In the development of new concrete materials, its the decorative concrete sector that's seeing the most change-change that's clearly visible to building occupants. "The use of concrete as an aesthetic element has exploded in the past 10 years," says Jay Shilstone, a concrete consultant and principal of Shilstone Companies, Piano, Texas. "The decorative concrete industry has developed into a multifaceted range of techniques that not only encompass the well-known imprinting with texture molds, but also the use of paper stencils, exposed aggregate, sandblast stencils, colored stains, vertical wall imprinting, acid etching with spray-on finish and textures, and more," adds Glyn Thomas, managing director of Creative Impressions, a decorative concrete firm based in Preston, Lancashire, U.K. "Concrete is literally being worked in every way imaginable: it is polished, etched, sandblasted, and cast against every type of form facing," says Jamie Farny, PCA's program manager for masonry and special products. "It is imprinted with a grid to give the appearance of hand-laid mosaic tiles.
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