How River Rocks looks, near and far
River Rocks is a polymer flake blend, not a stone floor; the name describes the look. From standing height it reads as a light, neutral pebble mix: light gray, cream and white at about 30% each, plus roughly 10% black that gives it more snap than our other light, warm blends.
Up close the three light colors stay distinct. Gray and cream are close in lightness but opposite in temperature, so the eye sees separate stones instead of one blended tone, and the black chips sit in the mix like dark pebbles. It is busier than Coastline or Canyon, and quieter than a black, gray and white blend such as Checkmate, which is about a third black.
Where River Rocks works
River Rocks bridges warm and cool finishes. It suits houses with a mix: gray cabinets against wood trim, a tan house with a gray roof, a garage that opens into a cream mudroom. When a customer finds a gray blend too cold and a tan blend too yellow, this is the one to show next.
It also fits a working garage or shop that still wants a light floor. The extra black and the mixed temperatures hide more day-to-day wear than a single-tone light blend.
Dirt and lighting
River Rocks forgives more than Coastline or Canyon. Gray dust lands on gray chips, tan dirt on cream, and small dark debris on black. Oil and fresh tire marks still show, as they will on any light floor, but dust and scuffs between cleanings fade into the mix.
Because it carries both warm and cool chips, River Rocks moves with the lighting more than a single-temperature blend does. Warm bulbs pull the cream forward and the floor reads beige. Cool white shop lights pull the gray forward and it reads light gray. Neither is wrong, but show the customer chips under the lights the room will have, so the floor they get is the floor they picked.
What base coat goes under River Rocks?
Tint the base coat to the light granite gray chip. The base peeks through wherever a single broadcast runs thin, so pick a color the blend already contains.
Gray is the neutral middle of this blend, so a bare patch reads as one more gray stone. A tan base, matched to the cream chip, works too when the customer wants the floor to lean warm.
Matching an existing floor
River Rocks is comparable in color to Cabin Fever (Torginol). Cabin Fever also reads as a light mix of gray, tan and white with black flecks.
To extend a floor that is already down, scatter chips from the box over a sample board and lay it on that floor in daylight before you commit to the job.
Ordering River Rocks for a three car garage
A 32 x 24 ft three car garage (768 sq ft) takes 4 boxes of River Rocks at a full broadcast, $340 before freight.
Figured at the typical 0.167 rate, that floor needs about 128 lb, which three boxes (132 lb) cover with only 4 lb left over. Planned at 0.20, it needs about 154 lb, so order the fourth box. A double-broadcast system uses about twice the flake per floor. Size other floors in the flake calculator.
Handle the boxes gently. The River Rocks look depends on whole chips reading as separate stones, and rough handling breaks chips into small particles that change the look of the finish. Pour all the boxes for the job into one clean container, leaving the fines in each box, break up any clumps by hand, and mix before you fill the broadcast pails.
