Patterned Concrete??!

[Greenie9657]

Morning all,

I've been looking at re-vamping my front drive and was looking at using stone until someone mentioned Patterned concrete. I've searched on Google and the pictures say its concrete but it actually looks like slabs/block pave etc etc. I know I'm not a builder but surely "concrete" cannot look like you've spent hours laying blocks.

Also I've searched everywhere trying to get a rough price. All the webs sites say book for a free quote but I'm just looking at a ball park ish figure to try and do some planning.

Has anybody got pictures of it, or even know what it is (is it just concrete you pour) and also a rough price?

Many thanks.

 

[wakey77]

yes mate it's concrete coloured using powders and stamped using mats if you go onto YouTube and type in patern imprinted concrete you will find plenty of videos on it.
when done properly it looks very good but be careful there are plenty of rogues in the game so do your homework and speak to previous customers of your chosen contractor and see examples of there work.
if you go with a home improvements company you will likely pay over the odds and be sent contractors to do the job anyway so try local concreters.
although pic looks good if you have and future problems with services under your drive then the whole drive will be ruined when they kango it up.
prices vary
here in the west mids prices start around £50 a square metre ranging upto anything an unscrupulous sales rep can swindled out of you.

 

[bernardgreen]

Twenty years ago we had patterned concrete "cobbles" in French Fan pattern laid on our driveway. They are still is good condition today.

Use an experienced team and inspect other work they have done before choosing them.

It is concrete but using a finer aggregate, After laying the surface is rolled with a mesh roller that presses the large particles below the surface. The result is that the top inch or so is the same mixture as that used in factories to make decorative reconstituted stone slabs. Then the the colouring is spread and the moulds are pressed down to form the "cobbles" or brick shapes. Each mould is about 15 cobbles and I recall there were 6 different fan shaped moulds so the pattern did not repeat. ( I have seen one drive where the pattern repeats every 6 bricks and it is obviously not real bricks )

We had a disaster when the concrete delivery was held up in traffic and after being laid the concrete was going off before the moulding was complete. It had to be dug up and a new batch ordered.

 

[wakey77]

try ringing around your local concrete plants and ask them if they can recommend any local guys also do your homework on the concrete used take a look at sp250 concrete aerated.

 

[bernardgreen]

Wakey makes a valid point about services,

I put in ducts in case any of the services had to be replaced at a later date.

Twenty years ago some companies used steel mesh re-inforcing and others used fibre re-inforcement. Ours had steel and this enable it to remain intact when a tree root heaved up a corner, I was told that had it been fibre that corner would have snapped off.

 

[Norcon]

try ringing around your local concrete plants and ask them if they can recommend any local guys also do your homework on the concrete used take a look at sp250 concrete aerated.

No structural strength with this stuff so no good for flooring.

 

[wakey77]

Really? That is the mix ive been advised by other contractors and concrete suppliers to use sp250 aerated with fibres 10mm gravel
suitable for imprinting stenciling & spray crete.
What other mix do you advise?

 

[Norcon]

Really? That is the mix ive been advised by other contractors and concrete suppliers to use sp250 aerated with fibres 10mm gravel
suitable for imprinting stenciling & spray crete.
What other mix do you advise?

Air entrained 35 newton.
Some people in the concrete industry get confused with the terminology.

Formwork joiner working for us with about 30 years experience talks about fitting a " crack reducer" to the clients. That leaves them well confused.

I have to explain afterwards that it is in fact a "crack inducer".
A device like this....
http://www.lesasystems.co.nz/products/general_construction/lesa_ground_crack_inducer.aspx

Could also be a simple saw cut of course or both combined with each other.