Adding color flakes to floor coatings can change the entire atmosphere of a room and they often make a good conversation piece. One popular location to use color flakes is in the garage, but you can use color paint chips anywhere really. Color flakes are also called epoxy paint chips and color chips. With just a small amount of creativity you can have eye-catching custom floors. Some important factors when it comes to color flakes are the color options, amount of coverage, and flake size. Let’s discuss these areas further.
Color flakes are aggregates of polymer paint made of acrylic and vinyl resins. The flakes are typically four to five millimeters thick and are U.V. stable. There are over 150 custom colors available, allowing multiple color combinations, which can be both exciting and challenging when making decisions. Custom color matching is also available for those that know an exact desired color. The diameter of the flakes vary. The original size is one inch, but the sizes can be as small as 1/32”. There are also ½”, ¼”, ⅛”, and 1/16” available. Typically the ¼” size is most commonly used with garage floor coatings.
It is important to keep in mind the color of the floor when choosing colors combinations. Tan and gray hues are the most commonly used base colors, but many other colors work well too, such as white and black hues. The only time the base color is not important is when you are doing a full refusal, which is when the flakes are distributed over the entire floor until you cannot see the floor color anymore. Coverage rates are typically light, medium, heavy, and full. Light coverage requires .002 pounds of flake per square foot, medium coverage requires .01 pounds per square foot, heavy coverage requires .04 pounds per square foot, and full coverage requires .15 pounds per square foot. It is recommended to buy more color flakes then you think you’ll need to be on the safe side.
When it comes to choosing the color combinations, decisions can be challenging. The most popular option tends to be a blend of three colors. It is recommended to start with a light color and a dark color before choosing a medium color. So, for example, white, black, and a medium gray tone. Of course, you can use less or more color combinations, the choice is yours. There are some websites available that allow you to choose color combinations to see how they would look together, so that may be helpful.
Not only do the flakes add to the esthetics and character of the room they also have added benefits. Color flakes can hide any imperfections in the concrete and color flaked floors also provide some sound deadening properties. With a heavy application of color flakes imperfections such as spider cracks should not be visible. The floors are also desired due to their strength and flexibility. When a full refusal is done at least five millimeters of thickness is added to the floor, which improves the impact resistance and durability of the floor.
There are so many creative and custom options for finishing concrete, but first and foremost important is the concrete itself. At Custom Concrete Creations we have state of the art equipment and a properly trained team with years of experience. Custom Concrete Creations is a premier contractor serving the Omaha area as well at the Midwest. Give us a call or send us an email for your custom concrete finishing needs today!