Stamped Concrete in Germantown, TN

Stamped concrete begins as a regular slab. While the surface is still soft we press patterned mats into it, add color, and seal it once it cures, so the finished patio, entry or border reads as slate, flagstone, cobble or brick. It suits Germantown's brick houses well: a stamped entry walk in a brick or ashlar pattern ties into the facade without hundreds of separate pavers that can shift and grow weeds between them.

Where it works best

• Back patios, often with a border in a second color
• Front entries and stoops on brick traditional and ranch homes
• Driveway borders and aprons, adding pattern without stamping the whole drive
• Pool surrounds and fire pit areas, with a textured pattern and grit in the sealer for grip

We usually talk people out of stamping a full driveway or a steep walk. Sealed stamped concrete is slicker when wet than a broom finish, and a sloped stamped surface in a downpour is not where you want to be carrying groceries.

How the color is built

Most stamped work uses two colors. The base color is integral, mixed into the concrete at the plant, so the color runs all the way through and a chip does not show gray. Before the mats go down, a release agent is spread over the surface so the mats do not stick. It settles into the low spots and leaves them darker, which gives the two-tone look of real stone. The sealer on top deepens both colors and protects them.

Picking a pattern

Ashlar slate, a mix of rectangles in several sizes, is the most common patio choice because it reads as cut stone. Random stone and flagstone patterns look more natural beside planting beds. Running bond or herringbone brick suits a home with a brick front. At the estimate we bring pattern photos and color samples and talk through how the pattern lines up with doors, steps and the house.

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Sun and the sealer

In Germantown the hard part of a stamped surface's life is not frost. It is sun and water. Long, hot summers wear down sealer, and once it is gone the color fades and the surface starts to absorb water and stains. Shaded patios under oaks pick up tannin stains from leaves. We pour stamped work on a compacted stone base, run control joints along pattern lines so they blend in, and seal after the slab cures. Expect to reseal every few years, and sooner in full sun or along paths where people walk most.

Overlay or new slab

A solid, level slab can sometimes take a stamped overlay, a thin patterned layer, instead of being torn out. HomeGuide's resurfacing guide lists stamped overlays at $7 to $15 a square foot for a single pattern and $15 to $20 for complex designs. It also notes that cracks wider than a quarter inch can point to deeper problems, and an overlay will not fix a slab that has sunk or heaved. In that case a new stamped slab is the better spend.

Upkeep

Sweep and rinse, and clean grease and leaf stains before they set. Reseal when water stops beading or the color looks flat. Keep rock salt off it during an ice storm; sand works for traction.