Can you get different colours of concrete?

Most people see the colour grey as synonymous with concrete structures. But actually, concrete is available in a range of different colours.

Although the range of coloured concrete available is not limitless – don’t expect to see neon green concrete buildings any time soon – concrete is available in a range of different colours, to support a wide variety of use cases.

At iMix Concrete, we’ve seen a rising demand amongst our customers for coloured concrete, both for aesthetic purposes and to create new, hard-wearing project features.

Keep reading to find out more about coloured concrete, including how it differs from conventional concrete, the benefits that it offers, and its most popular use cases.

How is coloured concrete different from conventional concrete?

Coloured concrete has exactly the same performance benefits as traditional concrete, and it can be used, mixed and laid in exactly the same ways. In addition to matching these high performance capabilities, coloured concrete brings the added bonus of a range of colour options.

Although you can’t get concrete in the full range of eye-popping, vibrant colourways, you can find concrete in a variety of colours – beyond your usual muted grey.

At iMix Concrete, we offer 24 standard colours of concrete. Furthermore, our team can also make custom colours to order. The concrete colours in our range include a variety of shades of green, red and sandy colours.

But to create the colours, we include grey Portland Cement in the mixture, so that the concrete still achieves its trademark muted earthy tones.

What are the benefits of coloured concrete?

Beyond simply bringing a fun new colour to the project, coloured concrete offers a wide range of different benefits, making it an extremely useful addition.

The main benefits of using coloured concrete include:

• Ideally suited to a huge range of sites and project types
• Achieves complete colour consistency
• Extremely low maintenance requirements
• Rather than using decorative coatings, coloured concrete is often quicker to install, and achieves permanent colour
• Makes the process of demarcation more efficient, precise and permanent
• Available in a range of colours, including custom colour mixing options
• Extremely durable and strong
• Highly resistant to chipping, cracking or weather deterioration
• Resistant to colour fading (which commonly occurs in decorative coatings, as a result of exposure to UV rays)
• Stain-resistant
• Easy to clean
• Affordable

What are the applications of coloured concrete?

Thanks to this long list of benefits, coloured concrete is a popular choice for a wide range of building projects, both commercial and domestic.

This includes creating a variety of architectural design features, or designing functional or decorative flooring, such as an efficient, low maintenance and permanent alternative to standard demarcation methods.

The most common applications of coloured concrete include:

• Retaining walls
• Patios
• Facades
• Driveways
• Industrial flooring
• Walkways and cycle paths
• Parking bays
• Planters
• Offices
• Schools
• Retail outlets
• Restaurants
• Sports centres
• Stadiums and arenas

What concrete colours are best suited for different environments?

The range of different concrete colours available each offer their own best-fit use cases. While all concrete colours boast the same performance benefits, some colours are best suited for certain environments.

For example, in domestic projects, earthy reds and sandy tones of concrete are ideally suited for use in outdoor spaces. These natural, softer colours are a great match for the natural surroundings, and achieve a very similar appearance to natural stone.

Alternatively, in living rooms and kitchens, light sandy coloured concrete makes the space feel warm and cosy, achieving a far softer touch than conventional grey concrete.

Equally, for commercial spaces and offices, red concrete shades achieve a modern, eye-catching feature, while green concrete creates a clean, chic aesthetic.

You could also use colour theory to determine the best choice of concrete colour for your specific project. For example, green concrete is particularly popular in healthcare and educational sites, as the colour helps to promote a sense of calmness. Or, in industrial spaces, red concrete is a great choice for demarcation areas in hazardous spaces, as it is intrinsically linked to warnings and danger.

iMix Concrete’s Coloured Concrete

At iMix Concrete, we are concrete specialists, trusted by commercial, industrial and domestic sites across London, Essex, Kent and the surrounding areas.

We offer a wide range of specialist concrete solutions, with options to suit every project type, size and scope. This includes the supply, mixing and delivery of premium quality coloured concrete.

We supply HATCRETE® Colourmix, which is one of the market’s leading coloured concrete varieties.

It is an admixture that not only integrally colours new concrete, but strengthens it at the same time. Furthermore, the admixture is water-reducing, workability enhancing, and is quality assured under BS EN ISO 9001.

To find out more about coloured concrete, its benefits and its use cases, or to enlist our team to supply coloured concrete for your site, contact our team to place an order.