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.

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’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.

If you like the look of stone, this might be the patio finish for you. While there are several stone stamps on the market this one is called Canyon Stone. The look of the surface imitates worn natural looking  stone. The pattern is an  irregular shape which makes it hard to pick up a repeating shape. We poured this patio over a year ago and the homeowner was gracious enough to send me this photo.  Going from memory, I believe the color is Hayfield with brown accents.  It is a beautiful patio and as you can see is large enough for a firepit, chairs and tables. Feel free to leave a note or contact me if you have any questions.

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.

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.

Do you want a spot for your cat or dog to lay? How about a nice border to go around your exotic plants? We can do that for you. We installed the edging to border the pavers, thereby keeping the pavers in place and keeping the mulch in the bed where it belongs. Oh, and it’s kind of hard to talk about the sitting bench on the wall with such a beautiful cat there. She just loves the smooth top and I would guess that the bench might be a little warmer than the air giving her a nice warm spot to lay. We have a myriad of colors to choose from for your concrete. We build your sitting wall to any shape, size or color you want.  This isn’t something store bought. It is all built by hand to your specific requirements  and finishes. Whether you choose pavers or concrete for your patio you can add to it with a sitting wall or concrete edging.

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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.

When I write my blogs I get carried away thinking that you have been reading my earlier posts. Well in most circumstances I do not think that is the case. Silly me for thinking that way.

So let me start out by explaning to you what we are illustrating. The sitting wall you see is 100% concrete. We begin by excavating below the frost line. Then,  the wall is formed up with plywood.  A bunch of re- bar is installed,  then the wall gets poured. The bench top is poured along with the wall using a color that the owner has chosen. How do you like the chipped stone edge? The edge is created with a form liner.  A molded piece is installed along the forms before pouring the concrete to create this. Let me mention an important step here and it may be the most important thing you do if you decide to attempt this yourself. Stripping the forms. The bench top is cantilevered over the wall. This is a very weak point in the concrete when the concrete is fresh. By fresh, I mean the concrete is not at full strength yet. It takes approx. 30 days for concrete to reach its full strength. Also when stripping the forms you want to make sure the forms actually “fall” or drop to the ground below. You do not want to apply any upward pressure on the cantilever while stripping the forms. It can create a crack. If it happens you don’t have to worry about the cantilever falling off, it will just be a visual thing.

The next step after stripping the forms is to install the rocks. My rocks are concrete and I apply them with a trowel. The concrete is mixed in a five gallon bucket and is plastic enough to apply at approx. 3/4 to  inch thick. After it hardens to a certain point I then carve the rocks to there shape. Now the fun begins! Transforming the gray concrete into colored stones.