FAQs

Concrete Overlay…also known as Decorative Concrete and Customizable Concrete Veneer, is a polymer modified concrete mix designed to give all the benefits of concrete with added benefits of open time, flexural strength, workability, user-friendliness and the ability to stick to nearly any substrate both vertically and horizontally so the concrete overlay can be stamped, carved, troweled, and even to create a broomed finish. A Concrete Overlay gives excellent protective strength and durability, while adding a decorative or enhanced look to nearly any new or existing substrate, while mimicking the realistic look of stone, tile, brick, slate, wood, stucco, spray deck, broom finish, and many other looks.

Consolidated Aggregates offer many product lines for various applications. Stone Edge Surfaces commercial line has offerings from high-quality self-levelers (Swiftset, Polishable, and Colorset), refurbishment materials both fast setting and normal cure (CPR-Concrete Patch & Repair, Pro Bond Ultra, & Level Slope), to refinishing overlay material to beautify large areas with broom, trowelled or stamped finishes (Smooth Coat, Pro Bond Ultra, Micro topping, & Stamp mix. Stone Edge Surfaces more decorative lines consist of Horizontal Stamp mix, Vertical Wall mix, Smooth Coat, Micro topping, various colorants (both integral & surface penetrating water based liquid colors), sealers, stamps, and specific tools needed for Stone Edge Surfaces various applications.

From Pump testing of Consolidated Aggregates Self leveling materials to various strength test required for all Consolidated Aggregates technical data sheets one can refer to The Consolidated Aggregates resources page (www.consolidatedagg.com) for full reference of all testing performed on each Consolidated Aggregates product.

Most jobs can be done within 2 to 3 days, depending on the size of the job. However, there are exceptions, especially for commercial jobs and inclement weather conditions.

Consolidated Aggregates is a very durable and long-lasting Concrete product. Keep in mind…. ALL concrete eventually cracks, and occasionally some hairline cracking can occur shortly after installation. This is normal for any concrete product and not just Consolidated Aggregates products. In most cases, depending on how the substrate was built, you will not see any major cracking. We take all precautions possible to prevent cracking. Hairline cracks typically do not affect the integrity of the concrete and can be filled in and hidden with cementitious crack repair or filler products such as our Stone Edge Surfaces Crack Fill/Accent Enhancer.

We do advise you to watch all of our training videos on our YouTube channel (Consolidated Aggregates Channel) and become trained by one of our distributors or at a Consolidated Aggregates factory training where we certify contractors in proper application. However, there is no requirement to be certified to use our products and you can even buy some of them in retail locations. Keep in mind this is concrete and will be permanent, and a bad or untrained application that does not follow the proper steps, cuts corners and does not use all the products needed to make the product adhere to the substrate or tries to adhere to a bad substrate…is not covered under warranty. Our Limited Warranty only covers PRODUCT manufacturers’ defects…so please, make sure you know what you are doing.

We have different means of overlays at Consolidated Aggregates for different applications…so, it depends on the product you are using. For horizontal broom, knockdown, and stamp application it is typically applied at 1/8” to 3/8” depending on the method performed, whereas our vertical wall mixes are typically applied at 1/4” to 1” depending on the method performed and the stamping deemed necessary to achieve the desired look. For custom applications, you can apply our vertical mixes from 3″ to 6″ deep and some of our horizontal mixes can be used for deeper back fill of up to 2″.

This question cannot be answered in a paragraph, as there are a couple steps that you need to see to make it easy to understand. View our YouTube training video on coloring and you will get all that you need:

If sealed and maintained properly, the color should last the life of the substrate that it was installed upon.

For coloring you would use Consolidated Aggregates water based Pro Seal (Matte finish) or Pro Seal Supreme (semi-gloss) or our Pro Seal 2500 high gloss “solvent” based sealer. The Pro Seal 2500 needs ventilation.

You may apply the Consolidated Aggregates products over concrete, painted or unpainted concrete, drywall, sheet-rock, tile (ceramic or clay), brick, stucco, and other masonry surfaces. Styrofoam, stucco, and wood…may require extra steps for application like mesh or lathing for proper adhesion.  This video shows the suggested method when applying concrete on a wooden surface:

The Consolidated Aggregates products are not affected by severe freeze/ thaw cycles and have been installed in extreme climates all over the US, Canada, Russia, and other countries. To date, Consolidated Aggregates products have been exposed to sustained temperatures for over a week at 30 degrees below zero with wind chill of 65 degrees below zero.

Yes, the R-Value of Consolidated Aggregates Wall Mix is estimated to be “R-2.1” Per Inch.

Inside, you might only need to reseal every 5 to 10 years depending on the amount of traffic. Outside, you may need to reseal every 2 to 3 years depending on the traffic and weather elements.

You need to make sure you have no loose material on the substrate, that the substrate itself is not crumbling, and there is no grease, tar, oils or newer sealers on the concrete to be overlaid, if there are…you may need to use degreasers and pressure wash. Basically, normal concrete prep work is involved when applying Consolidated Aggregates overlay products. For painted surfaces, you would pressure wash only if you had loose flaky material that needed to be removed. If surface areas are dirty, you would pressure wash to remove soiled areas before installing Consolidated Aggregates products. In some extreme cases, a light grinding or sanding for a light profile may be required.

Consolidated Aggregates overlays can weigh approx. 2/3 the weight of standard concrete, the wall overlays can weigh approximately 1/2 the weight of concrete, so “usually” there is no structural reinforcement necessary…but we do not know your specific situation, so always seek professional advice if you are not sure.

Consolidated Aggregates concrete overlays are a noncombustible material which allows you to use them in fireplaces, kitchens, and electrical areas, etc. with no problem.

Consolidated Aggregates makes a couple of different hand carving tools including 2 joint cutting tools manufactured at our Mississippi factory. These specially designed tools, used by us in every training and in our videos, allow you to carve the Consolidated Aggregates concrete overlay at just the right stage, leaving you with very realistic looks. We also recommend (but do not make) carbide cutting tools for thinner, hard to get too areas to achieve the same realism and depth and especially for use after the concrete overlay has started to harden significantly.

Because of the way Consolidated Aggregates uses polymers vs acrylics or concrete with no polymers…Stone Edge Surfaces products can dissipate heat faster, making the surface cooler.

What you really want to know is if Consolidated Aggregates products can withstand getting wet or being submerged in water. No, the products are not waterproof, but they are used in commercial aquariums when creating underwater rock formations, on water features and slides around swimming pools and ponds and are proven to withstand wetness and submersion extremely well. We do have special white cement based concrete overlay mixes we recommend using when doing projects with 100% submersion situations such as pools, ponds, showers, underwater rock formations such as in a penguin cave in a commercial aquarium, waterfalls and grotto’s, etc.

Consolidated Aggregates suggests that your market may be contractors, builders, masonry installers, developers, homeowners, landscape businesses, and designers, new construction, renovation, and building suppliers.

Other than the fact that there would be minimal start-up cost and the ability to start small and grow at their own pace, they would be able to offer the customer the control of customizing their project unlike anything else out there in the market, while giving them the durability, quality, realism, and quicker delivery time to the customer.