Decorative Concrete Stamping
Stamped concrete is simple yet beautiful. It’s a fast and practical way of designing otherwise plain concrete flooring. Many people choose it for its fast application and inexpensive cost. It also doesn’t hurt that it adds value and curb appeal to your home. Stamped cement can be found on various indoor and outdoor floorings like lobbies, patios, sidewalks, basements, driveways, pool decks, stairs, showrooms, and home interiors.
Why stamped concrete?
Here are some facts and features of concrete stamped with patterns and color to help you decide if it’s the right surface for you:
- They’re durable.
Stamped cement lasts as long as other concrete slabs do: at least 25 years. They can be repaired, resealed, patched, or recolored if necessary. That’s more years than what tile or wood can give you.
- Stamped concrete costs are lower than the real thing.
Why settle for expensive material when you can have the ‘same thing’ for a fraction of the price? If your budget is a little tight, it makes more sense to imitate costly finishes like slate or pavers than to have the real thing. When done right, they look exactly the same. Most people can’t even tell the difference.
- Stamped cement is easier and faster to install
As opposed to tile or pavers, stamped cement takes less time to finish. Installing tile or pavers is more laborious especially for bigger projects, and that’s where the higher cost mainly comes from. Three to four hours after stamped concrete is sealed, you can start walking on it.
- They don’t become loose as pavers do
Even if both surfaces look the same, stamped concrete won’t become loose as pavers will. Wobbling pavers is often a problem because it’s a tripping hazard.
- More designs to choose from
One advantage stamped cement has over pavers is the wider choice of colors and designs. While pavers come in different shapes and colors, too, you will always have a wider selection of looks from decorative concrete stamping.
- It’s easy to maintain
Concrete stamped simply or elaborately are both easy to clean. You can use only a hose, some detergent, and a soft-bristled brush to remove rock slime or algae. Even without using a pressure washer, you can use the high-pressure setting from your garden hose to spray and clean away dirt.
A broom or a leaf blower can be good alternatives in removing dust and debris between the crevices without using any water, too.
Resealing stamped cement can be done every 4 to 5 years depending on the originally applied sealant you chose.
- You can get it on a budget.
If you like beautiful flooring without the high stamped concrete costs, then you can choose a saw cut and texture pattern with a single color. The design can coincide with the control joints and won’t look carelessly done if executed properly. Just choose a color that complements your home or building.
Concrete Stamped with Your Style
When you choose decorative concrete stamping for your project, you will have to choose a pattern and color. Since there are over a hundred patterns and color combinations you can go with, we’ve narrowed it down to several categories.
Stamped concrete can be made to look like different materials other than plain gray concrete. It can imitate wood, slate, tile, pavers, brick, and stone. You can also choose a texture from our catalog.
If you’re using decorative concrete stamping in your home, be bold. Gone are the days when the floors are done plain and smooth. You can have the warmth of weathered wood, or the modernness of glossy tile. Traditional homes can benefit from the expensive look of concrete stamped with cobblestone or slate designs. For showrooms, you can have concrete stamped with your logo at set intervals so customers will never forget your brand.
Patios are usually made to look wider. Good designs would be slate tiles or fractured earth.
Walkways are a joy to design as you can combine concrete stamped with pavers. Or you can combine rough and smooth elements to prevent slippage during wet weather. You can also blend in designs with landscape elements by doing a natural stone rock garden appearance.
And because Rochester Hills Concrete is a cut above the rest, we offer you the option of custom designing your own pattern. You can sketch or have it designed for us to see, or our draftsman can do colored renderings for you. We will provide you input on how it will look applied to your site and how it will blend with your existing building. Whether eye-catching or subtle, the goal is to always make sure that the final design is in harmony with its surroundings.
We can then build custom stamps or molds out of polyurethane to execute your design.
Get Your Free Stamped Concrete Quote Now!
One of the secrets to any concrete pouring is a good subgrade or subbase. A good tamped down base will help ensure that the soil underneath the slab does not erode, therefore avoiding concrete cracks.
We will then add integral color to the mix before the concrete is poured. This admixture ensures that the color of concrete is vivid and will not fade for a very long time even if the surface is overused, like in the case of driveways.
Another method, color hardener, can be done upon request. This type of color is applied after the concrete is poured, and penetrates 5 to 10mm of the surface.
A short while after the concrete has been poured, a release agent powder is applied on the surface. The purpose of this is to prevent the stamp from sticking to the concrete. It also gives that antiquing color to the final product since we usually utilize a darker color of a lighter base color. This is what primarily gives concrete the look of wood or stone.
Another form of the release agent is a liquid type, but we prefer the powder because of the final result. The powder form is also favorable to the weather we have.
Your design is now printed on top of the release agent using stamps. These are tamped on top of the drying concrete with 1/4” inch deep grooves. Because concrete sets quickly, Rochester Hills Concrete always has more than the minimum number of stamps per design for better coverage.
A whole day after the concrete is poured, the next step is to wash off the color release powder and cut the slab. Concrete is saw cut at even intervals to allow for expansion and shrinkage. This is because as the concrete dries, there is an amount of contraction to be accounted for. Without these cuts or control joints, slabs will be more prone to cracking.
Don’t worry whether the cuts will interfere with your design. They can be integrated into your preferred style per discussion with us beforehand.
After the concrete is thoroughly cleaned, it is sprayed with several thin layers of sealant. This is the final step in stamped cement making. At this point, you may notice the colors pop up and brought to life just like you originally planned. Some sealants may leave a high gloss sheen, while others are more subtle. There are also matte sealants if you prefer them. Sealants not just protect the concrete but provide much-needed slip resistance as well especially on pool decks, walkways, and driveways to keep both people and vehicles safe.
Because of the many choices in design and color, stamped concrete costs also vary widely. Of course, the easier the design is to install, the lower the price. Concrete stamped with more than one or two colors will, of course, be more expensive.
Basic stamped concrete costs can go as low as $10 per square foot. The most elaborate patterns that may employ hand designs can rival the cost of pavers at $25 per square foot.
We think it’s well worth it especially with the number of years you get to enjoy it.
If you’re looking for durable, well-built concrete stamped and sealed properly, look to the experts. Rochester Hills Concrete gives you quality concrete stamped and designed to your high expectations.
We provide only the best work to our clients because a great product and customer experience is the lifeblood of our company. It is our pride to be referred to by some well-known names in the state for residential, commercial, or industrial work.
We do not shy away from projects big or small and we treat all of them with the same care and meticulousness.
Give us a call today and find out how we can enhance your space with beautiful concrete stamped and sealed to last for years and years to come.
Talk To A Human
You're not going to hit a ridiculously long phone menu when you call us. Your email isn't going to the inbox abyss, never to be seen or heard from again. With Rochester Hills Concrete, we provide the exceptional service we'd want to experience ourselves!
Rochester Hills Concrete
(248) 609-1630
