Stamped concrete

Wow!! I Loved doing this project. Working with an experienced contractor, and I want to plug him here, James River Construction. Not only do they go out of their way to satisfy the homeowner, the owner of the company is great too.

But as always the project does not come down to just the contractors. The homeowners had an idea of what they wanted the final product to look like. I sat down with her and discussed what she was looking for and of course colors and details. Everything was pre planned before we started. The lay-out, colors, textures, stamping and saw cutting was all figured out before the first bit of concrete hit the ground.

We formed the porch and steps first. We used a chipped edge molding finish. The porch had a broomed border as the steps were finished the same way. Inside the border we used a slate texture (many to choose from). We than proceeded to pour the patio and sidewalk using the same colors and textures. Upon completing we saw cut the lines you see here. The saw cutting accomplishes two things. A design criteria and control joints. If you read my blog from January 2012, you will understand this concept a little better. Upon completion we sealed everything  and in the sealer we mixed a traction control product.

As you can see from the picture, it is a beautiful porch and steps. One thing works with the other. The design of the porch and all the finishes the homeowner chose and the craftmanship of all the workers comes into play. Please allow us to be a part of your next project. Give us a call or better yet, send me an email from my contact information and I will get right back with you.

I hate to start a post for the new year with this question. Do you guarantee my concrete not to crack? The quick answer is “no”. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but to my knowledge no one has figured it out yet. Believe it or not there are several types of cracks. Shrinkage, settlement and movement cracks are the most common. When I look at concrete and see a crack I can generally tell why it is cracked. Oh, by the way, I borrowed this picture off the web. I had to, cuz my concrete does not crack. Just kidding!

What we try to do is eliminate random cracking. We cut the slab in strategic areas as to weaken the concrete, so hopefully it will crack at the that point. It  works rather well. This is what we call a control crack. This is different than an expansion crack. If your project is large enough we will install expansion joints (cracks) and in between the expansion joints we install control joints (cracks). We have installed many projects and so far in eleven years we have not had any call backs or repairs for any types of cracks. I always discuss with my customers as to what we do trying to eliminate random cracking.

I hope this blog enlightens you a little bit to concrete cracking. There are many articles on the web, so I don’t believe I need to break it all down here.  Don’t despair, and do not let it discourage you from your concrete project. The first step is already figured out, we recognize it. We will design your project using our knowledge and understanding to eliminate or reduce cracking.

 Concrete is a wonderful thing. It’s beautiful and gives you a solid base for many years. Whether it’s a driveway, patio or sidewalk. Concreteis still the best product to use. Nine times out of ten  concrete will be less expensive then pavers. And when concrete is  done correctly, (like we do),  itwill not sink, separate and grow grass and weeds like pavers. Give us a call and let me help you with designing your project.

We stamped this driveway in Richmond Virginia in Henrico County. First we tore out the existing asphalt and then graded to four inches. The concrete is colored with a charcoal integral color. The release agent is a darker charcoal and of course the stamp is cobblestone. Finally we sealed it with a 30% solid solvent based sealer. We formed the far edge at a slightly higher elevation than the driveway to compensate for the homeowners flower bed.

Stamped concrete and patios go together like bacon and eggs. You can choose your color, your stamp, and borders if you like. Patios can get a little complex on hillsides. Retaining walls and steps can add costs to your patio. What we did here, is try and keep it as simple as possible without wasting space and dollars. At the top we built a small wall to retain the earth. Then for the upper patio we kept it “small, but usable, for a grill and a couple of chairs. The remainder and the larger portion of the patio is one step down. The size is big enough for a table and chairs, outdoor couch, umbrellas and even a fire pit. Working with the homeowner and getting what they want is my goal for every job we do. Give us a call or send me an email . You can even comment here, to this blog if you like. I would like to help get you started on your project.<.p>

I try to take good pictures for my blogs. Keep in mind, I enjoy photography and shooting, but I have to shoot 10 to get 1. This patio was done about 3 months ago. The homeowner chose the Ashlar Slate pattern. The pattern and color really fit in well with their house and lay out. One thing that comes to mind when looking at the picture again, is the drainage. Waaaay back in that corner we had to get the water out. There was not a lot of grade to play with, but my guys are very accurate to make sure the drainage worked. So we have another customer that is happy with a beautiful patio and last but not least no drainage issues.

This is a follow up to my blog from last month (Read it here) where I took a close up picture of the cobblestone patio. As you can see this is a two color stamp job. The secondary color is the color you can see in the crevices and indentations that the cobblestone stamp creates.

I like the stamps that we use, they have realistic textures and are top notch. There are a ton of stamps on the market. You could actually make them in your garage or back yard. With a little research on the internet you can get the “recipe” to make stamps. W use quality products in all of our stamp projects, from the color to the stamps and the sealers.

The old saying definitely applies here, “you get what you pay for.” Please give us a call for a free estimate.

