Is stamped concrete appropriate for use in Michigan with temperature variations? The salt use, freeze, and thaw cycle can damage surfaces.
Stamped vs. Traditional Concrete
Stamped concrete has several benefits over traditional concrete. The primary benefit of stamped concrete is that it permits customization. It is more appealing than conventional brushed concrete. If you are 100% sold on concrete for your driveways, pathways, walkways, or patios, then stamped concrete is always a better choice than its conventional counterpart.
Concrete is typically prone to cracking. But the question is how soon and badly can it crack. This leads us to the next topic:
Stamped Concrete and Interlocking Pavers
If installed well, there are no cons to installing pavers. However, when compared to interlocking concrete pavers, there are several pain points with stamped concrete. We have compared the two below.
Cracking
Stamped concrete is prone to cracking. Pavers are not. And if a paver is ever damaged, it is easy to get rid of the damaged paver by removing it and quickly install a new paver. This is never possible with stamped concrete.
Unattractive Control Joints
Concrete driveways, patios, or pathways require control joints. The joints are deep, big lines that are integrated every about 5 or 10 feet on concrete hardscape to prevent cracking. When you are trying to establish the look of tiles, pavers, or flagstone, a huge gaping line running in the middle ruins the aesthetic appeal. With pavers, this is not the problem. Pavers have joints throughout. As a result, the look is also preserved throughout patios or pathways.
Permanent Changes
In the case of stamped concrete, what is done the first time becomes permanent. Pavers allow you to continue altering the shape, keep pavers, and even make the patio larger! Pavers are always versatile and can be added on to.
Ongoing Maintenance
With stamped concrete, any damage caused is permanent. With pavers, you can dig up that particular area, troubleshoot the issue, and again re-install the pavers.
To maintain the appearance, stamped concrete needs to be re-coated or re-sealed every two years. This incurs maintenance costs. The coating can result in a slipping hazard if wet. This takes us to the following topic:
Wet and Slippery
Stamped concrete becomes slippery when it is wet. This isn’t the case with pavers. Paver surface is perfect for both vehicles and pedestrians. Good to look at and nice to feel. It is also sturdy to give grip when wet.
Stability, Durability, and Dependability
Concrete pavers possess a compressive strength ranging between 8,000 and 10,000 PSI or higher. But that of concrete is about 3,000-4,000 PSI. This means that pavers have a higher capacity to bear weight. This is reassuring for driveways.
Ready to Use
You can walk or drive on pavers right when the job is accomplished. But you cannot do this on concrete. It is usually possible to use concrete 3-5 days after installation. Children or animals walking on the concrete, writing on it before it cures, or sudden temperature changes cause the concrete to get cured at different rates.
Issues with Recycling
There is minimal or no scope for recycling concrete. But as pavers are individual units, they can be recycled in two ways. First, someone may want to use the existing pavers for a new assignment. If this isn’t feasible, they can be recycled at most plants.
Variety of Options
An average stamped concrete contractor is likely to have 5-15 kinds of stamps available. The options available for pavers outweigh the availability for the stamped concrete market.
Imitation vs the Real Thing
Stamped concrete typically is an imitation of another material. The stamp and coloring try to mimic tiles, bricks, pavers, bluestones, or flagstones. As the cost is almost the same, why would you not choose the original thing? Concrete pavers are available in all shapes and sizes, from large tiles to flagstones and real-cut stones to interlocking pavers. So, if you want a customized look, it is wiser to choose the original thing.
Sealing
A sealer is not mandatory but if you want to seal your pavers, you need to wait for two months before applying it. We recommend a dry look sealer.
Wet look sealers need re-application every two years. After the second coating, before applying the third coat, you will have to strip off the sealer from the pavers. This can be an environmentally hazardous and expensive operation.
Polysand
Polymeric sand or polysand inhibits weed growth. On the other hand, moss growth is also inhibited except for those areas that are shady, moist, or both.
For all these reasons, we prefer installing pavers in Michigan. To opt for paver installation, you can get in touch with us.