Concrete Driveway

We’ve seen bricks, rocks, and a mixture of them from classic architectural marvels such as The Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal or simply at the backyard of someone’s house, or even the sidewalk you walk on every day. The aesthetic and structural importance of bricks have stuck with us a long time, not only for their ease of usage at the time, but also the unique texture they provide in landscaping which allows for diverse and contrasting spaces. 

Yet the advancement of modern building materials used in the design of interiors and exteriors of structures and spaces allows the advent of other materials such as concrete, stucco, and even hard wall for more streamlined and flatter surfaces. Yet the aesthetic of laying stones and bricks is still replicated with modern methods. One of them is concrete stamping. 

Concrete Stamping, mimicry is the best compliment. 

As concrete is a somewhat malleable building material while still wet, it allows it to take the shape of various shapes and textures to some extent with the proper techniques used. One of them is concrete stamping.  

Concrete stamping is usually done to mimic the shape of laid bricks or stone of various shapes and sizes. Patterns are made with a mold with the surface shaped to reflect the desired, and stamped per segment of the still malleable concrete. Older concrete stamps utilize a roller-style stamp, although this lack the capabilities of more meticulous designs which mimic stone and is more limited to simple brick patterns. 

Not only the shape can be mimicked but the color of the concrete can be changed in order to further customize and copy their traditional brick and stone counterparts. Concrete can be colored by adding integral liquid, acid stains, color hardener, and powder. And to allow the surface to have a contrast of colors as seen in the grout present in brick laying, a color release can be applied to the concrete which not only serves to add another color to the concrete, but also to prevent concrete stamps explained earlier from sticking to the concrete.  

Once all the laying, preparation and final stamping is done to the concrete, the concrete polishing Miami is also sealed with sealer to protect the surface from future weathering, chipping, and apply a close to real texture of the desired surface as the various kinds of sealers offer varying types of finishes from rough brick-like textures, to smooth stone-like to mimic stone roads and various varying textures. 

With the various steps and process in applying a stamped concrete surface to a pavement or wall, the design and textures are not only limited to classical brick and stone, but more modern and meticulous designs can be implemented in a similar manner with the usage of various stamps which creates a unique surface that would either blend in the landscape, or standout as a centerpiece of the space.