Where are you located?

Seting posts in concrete is normal in a lot of places including OKC. A simple request to land the posts on the piers should do it along with your willingness to pay extra for it. My outfit always set the posts on the footings but most of my compatition dont. J.

C-8 - Concrete Contractor California Code of Regulations Title 16, Division 8, Article 3. Classifications A concrete contractor forms, pours, places, finishes and installs specified mass, pavement, flat and other concrete work; and places and sets screeds for pavements or flatwork. This class shall not include contractors whose sole contracting business is the application of plaster coatings or the placing and erecting of steel or bars for the reinforcing of mass, pavement, flat and other concrete work. Authority cited: Sections 7008 and 7059, Reference: Sections 7058 and 7059 (Business and Professions Code)

Dscam, you are talking about stamped concrete as if all of it is the same ... like eating a hamburger and proclaiming, "I don't like American food!" Stamped conc. is highly variable and subject to the skill of the installer. I wouldn't recommend it unless one has a top notch installer. And probably a top notch designer, too. (Someone has to figure out how all the details are going to fit together.) Some of the less skilled ones can do a pretty bad job. Wood near the ground is not going to hold up well anywhere near as long as concrete or one of the other masonry options. The most important part of the walk/drive is getting the size/route/shape, etc. worked out well. If I were you, that's where I would be focusing my efforts. And then choose the material after all that is figured out.