Stamped Concrete is a unique way to achieve the look of brick, stone or other natural building material. Decorative concrete is becoming very popular among home owners in Pleasanton and surrounding areas. With so many patterns and textures to choose from, you can make your house stand out from the rest by using Stamped Concrete.
Decorative stamped concrete is a beautiful alternative to plain concrete. Surprisingly it is also an economical choice over stone or concrete pavers.
Your stamped concrete or stained concrete project is best left to the professionals. This type of skilled trade takes years of experience to give you a predictable outcome. And trust me; once your concrete sets up, it’s too late to be unhappy.
Your involvement in a successful stamped concrete project should be restricted to research, advance planning and preparation to decide what the right look is for your home. Even preparing your grade, building the forms, estimating the amount, pouring and placing the concrete is better done only by an experienced crew. If your sidewalk forms burst apart or you forget to reinforce concrete with mesh so your slab is faulty, any money you thought you saved is wasted on a poor installation.
Working with concrete is hard work. Pleasanton concrete contractors have an entire crew ready to take the critical steps needed.
Today’s imprinting tools are usually made of a urethane rubber compound. Back in the day, contractors used steel and then aluminum “cookie cutter” stamps. Cumbersome and heavy to work with, you were also restricted to small aggregate (rock size) in your mix. Failing that, the “cuts” made in the stamped concrete looked unrealistic. The stamps were driven down into top surface leaving a cut like a jointing tool does.
Today you can choose from the look of bricks, wood, stone, slate or even animal tracks for fun around a patio or pool.
If you missed the opportunity to have stamped concrete or stained concrete, while the material was still wet, or you want to update your concrete surfaces in your existing home, there are solutions. Using modern polymer modified concrete mixes you can top coat the old surface and stamp or stain that new material.
Benefits of Stamped Concrete Against Your Other Options
Concrete survives: All things being equal, your concrete surfaces survive weather changes better than other materials.
You’ll not have to annually re-coat using thick black tar like asphalt requires.
Asphalt is often only two inches thick as opposed to concrete’s four, not including gravel grading and mesh.
Stamping or staining concrete textures the surface at a fraction of the cost of paver stone or bricks.
You’ll never have to reset concrete like broken, shifting pavers.
Setting pavers properly takes a minimum of twice as long as placing concrete and costs twice as much.
You’ll eliminate re-sanding or weeding joints in pavers.
Form your concrete edges to sweep along gracefully through your property. The notched or ‘stepped’ edges of a paver curve look amateurish.
Match or contrast with your exterior house body or trim colors.
Make your home unique to your neighborhood by choosing the patterns and stain or die colors others don’t have.
Improve the look and value of your home with a relatively inexpensive upgrade like stamped concrete or stained concrete.
With no wood in ground you’ll never have to deal with splinters, rot or termites. On ground concrete is more environmentally friendly than wooden patios or decks.
All flat surfaces can be slippery when wet, but the texture of the stamped surface remains safer to walk on. Spray on texturing can be added when the sealer is applied. You’ll enjoy a safer non-slip surface.
