|
Portions of text appearing in a Windsor
Star article in the Homes Section
Concrete
Illusions
Concrete can be stamped,
colored and textured in order to look like granite, limestone, cobblestone, interlocking
brick, tile, or even wood
Wayne and Chella DeRozario
have a concrete answer for people curious about the driveway of their Southwood
Lakes home.
"A lot of people in
this area, because it’s a new development, will stop and ask questions about
it," Wayne says.
The driveway, as well as
the patio and walk, look like ashlar slate.
But it’s actually
stamped concrete, a process in which ordinary concrete is colored, patterned and
textured to resemble almost any other material, such as granite, limestone, cobblestone,
interlocking brick, tile or even wood.
The technique is catching
on with homeowners who like concrete’s stability but not it’s plain
appearance.
Ordinary concrete is still
the most popular choice for driveways. But more and more concrete contractors
have begun offering stamped concrete is the past few years as more customers become
aware of it.
"If you don’t
offer it today, you really don’t have a chance," says Phil Monaco, co-owner
of Signature Windsor, Inc., which did the work for the DeRozarios
last summer.
His company did three stamped
concrete driveways four years ago when it first offered the process. Last year,
it did 30.
"This year there’s
been a drastic increase in it," Monaco says. "We’ve been getting
phone calls like crazy."
Giving Out Cards
The DeRozarios have given
out at least 20 business cards for Signature to passers-by and neighbors who commented
on the driveway.
One selling point of stamped
concrete is its ability to look nothing like concrete…
…The process begins
with pouring and levelling the concrete. After it has begun to set, flexible and
lightweight rubber mats are placed on its surface.
The mats have continuous,
nonrepeating slate, stone, tile or brick patterns and are usually several feet
square. They can also be cut apart to fit into small areas.
Joints in pattern
The mats are pounded with
a hand tamper to imprint their patterns on to the concrete. Joints in the pattern
can also be deepened and defined by a mason to give the look of the actual materials,
such as slate or stone.
Releasing agents, which
are sprayed on the concrete to keep the mats from sticking, help give accent and
shading effects to the concrete.
After the concrete has
cured, it is power washed to remove the releasing agent and two to three coats
of sealer are applied.
The main difference between
companies is the point at which they apply the color. The vast majority of local
contractors integrally mix the color, which comes as a dry dust, into the concrete.
"(One) advantage to
integral mix is if you get any chip – if you drop a hammer or a tool…
- you’ve got a uniform color throughout so you won’t notice it,"
Monaco says.
If more than one truckload
of concrete is used, each load must mix the same amount of color for the same
amount of time or the color consistency won’t be the same throughout the
driveway…
Stamped concrete
Stamped concrete lasts
just as long as regular concrete, contractors say…
…The cost is about
one-and-a-half to two times as much as regular concrete. Contractors say it is
also competitively priced with interlocking stone, if the stone is installed properly…
|
)
)
)
)
)
