Stamped Concrete in Sheboygan, WI

Stamped concrete begins as a regular slab. While the surface is still soft, we press textured mats into it, add color and later seal it, so the finished patio, entry or border looks like slate, flagstone, cobble, brick or wood plank. Homeowners in Sheboygan pick it when they want the look of stone without hundreds of separate pavers that can heave after a hard winter, and without sand joints that sprout weeds.

Where it works well

• Back patios, often framed with a border in a second color
• Front entries and stoops, especially on brick houses and older homes
• Driveway borders, adding pattern at the edges while the lanes stay plain
• Pool decks and fire pit areas, with a textured pattern and anti-slip grit in the sealer

We do not recommend stamping a whole driveway or a steep walk in this climate. Deep texture holds packed snow, and sealed stamped concrete is slicker when wet than a broom finish.

How the color works

Most stamped jobs use two colors. The base color is integral, meaning pigment is mixed into the concrete at the plant, so the slab is colored all the way through and a chip does not show gray. Just before stamping, we spread a release agent that keeps the mats from sticking. It settles into the low spots and leaves them darker, which gives the varied look of real stone. Sealer goes on last to deepen the color and protect the surface.

Picking a pattern

Ashlar slate, a mix of rectangles in different sizes, is a common choice for patios because it reads as cut stone. Random stone and flagstone look more natural next to planting beds. Running bond or herringbone brick suits older homes with brick fronts, which Sheboygan has plenty of. Wood plank works on small areas next to a deck. At the estimate we bring pattern photos and color samples and talk through how the pattern lines up with doors, steps and walls.

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Winter is about the sealer

A stamped slab faces the same freezing and thawing as any other, with one added weak point: the sealer. Along walking paths it wears thin, and once it is gone, water and salt reach the colored surface. That is when stamped concrete fades and starts to flake. We pour stamped work on a compacted stone base with air-entrained concrete, cut control joints along pattern lines so they blend in, and seal after the cure. Keep salt off stamped concrete entirely; use sand for grip.

New slab or overlay?

A sound, level slab can sometimes take a stamped overlay, a thin patterned topping, 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. An overlay cannot fix a slab that has sunk, heaved or cracked through, because the cracks come back through the topping. In that case a new stamped slab is the better spend. Either way, in the City of Sheboygan the work needs a building permit, which we arrange.

Keeping the color

Sweep, rinse and wipe up oil or food spills before they soak in. Reseal every few years, sooner on busy paths, or as soon as water stops beading and the color looks flat. Stamped concrete that is resealed on time keeps its look for many years.