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Designing living spaces

Concrete - a building material as versatile as life itself

Concrete โ€“ a mixture of cement, sand and water. It is the most frequently used building material in the world, and was originally discovered by the Romans. Numerous ancient buildings still bear impressive witness to the durability of Roman concrete. Even so, concrete has had an image problem for a long time. Many people consider concrete to be grey, dull and cold. And yet today, fair-faced concrete with its special aesthetics is more popular than ever among informed planners, designers and builders. For facade design or interior construction, fire safety or soundproofing, fair-faced concrete can be used to implement all kinds of ideas and visions. There are simply no limits to its creative scope. Everything is possible when designing concrete walls, from the natural effect of fair-faced concrete to a coloured concept. Distempered, glazed, painted, slurry-coated, smoothed, waterproofed or CO2-protected: every variation creates a different look and impression.

Preserving the natural appearance of concrete

Silicate paint materials do not form a film on concrete surfaces like synthetic-based coatings. The binder is potassium silicate which forms an insoluble bond with the concrete by means of the chemical process of silicification. Mineral coatings for concrete by KEIM accentuate the natural concrete texture rather than overlaying it. This is especially the case when the coating is applied using the colourwash technique with KEIM Concretal-Lasur for fair-faced concrete.

Concrete meets colour

Concrete does not always have to be grey. Our KEIM Concretal System can be used to apply top quality colour coatings to fair-faced concrete without losing the natural look and feel of concrete.
Mineral paints and colourwashes preserve the character of concrete even for coloured concrete designs. Matt, silicate coatings look much more natural than synthetic coatings. Commercially available dispersion paints applied to fair-faced concrete form dry layers between 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm thick, thus levelling out any irregularities and concealing the material texture of the concrete. The appearance and impression of fair-faced concrete are changed drastically, and the special concrete character may be lost altogether. The concrete substrate cannot shine through. By contrast, the mineral binder in KEIM Concretal-Lasur allows light rays to hit the colour pigment directly, generating crystalline reflections at a certain angle. Although the concrete is coated, its texture shines through with a natural effect. KEIM paints for concrete are UV-stable, were developed with know-how, show optimum adhesion due to silicification and prevent any penetration of moisture. We guarantee brilliant colours for years! Any risk of flaking paint is ruled out when applied correctly. Please contact us for any further information.

Fancy black?

Black facades are a statement of our times โ€“ striking, extravagant and elegant. KEIM Concretal-Black opens up new dimensions in concrete design. This unusual fair-faced concrete paint is available in five different shades of black: Purity, Forest, Pearl, Aurora and Eclipse. KEIM Concretal-Black is absolutely lightfast, UV-stable and highlights the natural beauty of concrete.

Repairing damage with concrete cosmetics and renovation

Sometimes concrete acts like a diva with a tendency to experience inexplicable damage such as streaks, discolouration, cracks or cavities which permanently spoil the appearance of the surface. This is where concrete renovation with a concrete colourwash comes in, before any further damage is caused. This helps to restore visible surface shortcomings and flaws in the originally intended appearance of the concrete.
Renovation using this special kind of cosmetic treatment has already "salvaged" a number of famous concrete structures.
Fair-faced concrete is a first-rate but also individual material that has asserted itself as a key design element in modern architecture. However, it is possible for unwanted imperfections to appear when creating fair-faced concrete surfaces, with blemishes, irregularities, spalling and differences in colour permanently spoiling the appearance of the surface so that concrete renovation is then necessary.
 
Concrete renovation repairs the damaged concrete structures and cracks in accordance with valid guidelines. Renovation focuses on technical aspects to compensate for any damage that has been caused. To satisfy design considerations at the same time, the fair-faced concrete undergoes additional renovation measures with cosmetic treatment, coating and retouching.

Concrete cosmetics initially consists in restoring the defective concrete surface to its originally intended condition. Defective areas are repaired properly using suitable concrete replacement fillers and mortars. This kind of levelling makes the surface flush with the surrounding concrete and is a crucial factor in the success of concrete cosmetics and concrete renovation.

When renovating concrete, unwanted colour differences in repaired areas, for example, can be visually retouched by applying colour-matched pigments. The special charm of fair-faced concrete is often preserved by applying the colourwash technique in several layers. Colourwash pigmentation and coverage is adapted to the requirements of the specific renovation task. In this respect, KEIM Concretal-Lasur offers maximum flexibility for concrete renovation and repair.
Recent years have seen a marked increase in quality demands for cosmetically treated fair-faced concrete surfaces. Professional implementation requires durable products that resemble the fair-faced concrete surfaces,  while allowing maximum flexibility for accurate matching to the project. These requirements are fulfilled perfectly by the mineral KEIM Concretal-System that is similar in nature to concrete.

 


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