Decorative/Stamped Concrete?

[puffkin]

We are thinking about putting in a patio in the next year or two and I am exploring options. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with decorative concrete. Is it an easy installation process, does it look nice and are the costs reasonable?

We have ruled out a deck because our house sits too low to the ground (I think they look funny when they are built right on the ground). Paver blocks are nice, but very expensive and then you have to worry about them settling and things like that. And a concrete slab probably is the most economical, but I don't really like that look. Any experience/insight is appreciated.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Decorative, as in stamped? Yep, I know a number of people who have done stamped concrete patios and they all love them (and they look great too ). From what I understand, the price is pretty economical, especially compared to the expense of pavers and other choices.

 

[puffkin]

Decorative, as in stamped? Yep, I know a number of people who have done stamped concrete patios and they all love them (and they look great too ). From what I understand, the price is pretty economical, especially compared to the expense of pavers and other choices.

Yes, I wasn't sure what to call it other than decorative. I guess stamped would be the same thing, where it kind of looks like pavers but is really a solid slab (kind of like what Disney does a lot in the parks/resorts). Thanks for this info!

 

[elizke]

We have aggregate concrete, where the concrete is mixed with stones. I like it alot. At our last house we had plain concrete and it showed stains and cracks too easily.

What does stamped concrete look like? It sounds nice. I'll have to google....

 

[GoofyDad869]

There's also a wide variety of stained / colored concretes. I'm an architect and I've used stamped and stained concrete in a variety of projects - works very well if it's a quality installation.

 

[BeckWhy]

I don't have any experience with it, I am sorry. But I have seen a really cool walkway that I'd like to share with you (I can't imagine the costs of it though). It was concrete but on the top was like crushed marbles. It was very pretty, but hurt really badly if you walked in your bare feet.

I will try and remember and ask my boyfriend, since they have decorative concrete (well I think its decorative) on their back patio. It looks like flat stone or something.

 

[Crankyshank]

We looked into doing it ourselves and found the cost to be a lot higher than a stone patio because of the cost of materials. I do know people who had it professionally done and it was cheaper than having pavers and it looks really nice.

We wound up going for a wood deck because of possible drainage issues.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Our friends have decorative concrete. It looks beautiful and they said it was more economical than a deck would have been.

The only problem is that they got sort of a glossy stain on it, and it is very slippery when it gets wet. So be careful of that.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Love our concrete patio. We had the design placed on a slant, and it looks really nice. My neighbor has it for his circular driveway and looks very classy.

Very low maintenance (about $1.00/ft professionally to seal or you DIY for about $150.00), looks wonderful, no weeds coming through and it doesn't shift like pavers and fieldstone/flagstone. Also, we saved about 80% using concrete instead of flagstone.

 

[ZuZugal]

We priced both the stamped concrete and pavers for our backyard patio, and the pavers came in as less expensive, even with a special design. They also do not have that "slippery" factor. We've been very happy with how it looks and the way it has held up. You do have more choices with the concrete as far as styles/designs though.

 

[vsimeone]

We put in a stamped concrete patio last year. I'll try to run out and take a picture in a bit. We didn't compare other options because we knew this is what we wanted. It was reasonable. I know we need to reseal it every couple of years to keep it looking nice but we've been thrilled with it so far!

 

[Darian]

The stamped/colored concrete looks great when first installed. There are a lot of custom finishes available too that look amazing. My concern is over the finish's longevity. Particularly the wear which occurs on the "high traffic" areas. If the coloring is mixed with the concrete when the slab is poured it will generally last for years and traffic wear shouldn't be too much of a problem. But those painted on glossy finished age poorly, especially in sunny warm climates. Our neighbor had a patio and some walks put in that were finished like that... very pretty when first installed. After two years the gloss was gone, the colors faded and it looked terrible. Maybe it was just a bad installation. But even at Disney they are replacing the colored concrete with pavers for that very reason. There are alternatives:

Sorry to be the wet blanket. We are having a patio installed in a couple weeks. It will start life as a plain old gray slab. After it "settles" and ages, we will pave it with a thin 3/8" layer of limestone. Those tiles are a lot lighter than the full 3" thick ones and are a zillion dollars cheaper. Easy to install as well. If you do that be sure to use the correct outdoor concrete adhesive and not the indoor stuff. Otherwise your tiles will "pop off" the slab when it gets cold. We have snow and ice here in Colorado so that would be a major boo-boo & mess if we did that.

