Minnesota Concrete Flooring at PolyTek Surface Coatings
Refinishing your concrete garage floor with a protective epoxy coating is one of the best improvements you can make to your home. It protects the floor from damage, it makes the floor like it belongs in a model home, and it adds a lot of selling potential.
But because it’s such a popular renovation, there are a lot of different styles and materials to choose between. Epoxy and polyaspartic, brindled and metallic finishes… there are a lot of options to keep in mind. If you want to know precisely what you’re looking at, we’re here to help.
What is brindle flake?
Garage floor coatings are usually chipped. That means there are chips, or flakes, of different colors in the surface. This gives the garage floor a textured pattern that stops accent colors from being too abrupt. It also helps even out stains on the floor and lets you mix three or more colors together so your garage, house exterior, and trim colors all flow together well.
The flakes come in an infinite variety of color combinations, and they also come in different visual textures. The most popular varieties are standard flakes, brindle flakes, and metallic flakes. Brindle flakes have a rocky, striated finish. Each chip has streaks of natural colors and luster so the flaky surface looks like stone.
Brindle flakes come in a mix of oversized flakes that make up the majority of the floor and smaller chips to fill in the gaps. The oversized chips add a lot of natural variation and tone to the floor. Instead of two or three different colors like with standard flakes, you get a myriad of shades in grays, blues, or browns.
No matter which flake texture you choose, you’re guaranteed to get a floor that stands up to damage and looks great. Brindle flakes add an extra layer of natural stone and marbled coloring to the space.
But concrete floors aren’t just for your garage anymore. If you want to update your home to give it a contemporary look and style, staining the concrete floors under your current tile or carpet is a great choice. Not only is it a low-maintenance twist that keeps your air fresher and makes your home easier to clean, it’s a trendy remodel that will stay in style for years.
If you’re not sure if stained concrete floors are right for your, browse our gallery here. There is an endless variety of color palettes, visual textures, and patterns you can choose from. Your concrete floors are the perfect blank slate for any style you have in mind, whether you want your floorings to have a mottled, marbled finish or you want to mimic the structured look of geometric tiles. But color choices are the only options you have.
You also have a choice between acid staining and water-based or acetone stains. What’s the difference?
Acid stains give you a natural gradient, and water-based stain gives you color control.
Acid stains cover your flooring in natural, earthy tones, and they don’t give a fixed, regimented pattern. Instead, they give your concrete floor a marbled finish with more organic shifts in color and a wide array of shades. Acid staining can give your floors a muted, subtle finish or you can apply multiple coats for different layers of depth and complexity.
Water-based and acetone stains are a lot more controlled. If you would rather print your concrete with tiled designs, faux wood planks, or solid shades, these stains give you a more predictable finish. Water-based stains also have a wider variety of colors and brightness levels so you can enjoy high-contrast layouts.
Every stained floor is sealed to prevent damage and stains. No matter what finish or pattern you have in mind, PolyTek Surface Coatings has the materials and the expertise to prepare, stain, and protect your floors for years of easy cleanup and vivid designs. Contact us here to get started.