Stained Concrete Archives - Stamped Artistry

Benefits of an Outdoor Patio with Concrete Floors

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IMG_20120516_111622An outdoor patio can make your living space seem much bigger. With a beautiful outdoor patio, you do not have to be stuck inside your house during the spring, summer, and fall. You can create an outdoor living room and an outdoor kitchen that are extensions of your home, where you truly love to spend your time while enjoying nature. If you are hoping to create an outdoor oasis by putting in a patio or fixing up the deck space you have, you are going to need to decide on materials. Concrete is often the best choice because it is durable and affordable. Concrete does not have to be boring, either–you can have stamped or stained concrete that is one-of-a-kind and that becomes the centerpiece of your outdoor living arrangement.  Find out from Stamped Artistry what the different options are for designing a beautiful outdoor space with concrete in your back yard.

Consider Concrete Steps Instead of Wood

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If you’re planning to add a new level to your home, such as a deck, or even a whole new floor,  then you will need steps. You could choose wood steps, which would be beautiful, initially. However, wood has some disadvantages of which you may be aware, but you also may not know that you have other choices, like concrete. Concrete steps can be just as beautiful, with fewer disadvantages than wood.

Wood and Concrete

Wood steps can be beautiful. They come in many styles, types, and colors. Of course, they also need a lot of care over the years. They need staining every few, for example. Eventually, no matter what you do, they will decay, and even splinter, sometimes. You will have to manage those possibilities. They’re also at risk of pests like termites. While they’re beautiful, are they worth all that work?

Concrete steps are sturdy; you probably know this. Do you know that they don’t have to be grey and boring? They can be absolutely beautiful. They have many colors, styles and patterns, and they can even be made to look like other types of materials. If you like the look of marble, you can do that with concrete. Or, if you like brick, concrete can resemble that, too.

Stamped concrete is very easy to care for. Even if you don’t give it the care you should, it will still last much longer than wood. Keep it clean easily, seal it far less often, and never worry about splintering. Plus, it’s much, much harder to damage concrete steps with falling objects, or other potentially damaging things.

Add that amazing upper level to your structure and get beautiful steps for it. Call Stamped Artistry today and find out what concrete can do for you, your steps, and your home in general.

Make the Waiting Room of Your Business a Place Your Clients Want to Be

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Stamped and stained concrete have the ability to transform a room. Where you once had a space that was little different from any other in your space, such as your office, you could have a touch of of something extra attractive to make it the place to be. When clients come into your business and have to wait, you want them to be comfortable. While a clean space, with comfortable seating and interesting things to keep them occupied as they wait, is a common, important element, imagine how much nicer it would be for them if the waiting room was even more beautiful with colorful stained concrete.

The Place to Be is Your Office

Beautiful, well-made stamped concrete can transform any area in to a place in which people want to be. Make a pool deck the summertime hot-spot. Make a driveway beautiful. Stylize any area, including the waiting area. When you’re forced to leave your clients for a time in the waiting area, leave them in a nice, comfortable place. Give them interesting colors and styles. You might think that a floor couldn’t make that much more of a difference, but it truly can.

Colors can add to the serenity of a place; with the right color choices, you keep your clients in a serene setting. The designs can be pleasing to the eye, and not only keep clients happy, but have them asking who designed your floors. The more your clients notice how nice your office is, the more likely it is that their experiences will be pleasant.

Plus, stamped and stained concrete is strong. Your clients and their children can run around in your waiting room all day, and they will never do enough damage to wear it down anytime soon. You can clean it easily, care for it easily, and you’ll have beautiful floors in your office for many, many years.

Make your office waiting room the place to be with concrete from Stamped Artistry.

A Concrete Floor for Your Restaurant

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The restaurant business is a bustling one. None of the jobs available in the food business are easy; they’re rough on everyone, and on the floors. Restaurant floors see more foot traffic than many businesses–from patrons in the dining areas, to staff there and in other rooms, and the kitchen staff, of course. Where food is prepared, the floors experience too many spills and utensil crashes to count. It stand to reason that the floors should be more than attractive; they should be tough. A concrete floor for your restaurant could be perfect.

The Look

Concrete is not the grey and bland material you see outside. Your restaurant can have lasting concrete floors and still have the look you want. You can have any number of color combinations and styles that won’t wear down with time and extreme foot traffic like other flooring will. If your restaurant would look best with a natural stone appearance, you can have stamped concrete for that, too.

The Resilience

To keep this stained and stamped concrete floor beautiful despite all the traffic it will see, you need to maintain it, but not too much. Concrete is strong and easy to clean. You need only basic cleaning and maintenance to keep it looking its best, even after many busy lunch and dinner shifts. After years of serving you as well as you serve your customers, it will still be as beautiful as you want it to be.

