Textured Concrete Brings Life to Walkways

By Gregory V. Harris, regional editor

The first coat of dry-shape color hardener is being applied by hand. This project used three applications of color hardener, which were applied between troweling sessions.

When concrete is poured and finished, the end result is sometimes referred to as a slab. Although functional, many home and business owners prefer to have more than a slab of concrete as the walkway or driveway. Instead of boring gray surfaces, many walkways and drives have cobblestone, tile, slate and brick textures.

These fashionable drives would be very expensive if natural materials were installed. Fortunately, an affordable option is available to those seeking a high-end appearance for paths, while maintaining the durability of concrete.

Multiple colors of antiqued release were used on this job. A pole-mounted release applicator spread two colors onto the finish surface. After the coloring, textured stamps were applied to the concrete slab to give the project its desired look.

Stamped concrete has transformed many walkways and driveways into works of art. The stamped concrete system involves coloring fresh ready-mixed concrete and embossing authentic looking patterns of brick, stone or wood into the partially set concrete. Companies like Patterned Concrete, L.M. Scofield, Pacific Concrete Images and Sullivan Concrete offer a variety of concrete stamps in many textures (slate, brick and tile) and patterns. There are also personalized options.

All of the operations required on a textured concrete job – placing stamps, finishing, and color dusting–are done concurrently.

“Custom logos are increasing in popularity,” said Cameron Morgan of Pacific Concrete Images. His company can take any hand-drawn image or company logo and transform that image into a concrete stamp.

“Custom designs are unlimited,” he said.

Tools of the Trade

A contractor who has been hired on a job that requires stamped concrete will need to be equipped: aluminum chisels; grout chisels, which are good for use on brick patterns and patterns with grout joints; joint chisels, which simulate natural joints; impact tools; liquid release; a release applicator, which is used to apply multiple colors of release; lacquer sealers and an assortment of floats, trowels and hand tools. A wide variety release colors is available, which gives the customer numerous design possibilities.

“Concrete stamping is straightforward,” Morgan asserts. “Timing and common sense go a long way.”

The European fan paver look is achieved with L.M. Scofield’s lithochrome ash white color hardener, accented with platinum gray tones and a smoke beige antiquing release.

Morgan said contractors should note changing weather conditions, as the concrete stamping process is different in the summer versus the winter.

“More manpower is required for summer installations based on concrete set-up,” he explained. “If it is 50 degrees outside when the concrete is poured, it takes about 13 hours to harden. This means a crew of two can do a job. On the other hand, in the summer, if it’s 90 degrees outside, it takes 2-1/2 hours for the concrete to harden, meaning that more crew members are needed to get the job done faster.”

Stamped Concrete

Morgan believes the planning and preparation for placing and finishing stamped concrete should take items into account such as: form work, subgrade materials, concrete mix design, placing methods, obstacles, color base and release color, finishing accessibility, texturing tool layout, drains and the locations of specialty features.

Lithochrome antique rose color hardener and a tawny pink antiquing release went on this Victorian paver in a herringbone pattern.

Morgan recommends that form work should take into account the modular unit of the desired textured pattern.

“With the layout of tile, brick, and slate patterns, extra attention should be paid to squareness and modular sizing,” he said.

After the concrete has been placed and floated, color hardener is applied. The two basic methods of coloring concrete for the base color currently are integral color and dust-on color. Integral color is a coloring placed in the concrete mix by the concrete company. Dust-on color is applied during the finishing process. Morgan said that depending on the color desired, it is better to use the dust-on coloring method for all concrete texturing applications.

Roman slate texture stamps are a popular texturing tool for concrete jobs. Several applications of color are added to the concrete before the stamps are placed. After floating of the concrete is completed, an impact tool (inset) will be used to pound the textured stamps into the concrete, creating the final design.

Morgan said finishing of the slab should be done in the most efficient manner possible using rounded cornered fresnos and trowels. Crews should properly float and work the slab to prevent surface checking and crusting. In addition, crews need to insure that the thickness of the slab sets-up evenly.

Next, colored release should be applied as soon as the finishing process has been completed. The colored release needs to be dusted on as evenly as possible. Morgan recommends that crews fluff the material in the bucket by hand prior to throwing it onto the slab.

These heringbone slate texturing stamps can be used individually or as a group. Using these three stamps as part of one project gives the concrete a more natural, less uniform look.

The texturing tools or stamps 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. Morgan noted that every texturing pattern has its own characteristics on the directions and movement of the rows of tools. With random and some tile patterns, he recommends 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. Morgan cautions that crews should be careful to pound lightly in soft areas. The stamps need to be pounded as evenly and consistentlyas possible.

In addition to the tradition patterns of concrete stamps, custom stamps and logos are increasingly popular and fairly easy to make.

In some case, a texture that mimics the concrete stamp needs to be made by hand, a process known as tinkering. This is usually done in areas that cannot be covered by the stamp. Morgan said crews need to use a hand chisel create the texture, adding that crews need to hammer lightly and to the same depth of the pattern being matched.

Morgan said cleanup should be done the day concrete is poured with water and a scrub brush. The textured concrete should be pressure washed three to five days after installation. Morgan recommends that a minimum 2,000 psi pressure washer be used. Touch-up, chip repair and acrylic exterior concrete sealing finishes the job.

“If done properly, the textured concrete can have a 30-year lifespan, with some light maintenance,” Morgan said. “The better the maintenance, the better the life of the concrete.”