CD Designs Blog
Extend your garden room to the patio
Looking to extend your garden room to your patio? With pattern imprinted Concrete, you can.
One of our happy customers enjoying their pattern imprinted concrete patio!
Decorative concrete is one of the best ways to add a high design aesthetic to your outdoor space. Using the same techniques for pattern imprinted concrete driveways, you can have the same flooring put down between your garden room and patio, to extend the available floor space.
Pattern imprinted concrete uses stamping moulds and colours to create remarkable designs. Inks are added to the in-situ concrete, and combine with colour surface hardeners, commercial release agents and specialist acrylic sealers to create custom shades. 3D texturing tools are then used to create creative designs, to your specification and preferences.
The nature of pattern imprinted concrete is such that many effects can be re-created – to give the appearance of granite, flags, slate or cobbles for example. The finished effect is limited only by imagination and the skill of your pattern imprinted concrete driveway installation team. (At CD Designs, you have the peace of mind of knowing that we’re part of the Guild of Master Craftsmen – the ultimate marque of quality!)
Speak to us about using pattern imprinted concrete flooring in your conservatory and patio to create a seamless look and spacious feel. Modern concrete finishes are hugely popular with interior designers, and our decorative concrete patios last for at least 20 years if they are well cared for, meaning that they are beautiful, functional, hard-wearing – and a great long-term investment.
Post Date: | 18th May 2012 |
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Tags: | patios, pattern imprinted concrete, Pattern Imprinted Concrete Patios |
Essential and Nonessential Maintenance
It is a given that your pattern imprinted concrete will need to be maintained. To what extent comes down to two different notions. These are whether the concrete requires essential maintenance or non essential maintenance.
It is essential that your pattern imprinted concrete is sealed after the initial installation. This is to ensure that the product is fully protected. Upon deciding whether your product needs to be resealed it is important to judge whether you believe the concrete is no longer protected or whether you require a reseal for aesthetic purposes.
Essential Maintenance: This is to ensure that the driveway is protected form freeze thaw cycles and traffic. When the seal has worn or the surface has been scratched it can be visibly seen as seen below on the left. It is essential to reseal your pattern imprinted concrete when the seal has completely worn away and the concrete is exposed and no longer protected. No seal = No protection, its that simple.
Non Essential Maintenance: This is a matter of the aesthetics or visual appearance of the drive. There can be certain misunderstandings when it comes to the appearance of the drive. ‘Loss of colour’ does not necessarily mean the concrete is not protected. We use the term ‘loss of colour’ loosely as it does not mean that the concrete has lost colour but could be something as simple as weathering on the surface of the seal. This is an indication that the seal is serving its purpose. As you can see in the picture above on the right, the driveway is not damaged and the seal seal has not worn away or been penetrated, the seal has simply weathered naturally and ‘frosted’ over, in this case a reseal although not essential, has brought through the colour of the concrete underneath. Non essential maintenance on pattern imprinted concrete is much like waxing your car, the integrity of the product does not depend on it but if you want it to look good it is something you should consider.
Post Date: | 16th February 2012 |
Posted in: | Driveway, Pattern Imprinted Concrete, Pattern Imprinted Concrete Driveways, Uncategorized |
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Concrete Mix Design
The right concrete mix ratio can solve problems or it can create them. What we rely on in a concrete mix is one that is easy to place, strong enough to meet the needs of the application, durable for the life of the Pattern Imprinted Concrete, and that will look good when we are done with our decorative efforts.
The design mix is of the upmost importance especially when it comes to Pattern Imprinted Concrete. There must be a happy medium in terms of water and cement ratio and also the types and amount of aggregates used. For us a wetter concrete with smaller aggregates will be easier to place, but with this the concrete upon curing will be less durable. Where as an extremely ‘stiff mix’ with larger aggregates, which may be the most durable concrete in the world would be near impossible to place.
This video was taken at the time of an excavation which shows how detrimental not having the right design mix can be. The supplier of this concrete evidently didn’t take design mix seriously, the concrete appears putty like and is easily destroyed. In reality, with correct mix, the hammer should bounce off the concrete. To view the video follow the link to our you tube channel below.
Post Date: | 11th February 2012 |
Posted in: | Pattern Imprinted Concrete, Pattern Imprinted Concrete Driveway Installation, Pattern Imprinted Concrete Driveway Maintenance, Pattern Imprinted Concrete Driveways |
Tags: | Concrete Mix Design, pattern imprinted concrete installation |
Weathering
Weathering is the effect of pollution and natural forces, such as frost, rain and sunlight, on a structure. With concrete, the main weathering problem is unexpected variations in the visual appearance of pattern imprinted concrete. Dust in the atmosphere will be deposited on the facade. The flow of rainwater will tend to wash some areas preferentially, resulting in significant differences in colour between clean and dirty areas and even the traffic of foliage across concrete can cause small scratches to the surface which over time can be mistaken for loss or change of colour. When your pattern imprinted concrete shows this weathering it is more often than not a case of the sealant being effected by the elements and not the concrete, showing that the seal is serving its purpose by protecting the concrete below. In large these are cosmetic issues and do not effect the usability of your driveway or patio, however, it is possible to regain the vibrancy of colour by resealing your pattern imprinted concrete. The video link below shows how weathering can effect your pattern imprinted concrete and how it can be easily rectified.
Post Date: | 11th February 2012 |
Posted in: | Pattern Imprinted Concrete, Pattern Imprinted Concrete Driveways |
Tags: | concrete driveway reseal, pattern imprinted concrete driveway maintenance, weathering |
Stamped Concrete Patterns for a Driveway or Patio: The Options
Stamped, or Pattern Imprinted Concrete Driveway
At CD Designs, we pride ourselves on our ability to provide a top quality professional service at all stages of every project we do, including planning, design and implementation. When considering the design of your pattern imprinted driveway or patio, you should think hard about the stamped concrete pattern you want to use. There are a whole multitude to choose from, and they can give a wide variety of looks that are nearly indistinguishable from real slabs, bricks or tiles.
You can see our full range of concrete patterns while reading this article, open up that page so you can browse the gallery and see what the patterns we discuss look like. View our full range of pattern imprinted concrete colours.
Cobble stones can look rustic and charming – consider Country Cobble, European Fan or Old English Cobble for a really rural look, or London Cobble for a more uniform, big town feel. For colours, you could go for something traditional like Russett for an authentic look, or something a bit more outlandish like Platt Silver.
Our slate designs are also very popular, and give a striking look. What about Walkway Slate, La Habra Slate or Grand Ashar Slate, for a slightly different look and feel? Many different colours work well with slate, for example Slate Blue or Slate Green if you want something darker, and Arizona Tan or Steadman Buff if you want a lighter, brighter effect.
But that’s not all. You might want something a bit less uniform, or a slightly more unusual pattern. Why not consider Herringbone Brick, or Random Stone?
If you want help choosing a pattern and colour combination, please get in touch!
Post Date: | 29th September 2011 |
Posted in: | |
Tags: | Concrete, imprinted concrete, pattern imprinted concrete, pattern imprinted concrete driveway |