I think this is a pretty good combination. We used the running bond brick as the border and the cobble in the field. Colors are Hayfield with a “brown” release. The brick matches the release color.

Cobble is kind of a busy pattern as is the brick, but the combination of the two breaks up the business. There are numerous patterns and colors to choose from. Sometimes it is very difficult to choose on your own. Give us a call, I would be more then happy to work with you on your design.

London cobble apron with a broomed driveway body. The color is Hayfield with brown accents. The broomed driveway is done in hayfield also.

What I like about this driveway is that it goes very nice with the house. The color, style and finish. It’s not too much yet seems like just enough.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me. Allow me to help you design your your project.

This brick stamped sidewalk fits in very well. We changed up the colors and finish from the patio, but it still works. A lot of times I will suggest to change things up a bit. When you have a large patio area it does not hurt the look of the whole job to add something different. We added a small area on the edge of the sidewalk for a chipping area. Over in the corner of the yard is a “green” they chip to. I hope you enjoy the time lapse of this stamped sidewalk installation. Please send me any comments or questions you might have.

It all starts with planning and communication. You can see that in the photo. It’s beautiful. This does not happen by wishing of course. It is a matter of sitting down with the homeowners and getting ideas and interchanging thoughts.

The photo is a follow up of an earlier post we shot while the patio was under construction. The process was to pour the footings first. We then were able to lay the block. After the block was laid we formed and poured the block along with the sitting bench. With the walls up and poured this allows us to back fill the areas with stone and pouring of the stamped concrete. Then the stone is applied to the walls.

The sitting wall was formed using a chipped stone edge form. The upper patio is poured using a large slate stamp and for the lower area we used a salt texture and saw cut diagonally approx. 4′ on center. The transition height from the upper to the lower patio is about twenty inches.

I Love it when a plan comes together. As you can see in the photos there is a void between the patio and the shed. Well the homeowner makes at least one trip a day to his shed and this area is just begging for a sidewalk. No ordinary sidewalk either. First we ordered a load of stone and dirt. We used the dirt to fill in the low spots in the yard and used the stone for fill under the sidewalk. Then we installed some 2 x 4 forms. The concrete is then poured with color. After we get the concrete smooth and hardens just enough, we cover the sidewalk with release. Release does two things for us. It keeps the stamps from sticking to the concrete and also adds a second color into the finished product. The stamped we used is called a running bond brick stamp. Before you know it, it’s all done. The area off to the right with the artifical grass is now being used as a chipping platform. At least that was the intended use. The dog may have other ideas. Give us a call, we would Love to do this for you.

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You may not be able to make it out in the picture on the left. It’s a mess. That is why we have jobs. We know how to fix and repair concrete. We tore out all the loose material on top of the original steps and look at the mess. On the right you can see what we did. We used a lot of elbow grease and rebar. Colored the concrete with a light gray and stamped the top with a slate texture and broomed border. We used a blue release and from what the owner tells me it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to see the final product and share it with you.

I wanted to post this picture so you can get a better view of stamped concrete. This is a large slate pattern. As you can see the texture is pretty realistic. I remember that we decided to use a light color release so as to not have very dark grout lines and gradients. Being that this is a real picture it shows you how the grout lines and indentations pick up darkness just from the environmental conditions. Hopefully this may help you make your decisions a little easier when you choose the colors for your stamped project.

I can almost with a fact tell you that stamped concrete is less expensive than pavers. I do know a little about the cost of pavers, but being that concrete is my business there may be someone out there that will tell me hogwash, this, that and the other. I just got off the phone with a paver supplier. I priced a 15 x 20 patio and 4 x 20 walkway. One 4 x 1 step and a 4 foot fire pit. Total cost of the pavers including the options of step and fire pit totals approx. $2,100. The material alone costs $4.34 sf. By the time you add in the labor, stone and sand base with the edging and nails and you would be at the higher end of an expensive stamped patio like the one you see above. Any advantages or disadvantages? I believe when it gets all said and done it all comes down to personal taste and design. I am not going to get into the paver vs. concrete war on this post. The final decision is made by you and I believe for the money you can not beat stamped concrete for the price.

What is old is new. That is said quite often for clothes or architectural designs among other things. The same can be said for concrete finishes. I don’t know how many of you have seen or even noticed concrete that looked like this. Being that I am a concrete guy and am always observing concrete finishes, I have seen it. This is stamped concrete made to look like rock salt finish. Believe it or not what they use to  float rock salt into the top of concrete. The next day moisture is applied to the concrete and the rock salt dissolves leaving all the little holes.   In the old days you would not have colored concrete and decorative saw cuts, it would of remained the natural color of concrete.  The concrete in the picture has been colored  and with release added for a secondary effect. You really can’t see it here but the saw cuts are on a diagonal to the structure it is next to. This finish works now just as it did in the good old days.