 | Five Ideas for Making Stamped Concrete
More Budget-Friendly
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Greetings!
 Why install plain-gray exterior concrete when there are so many ways to enhance concrete with stamps, skins, texturing tools and color? While decorative concrete may be more expensive than a gray unadorned slab, you can still achieve amazing results at a reasonable cost by asking your contractor to use a few tricks to maximize stamped concrete's attributes. Here are five ideas for sprucing up your concrete without breaking your budget.
Jim Peterson,
The Concrete Network
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Think outside the box
Your stamped concrete walkway or patio doesn't have to be square and boxy. At little additional cost, you can form concrete into any shape you desire and soften those square edges. Your concrete can conform to your landscaping, encircle an existing tree, or create a meandering pathway. See these examples of three stamped patios with very distinct shapes.
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Add a border
Keep your concrete economical by leaving the "fields" (the central areas of your concrete) plain and dressing up the edges with a patterned border. Borders help to frame the concrete, giving it a finished look. In addition, using borders rather than stamping the entire concrete slab saves on labor and material costs.
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Less can be more
Stamped concrete benefits from added color because it can make the pattern look more realistic. But you don't have to go overboard with elaborate hand staining or multiple layers of color. You can still make a big impact and save money by using the same color throughout. Read more about coloring concrete.
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Create patterns with sawcuts
Stamped concrete typically involves a repeating pattern. But an economical alternative is to create free-form designs with sawcuts. For example, you can have your contractor cut curved joints to mimic large pieces of slate. Your contractor can then use a texture skin to add some dimension to the pattern. See these ideas for using sawcut patterns to enhance a driveway.
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Keep it continuous
You'll achieve greater impact with stamped concrete by creating continuity. If you're installing a stamped concrete driveway, consider continuing the pattern onto connecting walkways. To save on costs, only stamp the border of the driveway and continue it onto adjacent surfaces.
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