Patio Concrete Staining

Patio concrete staining is the latest trend, when it comes to exterior home improvement. Staining the concrete patio is the best way to give a natural look of marble or brick to the patio. The cost required to stain a concrete patio is very inexpensive. The maintenance required for stained concrete patio is also very less.

Staining a Concrete Patio
Stained concrete is commonly referred to as colored concrete and is one of the popular home improvement techniques that homeowners opt for these days. You must be wondering how to stain concrete? Concrete is porous in nature and can be used as a plain canvas to implement the design and color of your choice. A concrete surface can be made to look like a natural or marble stone, or even wood-like surface or a custom look of your own choice. There are basically two types of concrete staining, i.e. acid staining and acrylic staining. In acid staining, the stain is formed by the reaction between the lime in the concrete surface and the acid. While that in acrylic staining, concrete stain is formed simply by pouring the required color of concrete stain on the surface.

Walkways, decks, driveways and patios are the exterior elements that take a special place in the home exterior. Out of these, we spend maximum time in the patio on a holiday or during leisure time. Patios are made up of concrete and there are a number of patio finishes, like stamped concrete patio design, stained concrete patio and many more. A plain concrete patio without any design and color will make the home exterior very boring. Thus, we should pay special attention to this area of our house. With a number of advantages of concrete staining, homeowners like to have stained concrete patio in their outdoor. No matter what the age of your concrete patio is, staining will surely enhance its beauty. Let's take a look at different methods of patio concrete staining.

Acid Concrete Staining of Patio
Staining the concrete patio with acid, as we already know, is nothing but reaction of the lime in the concrete and the acid to form a colored stain. There are a few tips on acid stain concrete that need to be followed. Acid concrete staining may not prove useful, if your concrete is too old. This is because as the concrete grows old, it loses its lime content gradually. However, you can choose this method, if your concrete is new. If the concrete patio is yet to be constructed and you want to stain it with acid staining, then ensure that you leave on the new concrete patio cure for at least a month, before staining it. The acids used for patio concrete contain water, hydrochloric acid and metallic salts that create the stains. The stains made on concrete patio with acid staining are permanent stains that do not fade and require very less maintenance.

Acrylic Concrete Staining of Patio
Acid staining may not be suitable for every concrete patio, while acrylic staining can be used to stain any type of concrete patio. Even many concrete stain contractors also choose acrylic staining over acid staining. Acrylic staining is pouring the concrete stain over the patio surface. There are plenty of colors that can be used to stain patio with help of acrylic staining. The color used makes a physical bond with the concrete surface and drips through the concrete pours. Acrylic staining helps to hide the imperfections on the concrete surface, however this is not possible with acid staining. It is necessary that the patio surface is porous to get better results of acrylic concrete staining. Acrylic concrete staining is a concrete stain: do it yourself and can be implemented without the help of a professional.

Before you start staining the patio surface, see that the concrete is thoroughly cleaned. Cleaned concrete surface will give you good, desired results of staining. Concrete sealer, adhesives and any rocks and stones on the surface should be removed from the surface. With the help of appropriate equipment apply the concrete stain of your choice. Read the labels and follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully. After staining, apply a sealant to the patio surface.

So, if you are bored with the plain patio concrete surface in your outdoor, use any of the above listed patio concrete staining methods and improve the exterior of your house.