a coat of paint on the top of a grey concrete slab!
Today, it’s called integral coloured concrete and is developed by infusing the concrete with pigments and oxides to create a colour that lasts. This means it remains uniform in colour even with general wear and tear, and abrasion on the concrete’s surface.
Integral colour concrete is not only an affordable option but also long lasting. If you like to roll up your sleeves and enjoy DIY projects, you can reseal the concrete every couple of years to keep it looking as good as new.
What style of projects are ideal for integral colour concrete?
Integral colour concrete is ideal for driveways, patios, large public areas, and outdoor areas such as around your swimming pool (after the coping has been installed). Find out more below.
6 affordable integral coloured concrete ideas
1. Integral colour concrete for a traditional patio
In this heritage home we used an almost black integral coloured concrete for the veranda. The home needed a simple concrete finish that complemented it’s traditional details.
Integral colour concrete is also ideal for entertaining areas as it provides an even surface for table legs and chairs. If you have a patio or even a driveway that is used for entrainment purposes, then coloured concrete may be the most suitable option.
2. Integral colour concrete for a modern home and driveway
The owners of this home chose a modern and sleek integral colour concrete style to match their home. We added strips of sand coloured concrete to pick up the colours in the home. Rather than having a large grey concrete slab, this addition provided a stylish variation.
3. Integral colour concrete for a traditional home
We installed a simple and non-intrusive concrete style for the driveway in this traditional home to complement and blend into the background, so that the home and landscaped gardens were the feature not the driveway.
This sweeping driveway is integral coloured concrete infused with grey pigments to provide contrast. Cost effective, maintenance free for the owners, and always looks new and tidy.
4. Integral colour concrete for steep driveways
Steep driveways need special consideration to ensure safety for your family, and proper drainage. During our extensive site preparation phase which happens prior to the project starting, we assess the following: the angles and gradient of the driveway to ensure that your car won’t bottom out and scrape the driveway; whether the driveway has to withstand heavy vehicles; proper drainage to protect your home from water damage; and how slippery it might be during wet weather conditions.
For this steep driveway in the Adelaide Hills, we used a shale-coloured integral concrete with a border of the same colour and smudged the surface to provide grip for the gradient of this slope.
Related article: 4 Concrete Ideas For Steep Driveways
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5. Integral colour concrete for outdoor areas
For entertaining areas or any other outdoor spaces, integral colour concrete provides a smooth finish and surface for outdoors table, chairs or other furniture. We’ve also installed it around swimming pools up to the coping. With a wide range if natural colours available, you can match the coping or choose a colour to contrast.
6. Integral colour concrete for shed floors
A shed floor needs to be easy to clean and maintain while withstanding all sorts of activity from boats and trailers, to tools and work for the home handy and DIY lovers.
Integral colour concrete installed with a smooth finish is easy to sweep clean and with an application of sealer, it will be protected from oil spills.
Related article: Renovating The Shed? Concrete Ideas For Your Garage Or Shed Floor
The benefits of integral colour concrete
Integral colour concrete offers a range of benefits, especially for the low maintenance home-owner:
- A large range of natural colours to suit your home
- Maintenance free – no weeding and easy to sweep clean
- Ideal for large areas
- Perfect for swimming pool areas
- Camouflages a problem area
- Durable and long lasting
- An affordable and cost effective option
Visit our showroom or call us to discuss affordable concrete styles
To view a range of integral coloured concrete options, please visit our showroom at 1 Maple Avenue, Forestville, or call our friendly team on 08 8297 9611 to discuss your concrete project.
We have over 35 years experience in installing concrete projects in residential homes and commercial projects throughout Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills. Whatever your need or your budget, we’ll have a concrete style to suit your needs.