Concrete Drive Stamping

Xennon

I'm thinking of doing the front and back of my house with a concrete drive. Im looking for info on companies that do the coloured concrete and stamping. Ie the rubber matting that insets patterns into the concrete so that it looks like flag stones etc.
Anyone had any experiece with this?

Dave

stapeler

www.matcrete.ie is the only one that springs to mind, based in Wexford they have a good website explaining the process. They also do training courses etc.

Do-more

I would have got it done myself, but at the time four years ago there was no one doing it in my area (Mullingar) there is now a company called Allcrete doing it.

As I remember the Esso filling station half way down the dualler to Naas has it on their forecourt and the last time I looked it seemed fine and that would be getting lots of traffic. Would suggest you have a look at some installations like that to see how it stands up.

Hope this helps.

D-M.

Pocari Sweat

It started off big in the UK in the 80's and was getting shocking prices by some of the pressure sales companies, by the 90's.

It is widely available over here and you can get dozens of pattern and colour combinations for pretty good prices, very realistic looking it is.

The best rates you can get are about 3,000 euros for up to 100 square meters laid at 4 inches thick, all work and materials included.

It looks far better than plain concrete and doesn't go green and mouldy like the floated, tampered finished concrete.

Xennon

thanks folks...thats just the info I was looking for. The esso station might be worth a trip.

Dave

Wishbone Ash

Xennon wrote:

thanks folks...thats just the info I was looking for. The esso station might be worth a trip.

Dave

Many of the speed reduction ramps in Dublin have it (the terracotta colour).

Neverends

Do you know how this stuff measures up to cobblelock in terms of cost and durability. To be honest I almost prefer the look of it. Thanks.

Sonnenblumen

Xennon wrote:

I'm thinking of doing the front and back of my house with a concrete drive. Im looking for info on companies that do the coloured concrete and stamping. Ie the rubber matting that insets patterns into the concrete so that it looks like flag stones etc.
Anyone had any experiece with this?

Dave

You see mainly in Council Estates and TBO unless it's done properly its terrible. I can only imagine how angry so many people must be with so much crap finishing, I'd reckon much of the hassle is done to cheap and rotten nixer efforts. I mean why would you not do the real thing? Anyway if you go for a pigment make sure its mixed through and not applied at end like paint.

Looks plastic to me, a bit like the plastic finish mahogany panels, plastic floorboards, you see around.

BTW nothing wrong with concrete, but it ain't stone!

rooferPete

Hi,

Probably best described as a product that comes under the catogary of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

The most expensive part is the pigment and release agents, I'm not sure if it's matcrete but I have seen the kits available for hire.

One advantage it would have over cobble lock is no joints to worry about opening or weeds growing up through, I have seen finishes described by Sonnenblumen and thought they looked very like Stone cladding on the house in Coronation Street

.

secman

Be very careful ,a couple of my neighbours had it done, one turned out very well, contractor left plenty of advice on how often to re apply the coating on it and which one etc. However the other neighbour couldn't have found a bigger bunch of cowboys if they tried. They went far too heavy with the imprint, ended up with valleys that constantly fill up with dirt and debris. It never looks clean, and they had to haunt the contractor to come back and apply the sealant. So be warned , definitly go on a recommendation from a satisfied customer.

delly

This is something that i've been putting off doing a maintence job on, and I was reminded of such the other day when a few gentlemen in a Northern registered transit offered to clean it and reseal it for €80. I kindly declined as I thought for €80 they may have made a pigs ear of it.

When I first moved in I presumed that it was cobblelock and had never heard of imprinted concrete. I gave it the once over with the power washer but I think that it may have done more harm than good as small cracks have started to develop in places and at a slope with the neighbours house some crumbling occurred.

According to the matcrete website the type I have is 'Old English Cobble' and I'm wondering now whats the best approach for cleaning it up as in what could be used to fill the cracks and what type of sealant used to reseal it. Does the surface need to be clean before resealing as I think using the power washer may cause more harm than good and will the sealent bring back the black look?

Xennon

ok, I did some talking to people and was advised to talk to www.allcrete.ie. Got a call back with a quote of €40/sqm, for any of the finishes, not including the compacted gravel substrate. They can do the gravel base although since I was in Limerick it would be cheaper for me to get a local company to do it.
Asked if there is any jobs I can have a look at he mentioned a petrol station forecourt on one of the main meath dublin roads, and loads of places i can have a look at around mulingar and surrounding areas. He said to call him once I was in the area and hed point me to a nearby job.
The price of this has put it straight out of my budget for the moment, approx 200 sqm. Will keep looking.

Thanks again for the replies

FrankGrimes

anyone know of any driveways in Dublin with this stuff? We've to decide on what material to use for surfacing our driveway shortly, and I have my doubts that cobblelocking justifies the cost, especially since it may be vulnerable to weeds, and the driveway is at a fairly steep angle so could foresee complications.

If this stuff looked decent it could be the answer as we could go for a finish that looked like cobblelock.

Does it really look cheap, or does it look ok? If looks like its obviously an imitation I'd steer clear, as I hate wood effect PVC windows etc, but if it has its own appearance that looks ok we'd consider it. Interested to read that Delly, who's obviously fairly clued in, mistook it for cobblelock.

AdrianR

anyone know of any driveways in Dublin with this stuff?

As far as I can remember there is a house in Laurel lodge in Castleknock, as you enter Laurel lodge (across from castleknock station) there is a row of detached houses along the left hand side, I think one of then is done with a black finish.

I'm in the process of doing around my own house, I bought a set of Ashler slate mats, So far I've done some of the footpaths in black, It looks great since I sealed it a few weeks ago. Personally I think it looks great, especially when you consider the alternatives:

Bare Concrete: Can look very grubby and dirty after a few years, not that it ever looks great.

Tarmacadam: Looks brilliant when first done but gets grey very quickly. It can be sprayed black again but I'm not sure of the costs of this. Weeds can sometimes be a problem and you better hope that that no ones car ever leaks diesel or petrol onto it as it will crumble away.

Cobble lock: Weeds, weeds and more weeds. Very expensive for a big area.

squire1

Tbh, I'd be surprised if anyone mistook it for cobblelock (no disrespect to delly). It is what it is, coloured concrete with a design imprinted on it. It has a look of its own and it's a matter of personal taste. I've seen it done a few times and it can look quiet good with the right colour and finish. It relatively maintenance free (compared to cobbles/setts), it's also easy and quick to lay with the right preperation so less disruption caused to your driveway. Sorry Frank the only driveway I can remember done with this was down in Co Laois. All other places have been in petrol stations and such (the statoil on Naas Road at Kill).