Stamped concrete is patterned and/or textured or embossed concrete that resembles brick, slate, flagstone, stone, tile, wood, and various other patterns and textures. For patios, sidewalks, driveways, pool decks, and interior flooring, stamped concrete is widely used. Imprinted concrete's potential to mimic other building materials makes stamped concrete a less costly alternative to using those other real materials such as mortar, slate or brick.
For stamped concrete there are three procedures that distinguish it from other concrete procedures; the application of a base color, the introduction of an accent color and the stamping of a pattern into concrete. All three methods include stamped concrete with a similar color and shape to the natural construction material. It is also longer-lasting than paved concrete, and still looks similar.
Imprinted Concrete Methods
Adding base color
The basic color used in stamped concrete is the primary colour. The base color is chosen to reflect natural building material colour. A paint hardener is applied to the concrete to give the base color. Color hardener is a pigment which is used to color concrete.
The hardener color can be applied using one of two methods; integral color or cast-on paint. Integral color is the procedure where the base color is dyed to the entire volume of concrete. When applying the color hardener to the concrete truck, the entire volume of concrete is colored, causing all the concrete in the truck to be painted. Cast-on paint is the process where the base color is applied to the surface of the concrete. The concrete surface is colored by spreading the color hardener over the wet concrete surface and by floating the powder into the wet concrete's top layer.
Concrete can be colored in many ways; hardener of colour, component liquid or powder, stains of acid to name a few. The method of integrally coloring the concrete provides the benefit of coloring the entire volume; however, as with the use of paint hardener, the surface resistance is not improved. Another popular way to color concrete is by dry shake color hardener. So soon as it is first floating, you distribute the hardener on the concrete. You float and trowel it in, after letting the bleed water soak into the hardener. This method covers only about 3/16 of an inch of surface but gives the concrete surface a longer wear life.
Using accent color
The secondary color used in painted concrete is the accent colour. The secondary color is used in the stamped concrete to create texture and show additional building materials (eg grout). Applying color release to the concrete creates the accent colour. Color release has two functions-1) it is a dye used to paint the concrete and 2) it is a non-adhesive used to keep concrete stamps from sticking to the concrete.
The color release can be applied in one of two processes, depending on the two ways in which it is produced: powdered (cast-on color release consisting of calcium-releasing powders that repel water); or liquid-a light aromatic-based solvent, spray-on color release. Cast-on color release is a process where the powder color release is applied by spreading the color release on the concrete surface before it is coated with concrete. Spray-on color release is a process where liquid color release is sprayed on the concrete stamps at the bottom before stamping the concrete.
Stamping patterns
The pattern is the shape of the stamped concrete surface. The design represents the form of the natural material for the building. The template is made by printing the concrete with a "concrete stamp" shortly after it has been poured Most current concrete stamps are made of polyurethane but older stamps of the "cookie cutter" type were made of different metals. The old style stamps lacked the capabilities to mold the texture of natural stone.
Concrete stamping is the procedure which makes the pattern in the stamped concrete using the concrete stamps. After the color release has been applied, concrete stamps are placed on the concrete. The concrete stamps are driven into the concrete and then cut in the stamped concrete to keep the pattern in.
Concrete stamping is usually made to look like ordinary building products like flagstone, brick, natural stone, etc. 4. History Stamping concrete grew in popularity in the 1970s, when it was first introduced to the Concrete World. Builders saw it as a new way to satisfy the customer and make their budget work simultaneously. This concrete stamping technique has been used since at least the 1950s. Once concrete was first poured there were very few style and color options. But as the industry expanded more stamping patterns were produced along with many different stain types. Another advantage to using stamped concrete is that it can be applied to many different surfaces and textures, such as driveways, highways, patios, decks, and even floors inside the home.
What to Consider When Installing Imprinted Concrete Driveways
Imprinted concrete driveways are an extremely popular choice for driveways up and down the country as increasing numbers of homeowners are seeing the product benefit. Impressed concrete driveways are very aesthetically pleasing, but they are also very hardwearing and long lasting. There are a couple of things to consider when you have your new imprinted concrete driveway and you should pay close attention to that.
What are A New Driveway's Main Profits? The Print Quality You need to ensure your print quality is up to standard. Since fresh concrete is used instead of concrete paving blocks or stone cobbles, you have a few factors to consider. Warm weather will cause premature setting of the concrete which means you won't be able to obtain a high quality, accurate print. It's also important to have enough printing mats and to be able to work quickly to ensure print quality.
What are A New Driveway's Main Profits? Ensuring Durability Imprinted concrete driveways should be the test of time, but only if it is correctly built right from the start. The combination of asphalt, the subsoil, thickness and compaction all come into play and may or may not be the difference between being able to cope with daily foot and vehicle traffic on your driveway.
What are A New Driveway's Main Profits? Keeping the Color Consistent Everyone wants their driveway to look great and a huge part of having an attractive looking driveway ensures consistent color throughout. You will need an appropriate surface hardener and release agent for this function. Clearly you need to increase the percentage of color surface hardener that you are using for a larger surface area. Here at Premier Surfacing, we create imprinted concrete driveways that not only look incredible and suit your home's aesthetics, but also stand the test of time. Our driveways come with a guarantee of total tranquillity.