Beautifying Your Home With Concrete

By Manolo Sandoval

Did your Realtor wince when he/she saw your beat-up, discolored, weed filled driveway? Did your mother-in-law almost take a fall on your cracked walkway last time she came for a visit? Is it time to re-do the deck around the swimming pool?

Summer is here and it’s the perfect time of year to get quotes on renovating and beautifying your home’s concrete areas. Concrete is the home renovation industry’s best kept secret. Homeowners believe that they can’t afford upgrades to the concrete areas of their home, when in fact it’s one of the best investments you can make to maintain your homes’ value and indeed enhance it. Concrete products actually strengthen over the years and have very low maintenance. This guarantees that your investment is long term.

Some customers have had bad experiences with contractors and don’t realize that there are trustworthy, honest and affordable concrete contractors who take great pride in their work and want to provide them with excellent service. Nowadays with the Internet it is easy to get information on a contractor before you authorize the work. A quick search will reassure you if your concrete contractor is reputable.

Existing areas in your home can be upgraded, or new additions, such as driveways, slabs, patios, sidewalks, porches, walkways, curbs, pool walks, decks, and steps. Concrete products are available in regular concrete, stamped, or colored, or finishes. Stone finishes are the perfect answer to the pricey stone work that you might see in very upscale homes and businesses. The versatility and array of styles and colors of concrete is very impressive. You can easily find a style that will accent and dramatize your house.

If you love outdoor living then you should definitely look into a spacious patio for lounging, grilling and enjoying your backyard. Patios can be simple or intricate designs. A patio can cut down on some of that yard work too, while providing an inviting area to relax in.

First impressions are always vitally important, as your Realtor will tell you. A cracked and weed infested driveway, or a gravel or dirt driveway may be a deal breaker for the buyer looking for their next home. A driveway may be able to be repaired, or it may make more sense to replace it completely.

I would suggest looking into the use of concrete for many of your home’s remodeling and beautification projects.

Manolo Sandoval

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Manolo_Sandoval
http://EzineArticles.com/?Beautifying-Your-Home-With-Concrete&id=4632208

______________________________________________________________________

Contact us for your Landscaping and Concrete needs.

Harry Lee’s Landscaping & Concrete
Nashville, North Carolina 27856
252-462-2392

Stamped Concrete in Fayetteville, NC

The video below is of a commercial job we did for a Medical Center in Fayetteville, NC. The color is Sequoia Sand with a Charcoal Release agent (Click on “Davis Colors” under our Links Section for color choices). The stamp is Seamless Old English Slate which is one of our most popular stamps.

Click the video below to watch the transformation of regular concrete into a beautiful slate appearance.

______________________________________________________________________

Contact us for your Landscaping and Concrete needs.

Harry Lee’s Landscaping & Concrete
Nashville, North Carolina 27856
252-462-2392

Stamped Concrete

A Trend That’s Catching Fire

By Lee Wallender, About.com

Excuse my excitement, but stamped concrete is awesome. Stamped concrete is one of those home remodeling trends that seems to be catching fire lately, and for good reason. I’ve seen stamped concrete for years, and wasn’t much impressed by it. Only expensive commercial applications looked decent, and even that was a stretch. Recently, though, new texturizing and pigmenting trends allow homeowners to introduce stamped concrete to their exteriors.

What is Stamped Concrete?

Stamped concrete involves pouring slab concrete for driveways, walkways, patios, etc., and then impressing both patterns and textures onto the concrete before it is fully dry. For many years, a lesser form of stamped concrete was often seen that merely duplicated patterns. But the newer types of stamped concrete impart textures that duplicate many different surfaces such as cobblestones, brick, pavers, wood, seashells, and more. Also, pigment is usually added to stamped concrete to further duplicate the look of such patterns.

Why Stamped Concrete Instead of the Original Surfaces?

Brick, pavers, and cobbles look great, but since they form a surface of many interlocking pieces, they are susceptible to frost-heave and other changes in the underlying surface. Sometimes this can be good, if you’re trying to cover an uneven surface–the brick, pavers, stone, or pavers will conform to the surface. But if you have a good, flat, and level undersurface, you’ll want your concrete to be laid the same way. Reinforcing rods within the stamped concrete help to tie the pavement together and strengthen it. Also, bricks, pavers, cobbles, etc. allow for weed to grow up through the cracks. Since stamped concrete is a solid, continuous surface, nothing can grow up through the “cracks.” As you may already know, the “cracks” in stamped concrete are simply impressions in the concrete that only partially go through the surface.

Does Stamped Concrete Look as Good as Brick, Pavers, Cobbles, etc?

It’s all in the eye of the beholder, but in my view it does not. Aesthetically, it’s a close second. I have seen stamped concrete that attempts to duplicate the look of exterior wood plank flooring. It looks great on its own terms, but it can never be mistaken for the real thing. As such, you may want to choose stamped concrete that isn’t trying so hard to duplicate something else. Stamped concrete can have any number of patterns, textures, and colors.

Can I “Do it Yourself” Stamped Concrete?

Not recommended. The process of laying stamped concrete is almost an art. Not only that but special tools and an experienced crew of up to four people are needed. Save yourself the frustration and find a good concrete contractor who has experience in laying stamped concrete.

What’s the Process of Laying Stamped Concrete?

In brief, stamped concrete is laid like this:

• Place the concrete. Concrete should be no less than four inches thick.
• Add color. Color is added either in the mixer or after concrete placement. The first method is called “integral coloring” and the second method is called “broadcast or surface coloring.” Broadcast coloring involves evenly spreading dry color across the surface of the concrete.
• Apply release agent. Release agent allows the texturizing mats to come off without taking off concrete.
• Lay mats. Texturizing mats are laid in succession. Since there are usually not enough mats to cover the entire surface, when one is finished it is applied to another area of the concrete.
• Let dry 24 hours.
• Pressure wash the release agent off.

Clear sealing.

« Previous Page