Concrete stamps are a great alternative to stain and other forms of decorative concrete you may consider applying to your garage floor, driveway, patio, or other concrete surface.  And you can save lots of money if you would apply the stamped concrete on your own.

So, what’s the first step?

Some say that it all starts with the color selection. You can get some color swatches in the process of your selection and then make your decision out of one to two colors. This step is similar as to when you are trying to paint a room.

Second step is for you to consider the other factors that would affect the color choice for the concrete stamps. It could be your indoor lighting system and the other colors of your household items. You must envision how your choice of color would fit the current setting of your home.

Third is to visit your concrete supplier and check out the available samples he can offer you. You may also like to ask for a viewing of their previous projects with concrete stamps, so that you can see in person how it really looks like as a result. It is very important that you know how it will blend well to the immediate environment.

Next, you need to select the design you want for your concrete stamps.

As you pour the concrete, you must begin with not more than a hundred square feet, depending on the size of area you’ll be stamping, but this ‘usually’ accommodates most smaller jobs around the home. Allow the truck driver to put in the color to the concrete truck and wait for it to combine and settle for just around ten minutes. You may find some color streaks as it comes out. But you need not worry about it, since it will in just a few seconds show the color combination your are expecting.

The next step for your concrete stamps is to insert the concrete in the forms using a screed board which measures about 2” x 4” to help you level it out. You would only start the screed process once you have completed the ½” of concrete into your form work. You would surely need a help of an assistant or a friend for each person would be on one side of the screed board. You would both pull the concrete towards the form work as you level along.

Then the bull flatting would come next. Do not worry about tiny dips or little changes in the elevation that might occur for all these are natural to happen. You may start using an edging toll for the concrete perimeters. After you have gone through the above process, you are now ready to apply the concrete stamps. Let your concrete stamps settle for one to two days before you can start adding some secondary colors.

If you think maybe stamping is not for you, or you’d like to explore other types of resurfacing, then check out the option of expoxy, paints, and other types of coatings.

Looking for a new style for your walkway? Maybe for your house or just in general? Well concrete has come a long way from its natural intended use. Many have perfected the art of decorative concrete. There are varying forms of decoration for concrete. In order to perfect this art it takes a lot of patience and an eye for the design.

Integral colorants are fairly easy to achieve, as it’s just a color material that is combined with the actual concrete. What it does is it mixes the color, cement and the sand all together and produces a color other than the usual gray. You can pretty much make any color you want but the most popular colors would be black, yellow, red, and even green. With Integral colorants you want to make sure you add the correct amount of the color, if you do your concrete is going to come out a different color altogether be it darker or even a lighter shade than what you’re trying to achieve.

Stamping in concrete is another popular form of decorative concrete. Basically all you need for this type of decoration is a rubber stamp and wet concrete. Make sure you don’t press your stamp too deep into the concrete that you end up with deep grooves. You will want to push with even pressure and to a depth that will leave your concrete looking like it was professionally done. You can create simple stone or brick textures, or if you want you can even create a quaint forest scene onto a stamp and apply that to your concrete. The possibilities are endless.

Installing the above decorative concrete is pretty self-explanatory, however a concrete dye is a different installation process. Concrete dyes can be used on pretty much any surface. To get a simple concrete dye you’ll want to have your color base mixed in with the concrete and if your using your concrete outside you’ll want to use a base of acetone or thinner. This will keep your color from becoming faded over the years. If you’re using your concrete indoors it will be all right to use a solution of alcohol. Don’t use the alcohol base outside, as over time it will diminish your color significantly.

The last decorative concrete may very well be water based staining for your concrete. With water based stain you can pretty much achieve a see through look or an opaque color. With a water based stain it is more of a coating than anything else, but it will bond with your concrete better than say an acid based stain. The best water based stains in the market today are acrylic and epoxy. These will not change your concrete at all it will be able to keep the whole physical make up.

Last you will want to make sure that your concrete is well placed, and that you have everything out and ready to go before you even begin mixing your concrete. Make sure you take your time and you achieve what you want the first time out rather than having to do the project over and over. Getting it done right the first time will save you a lot of money later down the line.