 

[Darian]

We put in a stamped concrete patio last year. I'll try to run out and take a picture in a bit. We didn't compare other options because we knew this is what we wanted. It was reasonable. I know we need to reseal it every couple of years to keep it looking nice but we've been thrilled with it so far!

Ahhh yes. Maybe that is what my old neighbors forgot to do! Perhaps thats the reason their patio turned shabby. Resealing every couple years isn't a big deal. If that solves the longevity issue then that might be the way to go.

Say vsimeone, what kind of climate do you have? Do you get snow and ice and all that stuff during winter like we do in Colorado? Did they paint on a final finish to your patio?

 

[vsimeone]

Ok, just ran out to take a couple pictures:

Hope you can get an idea from these.

Darian... We live in NE Ohio so we get plenty of snow and ice! I know around here they aren't recommending the stamping for driveways because apparently the salt from the roads that sticks on your tires will eat away at the concrete. We obviously don't use our patio during the winter so there is no salt being applied there!

The color is mixed into the concrete before they pour it so no, it's not painted on. The clear sealer is rolled on the top when it dries and I know we are supposed to have that re-applied at some point to keep it sealed.

Hope that helps!

 

[puffkin]

Thanks for the info about the painted on finishes. I double checked, and the one company I am looking at mixes the color in with the concrete, so it doesn't look like the fading will be as big of an issue. They still recommend the sealing though, which doesn't look too bad or expensive.

Here is the link if anyone is interested:
http://www.decocrete.biz/index.htm

 

[puffkin]

Hope you can get an idea from these.

Darian... We live in NE Ohio so we get plenty of snow and ice! I know around here they aren't recommending the stamping for driveways because apparently the salt from the roads that sticks on your tires will eat away at the concrete. We obviously don't use our patio during the winter so there is no salt being applied there!

The color is mixed into the concrete before they pour it so no, it's not painted on. The clear sealer is rolled on the top when it dries and I know we are supposed to have that re-applied at some point to keep it sealed.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the pictures! That is actually very close to the pattern and color I was thinking of. If you don't mind, could you share the approx. costs. I know things probably cost different here in PA, but I would love to have at least a frame of reference. It is a beautiful patio!

 

[missypie]

We met with the concrete guy last week and our patio was poured today (as part of a pool project.)

There are three types:

1. Mixing color with the concrete. The guy said that this fades/changes color fastest.

2. Putting the color on later. The issue is that the concrete has to cure for 30 days before you can add the color.

3. Something called "dry seal" which is sprayed on within a couple of days after pouring, is supposed to be the most durable, and the concrete stays cooler.

#2 and #3 should be re-sprayed about every 5 years.

On #1 and 2, they use stamps. On #3 they use stencils.

Call a concrete guy. He can bring out samples and brochures and explain your options much better than I have.

 

[texasthree]

My sister is having a stamped patio put in tomorow and its very expensive. They went with the most resonable estimate and they are paying $5000 for 18'x21'
Maybe its cheaper in certain areas?

 

[puffkin]

My sister is having a stamped patio put in tomorow and its very expensive. They went with the most resonable estimate and they are paying $5000 for 18'x21'
Maybe its cheaper in certain areas?

Actually that sounds fairly reasonable....We had friends put in paver patio and I would estimate it is smaller than that and they paid $7000 just for materials, they installed it themselves. I also know another couple who put in a trex deck and they were quoted between $6,000 and $8,000 for a 10' x 14' deck.

 

[Crankyshank]

Actually that sounds fairly reasonable....We had friends put in paver patio and I would estimate it is smaller than that and they paid $7000 just for materials, they installed it themselves. I also know another couple who put in a trex deck and they were quoted between $6,000 and $8,000 for a 10' x 14' deck.

That's awfully high. We were going to do a 12x12 paver patio ourselves and it was going to cost us about a thousand dollars. Our 16x16 pressure treated deck is costing us about $1500 for all materials (including cement for a pond)
To have the stamped concrete patio done ourselves would have been $1700

ETA to have a paver patio done professionally would have been $4000