All the business of a restaurant means many, many accidents. All those inevitable spills and utensil crashes, whether they happen in the dining area or the kitchen, won’t damage the floor either. As long as it’s maintained, cleaned, and spills are managed as soon as possible, your concrete floor can handle it.

Make your restaurant floor the best is can be. Call Stamped Artistry today.

Avoiding Potential Disadvantages of Concrete Floors

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While stamped and stained concrete can be the perfect choice for your next floors, countertops, and more, that does not mean it won’t need care over the years. All materials have their drawbacks, but you can avoid them. Whatever negative there may be to having concrete floors, there is a solution for it.

The Floor is Cold

This is true of most, if not all hard floors. This is one of the common reasons people choose carpet over hard floors of any kind; they don’t want to set bare feet on cold floors, particularly in the morning, or after a warm bath. Of course, this isn’t always a bad thing in hot climates.

That is where area rugs come in handy. Find some that suit your décor and place them in the right spots. You can avoid getting cold feet often. Don’t forget your socks, too.

The Floor is Slippery

Truthfully, concrete floors are not as slippery as you might think. Rather, it will be slippery if it is wet, and might be so if you wear socks. However, it is no more slick than any other hard floor. Plus, texturizing and applying certain seals help prevent slipping. That is why concrete is so suitable even for pool decks. It also never hurts to have rules about running in the house when you have children who might spill liquids.

The Floor is Hard

This is another common reason people choose carpet. Of course, this negative is usually true of any hard floor. For those who want concrete flooring but have concerns about how hard it is, soft area rugs are, again, great for helping with that issue. You can place enough of them to help, but not so many that they are a décor problem. If you worry over the children’s room being hard, there are excellent, colorful play pads, usually in the shapes of puzzle pieces, to help with that.

Ultimately, there is an answer to every potential negative when it comes to concrete floors. That makes them near perfect for your home. Find out more from Stamped Artistry today.

Unsightly Tire Marks on Your Driveway

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Do you hate the tire marks that lead onto and off of your driveway? They are unsightly and they’re not easy to remove. We want to be proud of our homes and feel good about them when we come home. Those pieces of rubber that make their way from your tires onto your nice driveway may seem superficial, but they can ruin the aesthetic of your driveway, and even affect the overall appeal of your home in your eyes.

Removing Tire Marks

When you have stained, or stamped concrete, or both, you have nothing to worry about in terms of durability; your concrete is safe from your tires, as well as most other damage that may occur during the years it serves as your driveway, or any other flooring at your home. That means it will survive your attempts to remove tire marks.

Sometimes, these marks are easy to remove. If they are not terribly old, or they are not very thick, it will be easier. It is also easier if your flooring is well-sealed. Coated floors resist the rubber much better, and so are much better when it comes to cleaning. You can always try soap and water, first. If that doesn’t work, try vinegar.

If you’re having trouble with old-fashioned methods, sometimes a simple degreaser will help. There are also stronger, over-the-counter solvents that may help. Before moving on to stronger solvents, you want to make sure that your concrete is well-sealed. Different seals withstand different solvents better than others, and while they are strong enough to resist many cleaners in the short-term, that doesn’t meant that they’re right for your concrete in the long-term.

When you need help maintaining your concrete flooring and driveway, trust the professionals at Stamped Artistry. We will help you create, install, and maintain your concrete floors.

Protect Your Stained Concrete

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Your stamped and stained concrete is strong; it’s meant to be as permanent as possible. However, like anything else, it must be care for and maintained. The stain in your concrete only goes so far past the surface. This means that is can wear out over time as a result of weather or traffic. So, it’s necessary to take steps to prolong the life of your stained concrete.

Protecting Stained Concrete

To maintain your concrete’s staining, manufacturers recommend protecting the surface with a few coats of sealer. This sealant adds shine, as well as protecting your floor. It also makes it easier to clean up dirt and prevents wear to a certain extent. You will still need to maintain your floors. Traffic over the years will affect your concrete significantly if your flooring is in a high traffic area.

Cleaning Stained Concrete

If your floor is indoors, its needs will vary according to the amount of traffic. High traffic will need more cleaning, as well as buffing and waxing. It’s best to clean gently once per week, then do a more thorough clean twice a month or so. Then, buff and re-wax the floor twice per year, or so. Your flooring manufacturer can give you some recommendations.

If your stained concrete is outside, you may not feel the need to clean quite as much. Of course, the elements will affect your outdoor floors more. You can sweep them clean, wash them down, and use mild cleaners so as not to add wear. These floors may need stronger seals, but you may not need to re-apply those seals more than every year or two.

