Artevia decorative concrete is the latest in a series of premium branded mixes and products from Herndon, Va.-based Lafarge North America. Unveiled at World of Concrete 2005, the line offers textured options as well as a wide color selection beyond the standard gray, with hopes that Artevia will expand the artistic possibilities for both residential and commercial applications.

Currently, all Lafarge NA plants have Artevia mix production capability, many incorporating automated liquid color dispensing. In some of the company's less-established markets, bagged color pigments are being used, but a plan is in place to get the base volumes of Artevia products up so automated liquid-color dispensing systems can be installed before year's end. In line with Lafarge's vendor strategy, the company's Canadian markets have a relationship with Degussa Admixtures, which uses Scofield liquid and bagged pigments; in the U.S., Lafarge is linked with W.R. Grace, which aligned with Davis Colors. Although Artevia is offering nearly 40 color selections, with some big box retailers — Wal-Mart chief among them — switching to colored concrete floors, some customers are asking for non-standard colors. “Two-thirds of all colored products right now industrywide are going to the residential market,” says Greg Sheardown, Lafarge NA's vice president of ready mixed performance. “But as more municipality projects, nonresidential work and big box stores go with colored floors, consumption numbers will probably shift.”

In the interest of quality control, Lafarge is only producing colored-mix orders using its high-strength Ultra ready mixed series, which helps resist cracking. As a result, the per-yard premium for Artevia is about 25 to 35 percent higher than standard ready mixed. “The design community is going through a transition away from the physical properties of concrete and more toward the aesthetics,” explains Sheardown. “Still, you can have a beautiful brick-red driveway that would look terrible if it cracked. This reality forces you to focus on strength.

“The industry as a whole does not always do a great job with quality control with colored products. When you start pouring color, the failure rate is high in terms of getting the color exactly right. But using liquid color helps with quality control, since you can get exactly the amount of pigment you need and reduce the error rate.”

Lafarge's other branded products include performance concrete Agilia, which the company introduced to the North American market in early 2000, and Ductal, a reactive powder concrete unveiled in North America in 2001.