Stamped Concrete Patio

[hard12catch33]

My fiance and I are looking into getting a stamped concrete patio done this year. We found a picture of a patio that we really like, I just don't know what something like this would cost. We don't want to go AS fancy as this with the multiple levels but we do want a step down to the fire pit.

Anyone has something similar? Thanks in advance

 

[JimVonBaden]

Check the pricing on this carefully. It cab often run as high as real paver patios, especially if you color your concrete to do it.

Jim

 

[monkeyplasm]

Good luck with the grass cutting...

 

[Todd.Brock]

In with JVB, the price of stamped seems awfully high. I know a guy has to make a buck and start his truck every morning, but it was an eye opener compared to a slab or pavers. I'm sure there are molds, knowledge, etc to getting it all done right , but be sitting down when you call for estimates.

 

[duc916]

I just went through the same thing. I looked at concrete vs. pavers. The concrete was $7 to $11 per square and the pavers were at $8.50 to $15.00 per square foot. This was all at grade level, not raised like in the picture. What I really found out was it payes to get quotes from a large cross section of contractors. I had a couple of must haves: insurance, brick and motar store front, warranty. I went with pavers due to cracking concerns with pavement and ease of repair with pavers, this may not apply to your situation. I am doing 800 square feet and a fire pit, with some walkways.

 

[ddawg16]

Actually.....stamped concrete can be very much a DIY project...my wife and I did our front path to the door...the stamping part was easy...it was the concrete pour that was more difficult.

Basically, after you have the area poured....wait about 45 min or so...or to the point that your finger will leave just a small indent...then knock yourself out. You rent the pattern and stamper....takes all of about 10-15 min...

With that said....

Pavers have the advantage of also being a DIY project....and you can repair it....downside...seeds fall between the blocks and you have the constant task of pulling grass and weeds.

 

[dsimatt]

My friend had a 12x12 patio poured last summer and I think he paid around $600 but his B I l did the work. If I was to guess what the patio in the picture cost I'd figure at least 6 grand but probably more.

 

[JimVonBaden]

I have about 800 square feet in my back yard, and 400 in my front yard all done with pavers. Included in this was a retaining wall and burying my drainage pipes for my gutters, plus a lot of fill needed.

Back patio

Front parking pad.

Together, with materials and labor, it was just under $12K. If I would have done it myself, less than $5K in materials.

In the DC area, it is about $10 a sq foot if you have it done for you.

Jim

 

[hard12catch33]

Luckily I have two really good friends of mine that used to do concrete in the summers as a part time gig. I have talked to them and they agreed to help me frame everything up and get it all prepped and then their old company will pour the concrete for us.

Hopefully that is a cost savings.

 

[shoot summ]

Stamped is mostly trying to emulate stone, IMO. I prefer stone over stamped personally, and I am not a fan of pavers at all.

I guess it depends on your area, around here nice flagstone goes for about $200 a ton. It's a little more complicated than setting pavers, but WAY nicer end result.

For concrete only I would lean towards a flat pour with decorative scoring to break it up some. Here is a pic of my driveway(and a wind damaged tree)...

 

[JimVonBaden]

Luckily I have two really good friends of mine that used to do concrete in the summers as a part time gig. I have talked to them and they agreed to help me frame everything up and get it all prepped and then their old company will pour the concrete for us.

Hopefully that is a cost savings.

That will definitely make a difference. Do you/they have a place to rent the stamps? Are you coloring the concrete?

I wouldn't mind something similar for the 65' of 10' wide driveway I need to do.

Jim

 

[hard12catch33]

My one buddy actually has a set of stamps that he has from working concrete, I am not sure what pattern they are but I know of a couple places to rent them. I plan on coloring the concrete just one color, nothing crazy.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Stamped and colored looks very nice, but where are you going to learn the coloring technique ?

 

[larry_g]

We did this a few years back. I really like the retaining wall and seating done in the colored and stamped pattern but we find that the walk with its pattern will fill the divots with dirt and then rain turns it to mud. We do live in the country with lots of farming about so dust and dirt is normal to us but the walk requires extra attention to keep it clean.

