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.

It’s just a small portion of the patio that you can see, but most importantly look at the beautiful yard you see from a beautiful patio. The patio is Ashlar slate stamp. Charcoal on Charcoal. We used a running bond brick border to tie it all together. After reviewing my pictures I thought to myself, why just show the patio? This is what the homeowner sees when they step out on their stamped patio. Oh and by the way, they absolutely love their new stamped patio.

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.

Stamped Concrete Patio

Basically it’s gray on gray. It’s a very popular color combination. It looks natural and the highlights of the dark gray release become part of the ashlar slate.  This all started with a blank slate. The owners steps came down to the Earth like so many do. They wanted a change.  This is what we came up with. I really like the way they have decorated the patio. The different colored chairs and tables contrast well with the color of the patio. That is a nice way to dress up a wooden fence too. Hanging baskets and plant stands.This stamp is our most popular and has been requested a lot. It is called Random Ashlar Slate. Thank You to my customer for sending me this picture. It really looks nice!

We did this stamped sidewalk this week. The concrete is so fresh that the colors have not come into play yet. This is a light gray integral colored concrete with a medium/dark release. I have something to confess. I have a hard time getting back to our jobs and take a finished photo. Oh, I wish I had more time to do this, but the truth be known I don’t. Or lets put it this way, I have not made the time that I should. All the photos you see here in my blog or on my site is my work and I have gone back to these projects to get pictures. Most of my projects need  time to make the best photos and I have many more out there that I have not gone back to see the finished project. The finished project to me are the plantings, grass, pot tings and so forth. The photo above is the day after we finished pouring. The colors are still not correct. The concrete will lighten quite a bit yet and than you will be able to see the different shades and gradients. It still looks nice and the homeowner loves it, but give it a little time and it will look even nicer.

Did you know that concrete has air in it? Certain kinds of concrete have more than others. Interior concrete has air in it just from the natural churning and turning from the drum. Exterior concrete has air added to it by the concrete company. You only want so much though, because too much air can make the concrete weak and very hard to finish. Why do they put air in concrete? It’s a way to keep your concrete from freezing in the winter and popping or flaking off. You see concrete will absorb moisture and therefore when it gets below freezing the moisture will freeze in the concrete. That is where the air comes in. The air in the concrete has formed small bubbles throughout the concrete. When the water freezes in the concrete and expands the air bubbles give the ice a place to go. Any way I thought you might be interested. So the next time you do a concrete project ask the guy who is estimating your project if the concrete has air in it. If so, ask him why and see what he says.

You would never know looking at it now. I should of taken a picture of the old driveway that was here. We tear out a lot of driveways. Some are asphalt and some are concrete. Then we pour them back how you want it. This customer wanted a medallion centered on the garage door. We poured the driveway using a light colored gray concrete and a deep charcoal color for the medallion. We textured and scored the medallion. It  has a textured/look of an old millstone if you have ever seen one of those. Our customer wanted a broom finish on the remainder of the driveway, as you see here. If you have an old driveway that needs replacing or a gravel driveway and want it poured with new concrete please give me a call for a free estimate.

It was a beautiful day to take a picture. We had finished this curb just a few days earlier. Before posting the photograph this  morning I went to my editing program to re-size  the picture. I have always thought the picture was awesome with the landscape, color and all. Take a closer look. Look at the left side of the cart path. It’s not finished. This photo serves as, what I call, a side by side photograph all in itself. Look at the way the grass finishes up so nicely on the curb side versus the uncurbed. Not only  is it neater and easier to maintain, the concrete edging masks the disintegrating edges of the asphalt . I run into this a lot when we do driveways. I guess the asphalt is installed  thin on the edges or the vegetation was not removed before laying the driveway. The 4×6 curb whether it’s colored or natural works very well in these situations. As you can see here it has a function and looks nice too boot.

 I wanted to add another photo as to follow up on last weeks blog. This is another example of the concrete edging complimenting the landscape. This homeowner has some beautiful beds, but was having problems with  the grass creeping in the bed and the mulch escaping. With beds this nice the homeowners did not want anything to stick out like a sore thumb. Well that fits right into my philosophy. The homeowner and I agreed 100%. Therefore I proposed the mower style edging in charcoal as you see here. It matched up real well with the existing flagstone and I always like to use charcoal for its neutrality. It is a beautiful yard and home.

We can work together. As you can see in the photo there are two types of curbing. One red and one charcoal. If done properly the curbing blends in with the rest of the landscape. That is my goal when I install it for you. It should not stand out. I want it to work for you as a function of your landscape. Here the charcoal edging lines the driveway keeping the stone out of the grass and makes everything real neat. In the bed on the left the edging is a little more fancy, but still does not stand out, because it fits in with the bed design. Of course the function for the curbing there is to keep the mulch out of the grass. Both edgings will also reduce the amount of weed whacking that is required. The curbing can be used to run your lawnmower wheel on. Please keep in mind that the curbing does not eliminate weed whacking altogether, but it can reduce the amount of weed whacking.

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