Stamped Concrete

Stamped concrete, also known as patterned concrete, or Stampcrete is a great way to provide more visual appeal than traditional concrete. We regularly pour stamped concrete patios, pool decks and pool surrounds, walkways and sidewalks, and even stamped concrete floors and driveways, but it can also be used on vertical surfaces like walls, columns, or fireplaces.

There is a wide array of designs that are available that include slate, flagstone, cobblestone, paver patterns like the European fan, herringbone, but also patterns that closely resemble wood planks once properly colored.

The process for stamped concrete starts as any concrete job does:

• First we prep the site through excavation and the compaction of the soil and stone where the concrete will be poured
• Forms are create to contain the concrete in the desired shape
• We then pour the concrete, level, and smooth it

However, that is where the similarities end. With stamped concrete, rather than finishing and curing the concrete, we place the stamps to imprint the concrete with the desired pattern. The concrete is then colored, sometimes in several different colors. For instance, if the pattern is to replicate the look of flagstone, we may use two or three colors, just as flagstone contains multiple colors. We then cure the concrete, cut reliefs, or control joints, so that we can control the cracking and splitting of the concrete.

As you may imagine, this is a specialty job that requires a team of skilled tradesmen that know what they are doing. Concrete doesn’t wait for you to have everything together. It begins curing and hardening as soon as it is mixed. We work hard and fast, and know when to use chemicals to retard the hardening, as well as how to get the best results with a good imprint and color.