The larger patio

As you can see above we did not color and stamp the whole patio. The path was done with colored concrete and t hen colored release powder was sprinkled on the wet concrete and then the pattern stamped in. So the colored release powder added highlights to the whole thing.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[sr71]

...since you've decided on stamped.....I did it around my pool 7 years ago and this year had a front walkway done (love the look - pools deck looks the same as the day it was installed). Like all concrete work, prep is everything - I insisted on wire reinforcement - many of the contractors tried to convince me it wasn't necessary but really.... why take the chance. Our contractor also added a major liberal amount of the powdered color while wet (before stamping) to further enhance the look. Some tips.....keep the shape such that you can easily mow the lawn around it. Chip off any sharp edges before sealer. Add "shark grip" to the sealer to make the surface less slippery when wet (real important around a pool). Resist the urge to seal every year....every 3-4 years is sufficient.

Don't underestimate time and effort involved.....if I was to guess, the crew spent as much time stamping etc. as it took to pour / trowel the concrete....and the clock was ticking

Street price varies but $8-$11/ sq ft for stamped.

 

[Howard D]

I love my stamped concrete.I got a great deal on it because it was still cold out and the guy needed work.The front driveway is 21x31 and the walkway is around 10x4 almost 700 sq ft.He removed the old aspalt driveway and concrete walkway hauled it away, put a base down then 5" colored concrete with fiber, stamped it,then after it dried came back and stained random blocks then sealed it for $4500

 

[JimVonBaden]

I love my stamped concrete.I got a great deal on it because it was still cold out and the guy needed work.The front driveway is 21x31 and the walkway is around 10x4 almost 700 sq ft.He removed the old aspalt driveway and concrete walkway hauled it away, put a base down then 5" colored concrete with fiber, stamped it,then after it dried came back and stained random blocks then sealed it for $4500

Very nice! Gives me ideas about my driveway instead of plain concrete!

Jim

 

[schmelpboy]

Is that all stamped? That's gorgeous!

 

[coolreed]

In installed a new patio a few years ago and utilized stamped concrete. Mine was colored chocolate brown with a natural concrete curbing. I was very pleased with it. The concrete was colored before they poured it. It faded just a little over time but looked great. Sorry, but I do not have a picture.

In my opinion pavers are alot more work because you have to do alot of prep underneath the pavers. I like pavers alot but you better install them correctly or they will be a headache later.

 

[Howard D]

yes all stamped

 

[CamarosRus]

Where can I learn what it takes to reseal or otherwise freshen up my existing
stamped concrete ?

 

[sr71]

Chuck... don't know where to learn ...but... .it will bring the original color back to new. Pretty sure my concrete guy said that Naptha is a cheap way to help bring back "wet look" of the sealer (double check this)...some kind of chemical reaction with the existing clear. It is not a replacement for the sealer...just extends the life of the existing seal coat.

 

[hard12catch33]

I love my stamped concrete.I got a great deal on it because it was still cold out and the guy needed work.The front driveway is 21x31 and the walkway is around 10x4 almost 700 sq ft.He removed the old aspalt driveway and concrete walkway hauled it away, put a base down then 5" colored concrete with fiber, stamped it,then after it dried came back and stained random blocks then sealed it for $4500

Hey Howard, did they pour that with the AC unit already installed or did you have that moved while they poured the concrete?

 

[bigbadktm]

For those of you with existing concrete that want to dress it up, you can do a stamp overlay directly on top of the old concrete. It goes down at about 1/4". You can also do a variety of colors, textures and patterns on top of your old concrete.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

If the old sealer is gone the solvent trick won't work.

You will likely need a new coat of clear sealer. This needs to be addressed every few years. An unmaintained, colored/stained, concrete pad will lose its color if not properly sealed.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[newhollandpuller]

We have stamped concrete sections of our driveway. The base color was mixed into the concrete on the truck and then poured (the best way to go IMO) then when they stamped it they added two more shades of color to make it pop. Since we live in Salted roads country we do have to seal it ( I would do it every year but I was told to not do it that often). I think I only have 1300sqft of stamped concrete and its about $300 to reseal it myself. We looked at going the stamped concrete around the pool but didnt because every pool we have been to that has it is wicked slippery. The last picture was before it was resealed.

 

[Concretefloors]

True, but be laying down when it has to be ripped out and done over....just saying! Always best o get referrals for this type of work. Check out concretenetwork.com