Pattern Imprinted Concrete driveways, patios and paths have become very popular over the past 10 years or so, so popular that professional installers more often than not have long waiting lists of people wanting to get their driveways, paths and/or patio area upgraded to Imprinted Concrete
Pattern Imprinted Concrete is sometime referred to in the industry as stamped concrete because of the way the pattern is stamped into the concrete using stencil boards.
When pattern imprinted concrete first started to be offered as an alternative to block paving, tarmac or paving flags people where a little cautious at and reluctant to try it, I mean this was something new, a new type of material and a new construction method and with new construction methods and materials people simply aren’t sure about the long term robustness or durability of the product or service, I mean people didn’t want to fork our £1000’s of pounds on a beautiful new pattern imprinted concrete driveway only to find out that it only lasted a couple of years before it needed ripping up and redoing.
However, as more and more people took the plunge and adopted this new striking stamped concrete the more people actually desired it. Friends, family and neighbours awed at these new marvellously designed, colourful driveways and patios that stayed looking great for many years, remaining weed free, moss free and retaining the original colour, so more and more people decided to choose pattern imprinted concrete over other products such as block paving, tarmac or basic paving flags.
Do You Need to Beware of Cowboy’s in the Pattern Imprinted Concrete Industry?
In most trades and industries there are the honest time served or fully trained professionals, the have a bash amateurs cashing in on a new lucrative industry and the out right conmen looking to steal your hard earned cash and unfortunately the pattern imprinted concrete industry is no different. If you want a pattern imprinted concrete driveway that has been installed properly so that it stays looking gorgeous for many, many years then you need to choose a professional installer.
What few people outside of the industry know is that stamped concrete is not just plain old concrete painted a bright colour with a pattern stamped into it, plain old concrete that has been painted and stamped would discolour and crack with a few months, regrettably some amateurs and conmen do use plain old concrete knowing that it won’t last, but by the time you find out – 4/6 months down the line – they have changed company names and phone numbers ready for another season of scams. You can avoid this by using an installer with historic online reviews going back a number of years and also a website that’s been online and active for a number of years too, amateurs and conmen tend to get work via leaflet dropping or classified ads.
So what is Pattern Imprinted Concrete if it’s not plain old concrete?
Pattern Imprinted Concrete is a special kind of compound that’s a mixture or concrete, fibre mesh and special resins allowing it to stretch, flex and warp without cracking. It is also non porous (water resistant) and has anti-slip properties too.
Can Pattern Imprinted Concrete be installed in The Winter?
Many people believe that Pattern Imprinted Concrete work can only be carried out during the summer months and this is the reason why many professional driveway installers get booked up April to August forcing some people to hire less than trustworthy amateurs.
The truth is that pattern imprinted concrete work can be carried out all year round as long as its a dry day and it’s not frosty, yes it rains a little more in the winter but it also rains a lot in the spring and summer too. The preparation i.e digging up the old driveway, setting boarders, drainage and laying hardcore can be done in any weather rain or shine and even frost or extreme heat, it’s only the concrete itself and the powder coating and stamping that requires mild weather.
You’ll notice I said mild weather and not hot weather, this is because very hot days are bad for pouring the imprinted concrete mixture as extreme heat can make the concrete and resins set far too quickly and this will cause cracking. Pouring imprinted concrete on very hot days is a mistake often made by amateur driveway installers.
Fortunately, we live in a time where the weather can be quite accurately predicted making the job of a driveway installer that little bit easier and allowing work liked the installation of Pattern Imprinted Concrete a job that can be carried out all year round.
A professional driveway installer will work all year round typically moving from one job to the next if rain or frost is forecast and doing final stage or dry mild days and doing excavation and other work on cold, wet days so don’t wait until everyone else is booking their new pattern imprinted concrete driveway or patio job during May, June, July, beat the rush and trust that your installer knows his industry and remember a professional driveway installer will guarantee their work.