Driveway Design Adds Curb Appeal without Added Cost

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Submitted by Jason Tuls, of Concrete Restoration and Engraving in Columbia, SC, this project is a great example of how thoughtful design can add a lot of curb appeal within a meager budget. This 2000 square foot driveway was originally plain, gray with no character. The owners of the home wanted to add color and a pattern without spending a lot of money. Concrete Restoration and Engraving helped them come up with some economical options that greatly added to the look of their home.

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"Originally, there were a couple of textured bands on a plain, gray driveway," recalls Tuls. "The owners wanted an engraved brick border and a tile pattern in the fields. It was too expensive to tile pattern the whole driveway." Tuls explains how they decided to modify the design and just create a tile pattern on the front walk and entryway, saving a lot of cost in labor for the homeowners.

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The colors for this project were chosen to complement the house, says Tuls. The driveway was colored with H&C's silicone acrylic solvent-based xylene in Neutral Balance Tan. "We picked a dark brown (Autumn Brown by H&C) for the brick borders. Then we hand-sponged the dark brown color on the driveway with a sea sponge. "We used clear H&C to protect the driveway," says Tuls. "We use Shark Grip as well—it's a polypropylene bead put in with clear sealer. We use it on all our exterior projects because it provides a non-slippery surface."

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Tuls describes the process of preparing the driveway for the engraved brick bands. "The original bands that were already existing had to be smoothed with a stone wheel," he says, "because the texture was breaking apart. But because we used the stone wheel, we lost the coarseness of the concrete. To prevent them from being slippery when wet, we added Shark Grip."

The brick border was then engraved using Engrave-A-Crete's Mongoose tool. "We do a brick pattern using 4-inch wide pieces of oak as our guide," explains Tuls. "We used to take pieces of steel, measure out the pattern, mark it with soap stone, and then come back and engrave. It used to take us a full day to engrave." Using the pieces of oak, Tuls says they no longer have to mark out the pattern. "We just square up and cut," he says. "We've knocked down our time to half a day."

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The final product provides a remarkable difference to the entrance of this home. By coming up with creative ways to save time, such as reducing engraving time, and choosing a smaller area of the project to engrave a tile pattern, Tuls was able to install an eye-catching and appealing driveway that also saved money for the homeowners.

Concrete Restoration & Engraving
Columbia, SC 29209-3214

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