Salt, slush, and sub-zero freezes do a number on decorative concrete in Providence, RI. Precision Concrete Providence sees the damage every year on local properties.
Homeowners with a stamped concrete patio on the East Side or a textured driveway in Elmhurst already know the surface looks sharp when it is freshly laid. Keeping stamped concrete and textured concrete looking good through Rhode Island's brutal freeze-thaw cycles takes a little bit of routine care. Precision Concrete Providence is going to walk you through what homeowners actually need to do to keep decorative concrete surfaces from cracking up and fading out.
How to Extend the Life of Your Stamped Concrete
Sealant is very important for stamped concrete. If homeowners skip sealing stamped concrete, water gets down into the pores of the concrete, freezes, expands, and starts popping the surface right off. Precision Concrete Providence sees it every spring on stamped concrete patios that have not been touched in three years.
Homeowners will want to re-seal stamped concrete every two to three years depending on how much foot traffic and sun the stamped concrete gets. Precision Concrete Providence makes sure to use a breathable acrylic sealer made for decorative concrete, instead of cheap products from the big box store that trap moisture underneath. Clean the stamped concrete slab thoroughly before rolling sealant on, or the work will seal in last month's dirt and leaves forever.
What Regular Maintenance Looks Like
Homeowners do not need a fancy pressure washer to keep stamped concrete clean. In fact, blasting stamped concrete on high pressure with a narrow nozzle will strip the sealer right off and can even pit the decorative concrete. Stick to a standard garden hose and a soft-bristle push broom with some mild dish soap for regular spring and fall cleanup of stamped concrete surfaces.
When winter hits Providence, put away the heavy metal snow shovels. Use a plastic shovel or a snow blower with rubber-edged paddles to clear snow off stamped concrete. Metal blades leave nasty gouges in the stamped pattern and tear up the decorative concrete sealer. Skip the rock salt if you can, because calcium chloride is much gentler on decorative concrete and will not pit the stamped concrete surface nearly as fast when the temperature drops into the teens.
Warning Signs of Trouble
Keep your eyes open for hairline cracks starting to spiderweb across stamped concrete surfaces. A little settling is normal in Providence's clay-heavy soils, but if a crack on decorative concrete starts widening or one side of a joint is higher than the other, you have got movement underneath the stamped concrete slab.
Fading or a cloudy white haze on stamped concrete is another red flag. That haze usually means moisture got trapped under an old layer of decorative concrete sealer, or the product was applied on a damp day. If the colors on stamped concrete are starting to look washed out and chalky, the surface is past due for stamped concrete maintenance.
When to Call a Professional
Some things homeowners can knock out on a Saturday afternoon with a broom and a roller. Other times, homeowners need to bring in a concrete contractor who does this every day. Precision Concrete Providence gets calls every spring from homeowners whose DIY decorative concrete sealing jobs went sideways or whose stamped concrete slabs have settled unevenly.
Call Precision Concrete Providence if you notice major sinking, wide cracks in stamped concrete that you could slide a nickel into, or extensive flaking where the stamped texture is completely gone. Trying to patch major decorative concrete surface failures with hardware store concrete mix usually looks terrible and fails by the next January. Get a proper assessment, fix the drainage issues causing the movement, and protect your stamped concrete before a small repair turns into a complete concrete replacement. Precision Concrete Providence provides stamped concrete and decorative concrete services for homes in Providence, RI.