Choosing a colour

With over 60 different colours available the choice is wide. First and foremost it is most important for you to look at some samples - to find out where click here. Please remember that the colour sample will not exactly match your job once it is complete due to natural variations - what you choose is a colour tone that will vary slightly from the sample- see the table at the bottom of this page for the reasons why.

Colour Schemes and understanding colour - advice from Resene

Our friends at Resene have an excellent page with some simple straightforward advice about coming up with a colour scheme - more>. This is one of many pages on the topic of understandng colour - more>. Resene have also matched some of their colours with our Colour Series - more>.

Dark colours

Dining Room with PeterFell Systems coloured concrete

These provide for dramatic and rich flooring shades, creating warmth and work in well with neutral surrounding colours. Dark colours are a practicable choice for driveways and areas where you are concerned with staining, ie tyre marks on a driveway or oil drops. However darker colours are potentially hotter under foot, especially in an exposed location.

Light & neutral colours

These coordinate easily with most interior and exterior environments. Colours range from warm browns, subtle terracottas, to creams, yellows, and stone. However consideration must be given to the exposure of the area, like a north facing patio, and avoid these if glare is a concern. Also consider staining potential and avoid light colours on drives.

Light colours can help introduce light to a darker area such as between tall buildings or in a South facing space.

Glare

This can be controlled in exterior situations by the surface treatment. Some very light colours do tend to exaggerate the glare, but most of the PFL sandstone colours do not exhibit this characteristic.

Sealing

Sealing concrete will effect the final colour of your concrete. For example when a solvent based sealer is used it will darken your concrete, therefore this must be taken into consideration when choosing your colour. On our samples the right hand side shows the solvent based sealer - click here for an explanation of the samples.

Interior and exterior

One great benefit of The PeterFell System is that the same colour can be used for indoor-oudoor flow, from an internal situation to an external area. Here the requirements for anti-slip externally may cause a slight difference in appearance as the sealer used will have a slightly dimpled surface and may look slightly different in some lights.

Other Issues

There are other issues around colour that we often get asked about and we summarise these following:

Photography

Photography plays tricks with colour and what you see may not be a true representation of the colour. Be careful if you are picking a colour from a magazine or brochure as the colour usually looks completely different to what is shown

Fading

For a full discussion on fading please click here

Causes of Colour Variation with the PFL System.

There are two main types of reasons why differences occur

1. Placing:

The way the concrete dries and the surface texture affect the colour the most:

Seasonal Difference	The time of year that the slabs were poured. Colder weather often darkens concrete due to the slower drying process.
Protection	Colour development may be affected when covered during the curing process.
Shading	Shading from fences, eaves, trees, etc can change the way concrete dries and the resulting colour

2. Location and Surface Treatment:

Light	Like paint, the available light in a space will impact on final appearance of colour. A more exposed area will appear lighter, and likewise an area surrounded by trees will appear darker.
Non slip finish	Exterior flooring will be finished to achieve a non-slip surface, this difference in texture will affect the appearance of the colour.
Sealers	The type and film thickness will have an impact on colour. Solvent based sealers have a wet look effect, and will considerably darken your concrete whereas the acrylic sealers will allow a more natural and low sheen finish.