Exposed (fair-faced) concrete is concrete whose surface remains visible after the formwork is removed – no plaster, no tiles, no paint. The traces of the formwork, the tie holes and the fine colour nuances make every exposed concrete wall unique. In architecture, exposed concrete stands for honesty and clarity – from the brutalism of the 1960s to the modern loft. Here you will learn which types of exposed concrete exist and how to create the look indoors, even without pouring.
Board-Formed Exposed Concrete
With board formwork, concrete is poured into a mould of wooden boards. The grain and joints of the boards are imprinted in the surface. Our HeavyRoll NEW YORK shows exactly this texture – with boards 10 or 20 cm wide. At Henkel, an entire concrete ceiling was clad with it.
Exposed concrete has a particularly strong effect in a stairwell: next to a concrete staircase or a steel staircase, a board-formed wall carries the exposed concrete look across every floor – lightweight and without extra load on the stairwell.
Smooth Exposed Concrete with Tie Holes
Smooth exposed concrete is cast in formwork made of large panels. Typical are the round holes of the formwork ties. HeavyRoll BETON ANKERLOCH shows this classic exposed concrete wall – as in the atrium of the VodafoneThree headquarters in Newbury.
Weathered Exposed Concrete in Loft Style
If you prefer it rougher, choose coarse, weathered formwork concrete. HeavyRoll VINTAGE CONCRETE is a homage to brutalism – in the Merkur Spiel-Arena football stadium in Düsseldorf as well as in cafés and bars.
Exposed Concrete Indoors – Without Pouring
A real exposed concrete wall can only be created in the building shell: with formwork, reinforcement, a lot of weight and drying time. In renovations or on upper floors this is hardly possible. Our solution is flexible concrete on a roll: sheets made from natural minerals, around 60% recycled Carrara marble, only 2–4 mm thin – with the tactile texture of exposed concrete. That is how it was done at Epic Games in Shanghai, where a real concrete wall would have been too heavy.
This Concrete on a roll arrives rolled up on site and is bonded with tile adhesive – without formwork and without the drying time of real concrete.
Where Does Exposed Concrete Fit?
In the living room and bedroom, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, on the ceiling, in the office, in Shop Fitting – as in Mey & Edlich in Cologne – and even at the facade. HeavyRoll and Concrete Art do not burn and achieve Euroclass A2 to EN 13501-1 (A2-s2,d0) – the second-highest fire class, no flaming droplets. Certified.
All designs for your concrete effect wall – from board-formed to smooth exposed concrete with tie holes – can be found on our overview page.
Request the Exposed Concrete Look
All designs can be found on our page concrete effect wall cladding and at HeavyRoll. Write to us – you will receive samples and a quote.
