Printed concrete. How much?

fiona stephanie

Hi guys.
At the moment my back garden is 3/4's decked and the other 1/4 was originally a barked area, which has just gone to mush. The decking was done by a cowboy, and there is big gaps between each panel, I shudder at the thought of finding out what is under the decking! We really want to rip up the decked area and get the whole garden concreted and then printed over, as I dont want it to look too dull and boring !
My question is does anyone have any idea how much, this would be for a sq meter? I have heard that concrete is the cheapest and most low maintance option I could go for but have no idea of price! My garden is a big enough space, roughly 35 feet by 20 feet!

Thanks in advance
Fiona

Calluna

Hi
If I may jump onto this thread with a similar query regarding pricing...
Also, if anyone has any feedback on printed concrete - I've heard various secondhand 'bad' reports of it being slippy, cracking during frost, etc but no-one with personal experience. The only people I know who have it, have it on a small driveway and have no such problems. One last thing - it can appear very 'black' - do you have to get a dye, or can it be a more 'grey' colour?
The pros as I see it is that it's a stable surface that you can drive on, but looks more decorative and doesn't have problems with weeds growing up through, etc.

Sonnenblumen

An attractive Driveway done with printed concrete is rare, usually they are bland and dull finishes and often the signs of poor workmanship are often all too visible. Cracks, flaking, water ponding, inconsistent slopes or irregular ground levels. How anybody likes that bland black finish baffles me? Would you seriuosly putting a similar finish in the back garden?:eek:

Printer/Pattern concrete is an american product originally, nothing wrong with that, and there it is available in a range of colours and textures, mostly mimicking natural stone tones and textures.

I'm sure if it were to be done with some skill and more sympathy it could look well, but I've yet to see it. There are other options available which may suit your budget.

You've already suffered with a cowboy deck installation, do you not think 'wall to wall' printed concrete' might produce a cowboy garden?

johngalway

For what it's worth, my advice is stay away from printed concrete or indeed any other "fancy" type of concrete. Often brochure and website pictures are from the likes of Florida or California. Printing and working that way with concrete in Ireland is difficult due to the weather and it's very, very easy to mess it up when doing the job. Use something more proven, traditional and what you know will look great for years.