For Landscape Contractors looking to add another possible profit area to their business, check out the segment of stamped concrete. You?EUR??,,????'???ve seen stamped concrete, it looks like a bunch of finely cut stone carefully placed into the ground, but it was really done with a texturing tool that stamps the shapes into wet concrete.If you don?EUR??,,????'???t know how to do it, don?EUR??,,????'???t be alarmed, here are a few quick and easy steps to get you headed in the right direction. Planning and Preparation The planning and preparation for placing and finishing textured concrete should take virtually everything into account such as: form work, sub-grade materials, concrete mix design, placing methods, obstacles, color base and release color, finishing accessibility, texturing tool layout, drains and locations of specialty features, manpower and weather. ?EUR??,,????'???? Form work should always take into account the modular unit of the desired textured pattern. With the layout of the tile, brick, and slate patterns extra attention should be paid to squareness and modular sizing. A minimum of 1/4?EUR??,,????'??-per-foot slope should be allowed for drainage. ?EUR??,,????'???? Sub-grade should be damp and consistent for placing a minimum 3 1/2?EUR??,,????'?? slab. Thin spots will setup faster, thicker ones will set slower. You can also plan this out. ?EUR??,,????'???? Concrete mix design requires a 3/8?EUR??,,????'?? maximum aggregate size, minimum 2000 psi @ 28 days. Do not use calcium chloride additives. A reliable Redi-mix concrete company will be able to supply this mix. During hot weather conditions the use of water reducing and retardant additives in the mix is recommended. Obstacles or any adjacent walls and flat work must be protected from concrete, color and colored release with a clear 2 mil visqueen available from your textured tool rental supplier. Placing methods will vary with every job. Whether you use a pump, wheelbarrow, or chutes, start with a slump of no more than 5?EUR??,,????'??. Place approximately 1/3 of the truck load, add water, and place another 1/3 of the truck load, add water, and place the balance of the truck load. Always place the concrete and add water in the same direction as you plan on moving the rows of tools. This method of placement helps to insure the proper timing element for texturing. Color and Coloring The two basic methods of coloring concrete for the base color currently available are integral color and dust-on color. Integral color is a coloring placed in the concrete mix by your concrete company. Dust-on color is applied during the finishing process. Depending on the color desired it is recommended that dust-on coloring be used for all concrete texturing applications. Both types of coloring are available from your textured tool rental supplier. ?EUR??,,????'???? Finishing of the slab should be done in the most efficient manner possible using rounded cornered fresnos and trowels. Always properly float and work the slab to prevent surface checking and crusting. It is important to insure that the thickness of the slab sets-up evenly. ?EUR??,,????'???? Colored Release should be applied as soon as the finishing process has been completed. Dust-on the colored release as evenly as possible always fluffing the material in the bucket with your hand prior to throwing it onto the slab. Colored release is available from your textured tool renter supplier. Texturing tools should be placed in rows starting in the area of the slab that was the first to be poured or has set up the fastest. Every texturing pattern has its own characteristics on the direction and movement of the rows of tools. With random and some tile patterns it is recommended that the individual tools be rotated as they are placed into rows. The layout and shape of the texturing tool will determine if it should be rotated. After a row of texturing tools is in place it must be pounded into the slab to produce the desired impression, be careful to pound lightly in soft areas. Pound the tools as evenly and consistently as possible. Tinkering is impressing and scoring any area of the slab that cannot be covered by the standard texturing tool such as edges against walls. First apply and impress a flexible 20?EUR??,,????'?? x 20?EUR??,,????'?? stone or slate texturing tool. Next, using a 4?EUR??,,????'?? or 12?EUR??,,????'?? hand chisel approximate the patterned scoring you are matching being careful to hammer the chisel lightly to the same depth as the texturing tools scoring. Use a string line for tile patterns by snapping it onto the surface then follow the line to keep your tinkering straight. A string line snapped onto the surface is also used for the initial layout of all tiled patterns. The initial clean-up should be done the day you pour. You should clean all the adjacent areas with water and a scrub brush. Three to five days after installing the textured concrete it must be pressure washed with a minimum 2000 psi pressure washer. After pressure washing, do any necessary touch-up or chip repair and seal with an acrylic exterior concrete sealer.