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Cracks around stamp in stamped concrete?

16 years ago

We had a lovely new stamped concrete deck poured last week. It looks great from a distance, but as I inspect it more closely I see ten or more areas with cracking and bubbling around the stamp itself. It just doesn't seem right. The decking company uses a concrete hardener rather than integral color, but I had seen several of their decks and don't recall this cracking. Any thoughts from the pros out there? It isn't unbearable, but having spent so much money we just want it to look right and last a long time.

Kim

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stephaniecorrine
6 years ago
The same thing happened to us!! The first level was fine I think the concrete was wet in the stamp just took to it and some grading in the second level the concrete had hardened a little bit more in so when they were hammering the stamp down and it pulled resulting in the cracks. Rainwater will get in the cracks and then freeze and expand and it will start chipping away has this happened to yours?
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Some friends of mine back in IN did what you're suggesting and love it. They had their concrete entryway done over with the overlay to look like brick and it's incredible. We have an old concrete patio that we're going to redo (one of these years) in the overlay, using a stone finish. We thought about putting a layer of decking on but the look doesn't match our yard and it's too thick. The overlay is not very thick -- I don't remember specs but I can't imagine it would be much thicker than flagstone. We only have a few inches clearance between our current patio and the door sill and that's plenty of room for the new surface. I've seen samples of the product and it looks incredible, and care is supposed to be a dream. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has any bad experiences with this. See link for photos but I can assure you the finished product looks much better than the photos can show. In case you can't tell, I'm hooked on this idea :) Here is a link that might be useful: concrete overlay
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I see lots of concrete decks in my area and very few of them are 4" think and more like 2-1/2" and they crack...even at 4" you will get cracks. I re-did my decks on my previous home and laid porcelain tile on them and the decks looked great. You have to use the correct additive in the thinset and grout and of course you need the correct subfloor. I used regular concrete sealer on my tile decks and it looked good and really wasn't too slippery.
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Stamped concrete looks best with a few cracks. Otherwise it looks like, ah, stamped concrete.
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That your existing concrete is in good shape is key. Any crack in it would transfer through to the new material. So long as you create proper finish levels, you should be in good shape. Stamped concrete can look terrific. It's biggest drawback is the color not being integral to the slab, but just surface treatment. This is really no problem unless it is subject to harsh wear, which in this instance is probably not going to be the case. If the surface gets a chip or gouge, you'll see near-white concrete below. In most residential situations, it doesn't get that harsh of treatment.
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