We do one thing, and we do all of it: seamless concrete surfaces with a stamped finish. Below you will find where it pays off, how the build-up works and what care to expect afterwards.
The surface that has to take the most punishment. A continuously reinforced concrete slab spreads the wheel load evenly instead of passing it to individual pavers — which is why stamped concrete driveways stay level for years, where interlocking pavers develop ruts.
No joint cross under the chair leg, no edge to catch your foot on. For patios many customers choose the timber look — the texture of a plank, but without splinters, oiling and sanding.
Narrow paths are the worst weed problem with interlocking pavers: a lot of joint on very little area. Stamped concrete turns them into one continuous surface you can deal with using a broom. On request we set the edging in a second colour.
Two things matter around a pool: the surface must not turn into a slide when wet, and it has to cope with chlorinated water. Both are controlled through the texture and the sealer — raise it with us at the appointment.
In a tight courtyard every joint is visible and every step is in the way. One continuous surface in a slate or broken-stone texture makes the yard look bigger, because the eye sees no grid.
For workshops, practices and small businesses: a surface that takes delivery traffic and still looks like an entrance rather than a car park. We are happy to price larger areas after a site visit.
Stamped concrete is not a covering laid over something existing, it is a new slab. The sequence is always the same; the dimensions follow the use — a patio needs a different build-up from a driveway a delivery van turns on.
We determine the exact thickness, concrete grade and reinforcement after the site visit and put them in the quotation.
Day to day, a broom and water are enough. You can use a pressure washer without worry — the sealer stands up to the jet.
One thing you must not use: road salt. Salt attacks the sealer and shortens the life of the surface considerably. Clear snow in winter with a shovel or broom. If you have to grit, use chippings, sand or gravel — no salt and no salt-based de-icers.
The sealer is the wearing part of the surface. Depending on load and sunlight it will go dull at some point — then it is refreshed, rather than the surface being replaced.
The ground has just been filled. Soil that is still settling will give way later — and a continuous concrete slab cracks if it has to move with it. In a case like that we would rather wait a season until the ground has come to rest.
Services are to be laid under the surface later. A closed slab has to be cut open for that — considerably more work than lifting a few rows of interlocking pavers. If you are planning something like this, tell us beforehand.
Surfaces that have gone dull are cleaned and resealed — the colour comes back, the pattern stays. The concrete underneath is not touched. That is exactly why a surface like this lasts for years: what wears is the sealer, and the sealer can be renewed.
After several years of sun and rain the surface had faded and gone flat. After cleaning and a new sealer the warm tone is back, with visible depth in the texture.
The same path, the same stamping — only the sealer is new. The terracotta tone is rich again and the joint pattern stands out clearly.
A heavily used driveway with a circular fan pattern. After resealing the surface has back the soft sheen that tells you the sealer is intact.
By this soft, even sheen. It shows the sealer is closed, so water, oil and dirt never reach the concrete in the first place. If the sheen fades after some years, the surface is not replaced — it is resealed, and it looks like this again.
Consultation, measuring and quotation are free and without obligation. Give us a call or drop us a line about what you have in mind.
