Pool Design

“Decorative concrete” is a phrase you may not hear very often.   When you think of concrete, it’s easy to picture just a big slab of gray with nothing “decorative” about it at all. That’s the picture most people have, because they are not yet familiar with the decorative options available today.

Did you know that you can make your concrete patio or walkway look just like brick, stone, tile, slate, wood or other material? Homeowners around the country are discovering decorative concrete and using this process to beautify their otherwise boring concrete areas outside the home. If you have seen one of these completed projects, you know firsthand that it is pretty amazing.

There are two common procedures used to get this look. The first is to stamp an impression into the concrete before it sets up completely. In this application you are actually stamping the design into the concrete slab. The second procedure involves improving the look of an existing slab. Since pouring and finishing concrete requires a certain degree of experience, we will start by focusing on the latter called decorative overlay. An overlay consists of a cementatious material applied thinly over the top of the existing slab and then stamped or stained or both.

If you are the creative type you might enjoy the process of turning a large concrete canvas into a personalized work of art. To be on the safe side, start with a smaller project; you can tackle a bigger one once you have a little experience under your belt.

Here is the basic procedure:

1.       To start with, we will assume that you already have a large concrete slab with which to work. If you don’t, you need to build that first. The procedure for actually building a concrete patio is outside the scope of this article, but if you are already familiar with concrete work you probably know how to do this already.

2.       The first step is to mix and pour the overlay material onto the concrete slab. You will use a gauge rake to evenly spread out the material over the entire area. You want to set your gauge rake between 1/4 and 3/8 of an inch.

3.       The overlay material will have an integral color of your choice mixed in before the pour. At this time you will cast an antiquing release powder evenly across the top. This agent has a dual role. The first and most important role is that it keeps the wet concrete from sticking to the rubber stamp. The second attribute of the release powder is its coloring ability.

4.       The final step is what actually gives the concrete its unique look. Just before the overlay material  is completely dry, a stamp is applied multiple times across the entire surface. The style of stamp that is used will determine whether the design will look like brick, stone or some other material. With the proper stamp, you could even make your concrete look like hardwood flooring!

The following day, after the project has fully dried, you want to pressure wash the surface to remove the excess antiquing agent. Once fully dry you will apply two coats of a high solids, solvent based sealer. The sealer will bring out the beauty of the concrete and protect its finish.

The first time you do this type of project, it will probably be more of a learning experience than anything else. You will begin to feel more comfortable after you have done it a few times. So you may want to practice on your neighbor’s patio before you do your own!

Here are some tips to consider when doing a decorative concrete project:

·         Be aware of the weather. If you get to the point where you have just poured the new layer of concrete and suddenly the clouds break open with hard rain, you may not be happy with the final result. A thunderstorm does not help the process at all. Only begin if the forecast calls for sunny skies all day.

·         Have a friend to work with. Even if you have worked with concrete before, it helps to have someone to help you with a project like this. This is especially true if your area of concrete is a rather large one. Even better is to engage the assistance of someone that actually has experience with decorative concrete.

·         View a successful project first. Go and take a look at a decorative concrete job (similar in size) that has already been completed successfully. It’s nice to know what it’s “supposed” to look like when you’re finished.

Done correctly, a project like this can transform your pool deck, patio or walkway from a boring slab of concrete into a beautiful work of art. Good luck!