MAKING CONCRETE SLIP RESISTANT

Source:www.stonediamondtool.com Date:2018/11/23 Read:355

An overview of your options for making decorative concrete surfaces slip resistant without detracting from their appearance

By Bill Palmer, Concrete Network Columnist

Any concrete surface can be slippery when it is wet or icy, especially color hardened or sealed concrete. You want your clients to be pleased with the appearance of your work, but you don't want them to slip on it and get hurt (or even to sue you), so it makes sense to understand how to make concrete slip resistant when the situation demands.

Increasing the Coefficient of Friction: Two Options

Slipperiness is not a well-defined technical term. The quantifiable term is coefficient of friction, which we could go into, but those numbers don't mean much more to most of us than the more subjective terms. The objective, however, is to increase the slip resistance by increasing the coefficient of friction of the surface.

There are two ways to create slip-resistant surfaces: texture the concrete itself (typically with a broom) or apply some sort of gritty material to the surface. There are several ways to accomplish the latter: mix a gritty material into the sealer before it's applied, put down a textured overlay, or apply a gritty faced tape to the surface. You can also, of course, put down rubber mats, but who wants ugly mats on top of our beautiful concrete surfaces?