Replies

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay|Oct 07, 2010 10:56am|#1

   Aasta,
   Stucco is a cement-based plaster, traditionally made from Portland cement and sand. (Modern stucco formulations often include a variety of additives.)

   Depending upon the ratio of cement, sand, and water, stucco is fundamentally no different from mortar or grout.

   None of these products -- stucco, mortar, or grout -- makes a durable floor. For a durable floor, you need concrete. Concrete is basically stucco, mortar, or grout -- that is, cement, sand and water -- with pebbles (crushed stone) added.

   Technically, the crushed stone used to make concrete is called "large aggregate." Concrete can be ordered with different sizes of large aggregate; the thinner your slab, the smaller the large aggregate used.

   It's hard to make a concrete slab any thinner than 3 inches.

2. 
   Dan Beideck|Oct 14, 2010 03:09pm|#2

   Reading between the lines a little, maybe what you are looking for is a stained concrete floor??? There are several options. A bio based product is one option available fromhttp://www.ecosafetyproducts.com.

   If you haven't poured the concrete floor yet, another option is to have dye added into the mix so it comes out the color desired from the start. There are many color options available and your ready-mix supplier should be able to hook you up. Good luck.

3. 
   Riversong|Oct 14, 2010 05:30pm|#3

   It's actually not dye, but dry powdered pigments that are added at the batch plant to readimix concrete. The price depends on the mix ratio of 25# bags per yard - with color intensity varying from ¼ bag/yd to 1 bag/yd.

   The advantage over in-place colorants or treatments is that the color is completely through the concrete and it's typically far less expensive.