Products

COLOURED CONCRETE

An ideal option for those who don’t want to spend a fortune or have a limited budget, but dislike the ‘plain grey look’ of for instance the footpath in front of your house. The difference in ‘feel’ and appearance between a natural earthy colour or a stylish modern grey tone with ‘plain grey’ concrete is enormous. And the best thing is that you actually only pay 15 – 25% more than plain grey concrete. There is a range of 60 colours (all have different prices) to choose from, which you can find on the CCS colour chart.The colour is mixed through at the plant, so even when damage occurs over the years, you will not ‘see grey’. Optional is to have your concrete sealed; which will give a deeper, slightly darker colour, protects it from staining and wear.

POURED LIMESTONE

This product is actually not concrete, but reconstituted crushed limestone, mixed with cream cement. It therefore has a few properties different from concrete. It does not heat up in the sun as much as concrete does, which is good for people who like to walk barefooted, and makes it a popular material for pool surrounds. The lime keeps ants at bay. We have stopped the use of galvanised steel in limestone, because although it is galvanised, when the concrete is cut, the steel will sometimes be cut as well, exposing the (ungalvanised) core of the steel. So the old corrosion problem will be there again. Instead we pour pedestrian areas often a bit thicker, 90mm rather than 80mm.

We do poured limestone in several different effects or textures. Please check the photo gallery for illustration. The ‘rough’ scratched finish with large size rectangles cut in a random pattern is the most common finish, because it most closely resembles the old traditional limestone blocks that are Western Australia’s natural heritage. The colour can be adjusted to your taste. If the paleness of limestone doesn’t appeal to you, we can add a bit of yellow, or even the same CCS colours for concrete can be mixed through limestone.

EXPOSED AGGREGATE

This type of concrete has gained popularity. It is probably the most ‘timeless’ of all types of decorative concrete, in that it suits both the old style federation home or cute cottage as well as the ultramodern ‘straight and square’ designs with render and coloured features. This must be due to the ‘subtle way’ in which exposed aggregate is decorative, yet it is far from ‘busy’.

With this type of concrete the base (concrete) colour (see CCS colour chart) is picked (often not too pronounced; like creams, greys or sandy tones) with a colour combination of ‘aggregate’ (6-14mm pebbles) to match / offset / highlight certain colours of your house.

The effect is achieved by gently washing off the top layer of the concrete at some time during the drying process, to ‘expose the aggregate”.

There is a range of Premixes available, where the aggregate is already mixed in at the plant. We can offer a custom mix, whereby you choose your own combination of concrete and aggregate colours. That way you have more freedom of choice, as well as a more unique design. However, if you want a very personalised aggregate / "bring your own", we use a "seeding method" whereby the aggregate is not mixed in at the plant but thrown on and trowelled in on site. Because this process is different, it very much depends on the size, work access and difficulty of the job if we can use the seeding method. We generally use premixes as it gives a more consistent finish. BGC now have a display centre with good size samples at : 260 Kalamunda Road, South Guildford. (Please make sure you write down the codes or names of the mixes you like!)

This type of concrete (although optional) deserves to be sealed, to keep the colours of the aggregate ‘sparkling’.

STAMPED CONCRETE/STAMPCRETE

This concrete system is truly amazing in that it realistically looks like timber, slate, natural rock and many other natural materials, because of the imprinted texture combined with (often two tone or multiple) colours.

When the freshly poured concrete reaches a certain hardness, colours are applied (if not premixed at the plant), and with specially designed moulds, the pattern is stamped in. The next day the concrete is washed and sealed. To keep your stamped concrete looking beautiful and fresh, it should be resealed every 3-4 years (depending on wear and exposure to the elements).

The colour oxides that are used are actually ‘hardeners’ at the same time, which makes this type of concrete extremely strong and durable. There is an extensive range of patterns (limited availability in WA) available (view chart 1, view chart 2, view chart 3 ) and an even bigger range of colours (-combinations). (Please note that on the chart, the “deeper” colour, (the colour that is printed in) needs to be a “release colour” (marked with R) on the chart.

Old stamped concrete that has been neglected can be rejuvenated and look totally fresh again, by cleaning and resealing (if necessary with a tinted sealer).