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

Money is Money, Change is Change, But what sticks to the Bee is what makes the Honey. In other words they can make more doing an over lay. What ever fault a slab has will always be there. If it moved,cracked,split the same thing will happen to creet placed over it. X 100 going down hill X another 100 with wood inlays. So say there is nothing wrong with the existing creet,Nothing at all. It stll moves with the seasons like everything else solid like that exposed to the weather/sun. To get a fignting chance the Contractor would have to>>> Drill in 1/2 '' rebar into existing, lay a level of sand over the slab,Use a footing mix and tamp the dickens out of, hope for the best and get paid right after the pour. Or just form up and pour the thing and still get paid the second it done. J.

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.

Asking a contractor to match concrete is akin to calling in a baker and asking them to match the wedding cake, that you happen to have a sample of in your freezer from a couple of years ago. While they can get it close enough that everyone will agree that it's white and cake, there are going to be differences that the more discerning palates will undoubtedly notice. In your last picture, it looks to me like the contractor used a coarse broom finish, which is an extremely common finish. How rough it is depends a lot on the broom and the broom operator. There is no way to grind/"sand" this smooth without changing the character to yet another version of concrete that doesn't match your steps. If your contractor thinks there is, I suggest you'll be in for another surprise. (You had best get a sample of the end result before committing to the change.) Myself, I much prefer a ground finish over a broom finish. It's smooth and starts looking like low contrast terrazzo. (BTW, do not use an aggressive diamond blade for grinding or you'll be grinding it a second time in order to remove deep grooves. Grinding with carborundum stones would be all you need for smoothing. Also, keep in mind that it's not a 1-hour job. It would be more like a day of grinding ... so would cost extra.)