7 ms·

This may be a stupid question, but given the apparent interest and knowledge of concrete in the comments here, it seems like an appropriate time and place to as

This may be a stupid question, but given the apparent interest and knowledge of concrete in the comments here, it seems like an appropriate time and place to ask: Why can't they make coloured concrete? Painting it doesn't seem to last/work. It is grey, always grey. Is there no way to apply colour to the mixture and retain its strength?

onion2k 11y ago
Seems it's possible - http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete-color/charts.html http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete-color/charts.html - presumably it's either expensive or difficult to work with so it's not used often.
jonah 11y ago
It's absolutely done, people just don't think of using concrete as a decorative finish as much. I've seen red and blue and other colors. You can also stain and acid etch concrete for other texture treatments.
mitchtbaum 11y ago
> It is grey, always grey. Check out Decorative Concrete: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decorative_concrete https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decorative_concrete https://www.pinterest.com/explore/decorative-concrete/ https://www.pinterest.com/explore/decorative-concrete/ Bonus 1) Translucent Concrete: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translucent_concrete https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translucent_concrete http://google.com/search?tbm=isch&gws_rd=cr&q=translucent+concrete http://google.com/search?tbm=isch&gws_rd=cr&q=translucent+co... Bonus 2) White Concrete, using Titanium Dioxide admixture, also cleans itself and its environment: http://google.com/search?tbm=isch&gws_rd=cr&q=concrete+tio2 http://google.com/search?tbm=isch&gws_rd=cr&q=concrete+tio2 Bonus 3) Nanomaterials add a lot of new potential for strength, possibly color, as well as completely new applications. For instance, carbon nanotubes make concrete slightly electrically conductive, which makes it possible to do easy integrity testing, visible from low voltage current fluctuations near stresses, strains, cracks, etc. I wish I had more info on a prospective range of applications here. Aside A) Clays (of possibly many colors) can also provide an even cheaper, more readily available, and similarly strong building material. Sindhi researchers pre-stressed and baked some test beams, and they were just about as strong as comparable concrete. See Emergence of New Era for Reinforced Baked Clay Construction (Memon, Bhatti, & Ansari): http://www.quest.edu.pk/rjournals/julydec2013/julydec2013_1.pdf http://www.quest.edu.pk/rjournals/julydec2013/julydec2013_1.... I sincerely wonder how this ongoing wealth of research on concrete plus many generations old, likely undocumented, skill we have with clay construction could come together.

onion2k 11y ago

Seems it's possible - http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete-color/charts.html http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete-color/charts.html - presumably it's either expensive or difficult to work with so it's not used often.

jonah 11y ago

It's absolutely done, people just don't think of using concrete as a decorative finish as much. I've seen red and blue and other colors. You can also stain and acid etch concrete for other texture treatments.

mitchtbaum 11y ago

> It is grey, always grey. Check out Decorative Concrete: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decorative_concrete https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decorative_concrete https://www.pinterest.com/explore/decorative-concrete/ https://www.pinterest.com/explore/decorative-concrete/ Bonus 1) Translucent Concrete: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translucent_concrete https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translucent_concrete http://google.com/search?tbm=isch&gws_rd=cr&q=translucent+concrete http://google.com/search?tbm=isch&gws_rd=cr&q=translucent+co... Bonus 2) White Concrete, using Titanium Dioxide admixture, also cleans itself and its environment: http://google.com/search?tbm=isch&gws_rd=cr&q=concrete+tio2 http://google.com/search?tbm=isch&gws_rd=cr&q=concrete+tio2 Bonus 3) Nanomaterials add a lot of new potential for strength, possibly color, as well as completely new applications. For instance, carbon nanotubes make concrete slightly electrically conductive, which makes it possible to do easy integrity testing, visible from low voltage current fluctuations near stresses, strains, cracks, etc. I wish I had more info on a prospective range of applications here. Aside A) Clays (of possibly many colors) can also provide an even cheaper, more readily available, and similarly strong building material. Sindhi researchers pre-stressed and baked some test beams, and they were just about as strong as comparable concrete. See Emergence of New Era for Reinforced Baked Clay Construction (Memon, Bhatti, & Ansari): http://www.quest.edu.pk/rjournals/julydec2013/julydec2013_1.pdf http://www.quest.edu.pk/rjournals/julydec2013/julydec2013_1.... I sincerely wonder how this ongoing wealth of research on concrete plus many generations old, likely undocumented, skill we have with clay construction could come together.