Stained concrete makes for beautiful floors that last a lifetime. We will not only install the perfect floors for you, we’ll teach you more about protecting stained concrete. Call Stamped Artistry today.

Tips for Cleaning Stained Concrete

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Cleaning the floor is not most people’s favorite pastime. Some floors make it easier than others, and of the types of flooring there are to clean, stained concrete is one of the easiest. There are no fibers to catch dust and debris, or grout and crevices that make mopping well difficult, etc. Instead, you have beautiful, smooth floors that are comparatively easy to clean.

They’re Easy to Clean

That does not mean that your stained concrete floors need no maintenance. You will need to clean them well and with some care to maintain their appearance. For example, exterior stained concrete will be subject to the elements, which can cause some wear. Resealing may be necessary on a rare occasion; doing it once per year as a precaution may be a good idea. This will continue the surface protection from wear and tear.

The frequency of cleaning and resealing will depend upon the frequency, and nature of the wear and tear. For example, is the flooring outdoors near the pool? It is a patio? Or, is it indoors? If the concrete is outdoors with no shelter, you will get wind blowing dirt and debris around, as well as rain and other potentially damaging weather-related events. Indoors, however, there will only be the traffic you bring inside.

For basic cleaning, dry dust the floors; vacuums are often a little too rough on the floors. When you mop, use water, or a mild cleaner. If you need something stronger for tougher stains, try a stronger, but still gentle, soap solution, or vinegar. If the floor is no longer shiny, try waxing.

Staining takes durable concrete and turns it into a beautiful, and permanent part of your home. Whether it’s indoors or outside, your stained concrete will last with cleaning and care. Let us help you find the perfect stained concrete for your home at Stamped Artistry.

The Stained Concrete Driveway

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Feaux-falg4Driveways are highly functional. We don’t consider them much when it comes to renovation for aesthetics. If they’re cracked, we have them fixed because our tires bump every time we drive over them, and because they are unsightly that way. However, how often do you really notice a driveway because it is so very nice-looking?

A driveway like that is possible to have. Stained concrete is a way to make it happen. You can have the best-looking driveway in the neighborhood with stained, and even stamped concrete. Plus, it offers more than just great look.

It’s durable. If you’re worried about something that nice being out in the weather, don’t be. Stained and stamped concrete is sealed and meant to last. Its surface is tough and it’s even stain resistant. It is even made to resist chipping and fading.

It’s not too expensive. Despite how nice it looks, stained concrete can be very affordable. It is even less costly than some more common materials.

It’s better for your tires. It’s not good for our tires to roll on rough surfaces all of the time. Sure, standard concrete will do, but it’s boring and cracks over the years. Stained concrete is finished to a shine in any color mixture you like. It is laid smooth with good traction. You’ll never have a problem with your tires on this driveway.

It’s nice enough to be extra hosting space. If you don’t have a patio, or you just need some extra space for entertaining, a driveway this nice is a great place to do it. Suddenly, your driveway seems far more functional, as it’s nice enough to use for more than driving and parking your car.

Get the nicest driveway in your neighborhood. Call Stamped Artistry today and ask about stained and stamped concrete driveways.

Rain Damaged Concrete

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IMG_20120516_111622Concrete is a very durable thing. It lasts for years and, if it gets good care, it can last a lifetime. Your average sidewalk may crack over a few years, but sturdy, stylish, stained and stamped concrete at your home can remain attractive as long as you want, if you maintain it. Because, when concrete is exposed to the weather, it will be affected. Rain and water damage are real risks.

Defense is the beginning of concrete rain damage care. It prevents the damage from ever happening, or significantly reduces the likelihood. When the concrete is laid, it should be treated with protection and sealed. This is included in the installation of most stains and stamped concrete.

However, should the damage occur anyway, don’t leave it to get worse. As long as you pay a little attention to the state of your concrete, any damage you may notice will probably be mild, or not go far past the surface. This is a good thing because fixing it will not be so difficult. For major issues, resurfacing might be necessary.

The type of repair will depend on the amount of damage and the type of concrete. Mild damage on a brushed finish might just need a professional scrub. This could hurt smoother, shinier concrete, however, and resurfacing entirely might be required in that case. If your concrete is stained and stamped, this might be a lengthier, more involved process that includes re-staining and applying overlays. A professional will have to perform this.

If your current drive way or patio has been for a very long time, you may want to consider getting something completely new, rather than revitalizing the old. For example, if your patio is as it was when you first moved in, water damage could be the perfect excuse to get something new that you like better.

Don’t let rain damaged concrete ruin your day. Call us at Stamped Artistry. We’ll protect your concrete, revitalize it, or construct new stained and stamped concrete for you.