While the benefits of precast architectural concrete have long been known (including energy efficiency, durability, and affordability), less may be known about the range of finishes available to help make a building look aesthetically pleasing.
In the short guide below, you can learn about the range of colours, textures, and options for customization that are available when using precast architectural concrete:
Questions to ask before narrowing down your choices
With hundreds of different ways to finish architectural precast concrete, narrowing down your options can seem like a mind-boggling task. But by answering a few questions about the building in question, you can make your choices a little more straightforward:
Q: Where is your building?
If your building is situated in an urban area, for example, where higher temperatures are typically experienced, you may want to opt for a lighter shade of finish.
Q: Is the building an add-on to an existing community or campus?
Oftentimes, it’s important that a new building blends in with its surroundings, and if you don’t want your structure to stand out among existing buildings, you can opt for an aggregate colour.
Q: Is the structure going to portray your brand?
If you want your building to make a statement that reflects your brand and business, you can choose from hundreds of precast concrete customizations to help you do exactly that.
Q: Who will be using the building?
Thinking about the people occupying the building and what their needs might be can help you design a suitable structure using precast concrete.
Your textured precast concrete options
While the colours you can choose from for precast concrete panels are a veritable rainbow, there are a number of texture options available, too, giving you the opportunity to make the structure really stand out and look great.
- Form finished: the standard type of form finish is when the stone isn’t visible at all, completely covered as it is by the cement and sand. This particular finish doesn’t always give an even finish.
- Acid-etched:a smoother, more uniform texture can be created when a high-pressure acidic wash is sprayed once some of the cement and sand have been removed. Depending on how much of the stone you want the surface to reveal, you can choose from a light, medium, or heavy finish.
- Exposed aggregate:with the majority of the stone exposed, this finish goes a step beyond the heavy finish of a texture that has been acid-etched.
- Blasted:with a colour that’s slightly duller than acid-etched, blasted finishes can be light, medium, or heavy.
- Polished:looking similar to terrazzo or natural granite once complete, this texture offers the smoothest, most uniform finish.
Moulds and veneers
Precast concrete in its liquid form offers up a world of possibilities, with moulds used to create almost any design or shape, enabling building owners to really put their stamp on a structure. Moulds can even include outlines of company logos.
When it comes to veneers, this particular precast concrete finish enables you to achieve the look of stone or brick during a process similar to molding. Bricks can be sized exactly as you want them to be, and their colour and texture are totally customizable, too.
With precast concrete cladding offering so many opportunities in terms of customizations, you could be forgiven for thinking that so many decisions could end up costing you a big chunk of your construction budget. But actually, while some customization options will cost more, it’s equally possible to add some unique touches to a building without having to empty your pockets and drain your bank balance.
