Stamped concrete involves pouring slab concrete for driveways, walkways, patios, etc., and then impressing both patterns and textures onto the concrete before it is fully dry.

For many years, a lesser form of stamped concrete was often seen that merely duplicated patterns. But the newer types of stamped concrete impart textures that duplicate many different surfaces such as cobblestones, brick, pavers, wood, seashells, and more. Also, pigment is usually added to stamped concrete to further duplicate the look of such patterns.

Stampco Decorative Concrete hasvarious systems for repairing and restoring concrete surfaces and structures, including a crack repair system, that, collectively, has evolved into a variety of decorative coatings and patterns for pool decks, patios, driveways, garage floors as well as heavy-duty industrial applications for warehouse floors and parking garages. However as a general rule if the crack in your concrete is thicker then a a credit card you may want to consider a stamped concrete option.

Decorative concrete overlays are a much more cost effective way to create value and beauty inside or outside of your home. Because the overlay goes over existing concrete there is no expensive tear-out, grading, or excavation.

Again, installed by experienced craftsmen, stamped concrete is more durable and will last longer than any other type of masonry installation! Whereas traditional pavers and cobblestone settle unevenly during the freeze/thaw cycle of winter, stamped concrete is reinforced with 3/8” steel reinforcing rods placed 24” on-center-each-way, right in the middle of the concrete.

This steel reinforcement gives the concrete the necessary tensile strength to resist the constant heaving produced by the freezing and thawing of the ground. Stamped concrete is also better than pavers and cobblestone in the Spring and Summer.

Pavers and cobblestones are susceptible to joint deterioration if sand is not constantly brushed into all the joints. This joint deterioration results in ant hills, growth of unsightly grass and weeds and produces dangerous tripping hazards when the individual pavers settle unevenly.

Stamped concrete is one monolithic placement of concrete eliminating full depth joints thus no ant hills or weeds to worry about! Salt eats ALL types of masonry installations including concrete. During the winter, use sand only.

A form of today’s stamped concrete was originated on the West coast back in the 1960’s. The stamp concrete tools back then were made of metal and resembled “cookie cutters”. They produced a pattern, but did not provide any texture. Today’s tools are rigid mats made of polyurethane that produce authentic textured patterns of stone, brick and even wood planking and fossilized sea-life!

When stamped concrete is installed by experienced craftsmen, brick masons with 25 years of experience can’t tell the difference between stamped concrete and real brick or stone.

Cleaning and sealing stamped and colored concrete should be done on a regular basis just like any other home maintenance. The frequency will depend on how high a traffic area to cars, foot traffic, water, and any chemicals the concrete is exposed to. We use the very best in acid staining and sealing materials, which resists fade much better than most others.

We hear nightmare stories from homeowners about how their driveway started off brown, then gradually faded into a pink color. This is due to the fact that the contractor did not use integral colored concrete, which is mixed inside the cement truck. Quality control is very difficult to maintain with integral concrete, that's why we USE COLOR HARDENERS! Only on rare occasions is it necessary to use integral concrete.

Resealing is a personal preference. It depends on how high of sheen you like. We recommend resealing every 2 or 3 years. But just like waxing a car, reseal your stamped concrete and the color will be as vibrant as the day it was installed.
We use an innovative technology to minimize resealing. We use a Cure & Seal on the first application and a Tuff Chem Seal for final coat.

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To avoid any irregular shifting steel rebar is installed and control joints are strategically placed in the concrete. All concrete cracks due to the shrinkage; however these cracks will occur in the control joints and will go unnoticed. If a crack is wider that 1/8” that would be a warranty situation and the repair work would be covered.

Most projects will be ready for use within one week of the start date. Suggested wait time for foot traffic is 2 days after the concrete has been poured, and 7days later for any vehicle traffic.