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Stamped concrete is concrete that has been imprinted, or that is patterned, textured, or embossed to resemble brick, slate, flagstone, stone, tile, wood, or various other patterns and textures. The practice of stamping concrete for various purposes began with the ancient Romans. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, concrete was sometimes stamped with contractor names and years during public works projects, but by the late twentieth century the term "stamped concrete" came to refer primarily to decorative concrete produced with special modern techniques for use in , sidewalks, , pool decks, and interior flooring.
Concrete manufacturers started experimenting with modern decorative concrete techniques as early as the 1890s. In the 1950s, Brad Bowman—considered the "father" of modern concrete stamping—began developing and patenting new techniques for producing concrete that resembled non-concrete materials, such as flagstone and wood. He used wooden platform stamps that could imprint multiple pieces of concrete at once. Later, platform stamps would be made of sheet metal or aluminium. In 1956, Bill Stegmeier of the Stegmeier Company, discovered that a color powder used to impart an antiquing effect to concrete also had the property of preventing stamps from sticking to concrete, which opened up new possibilities. By the 1970s the demand for stamped concrete grew, and the material became a common component in building projects. In the late 1970s, manufacturer Jon Nasvik developed lightweight and durable polyurethane stamps for concrete. He later developed plastic stamps that could imprint both texture and pattern on wet concrete, making the process more efficient.
Modern stamped concrete increased in popularity in the 1970s in part because it was featured in the World of Concrete trade show. Builders saw it as a new way to satisfy the customer and make their budget work simultaneously. When stamped concrete for aesthetic purposes was first developed, there were very few choices of design and colors. However, as the industry grew more stamping patterns were created along with many different types of stains. Another advantage to using stamped concrete was that it could be applied to many different surfaces and textures, such as driveways, highways, patios, decks, and even floors inside the home.
In the twenty-first century, demand for stamped concrete in the non-residential construction industry has increased as part of a more general boom in demand for concrete products.
The color hardener can be applied using one of two procedures; integral color or cast-on color. Integral color is the procedure where the entire volume of concrete is dyed the base color. The entire volume of concrete is colored by adding the color hardener to the concrete truck, and allowing all the concrete in the truck to be dyed. Cast-on color is the procedure where the surface of the concrete is dyed the base color. The surface of the concrete is colored by spreading the color hardener onto the surface of the wet concrete and floating the powder into the top layer of the wet concrete.
Concrete can be colored in many ways; color hardener, integral liquid or powder, acid stains to name a few. The process of integrally coloring the concrete offers the advantage of the entire volume being colored; however, the surface strength is not increased as with the use of color hardener. Dry shake color hardener is another popular way to color concrete. You broadcast the hardener on the concrete as soon as it is floated for the first time. After letting the bleed water soak into the hardener you float and trowel it in. This method only covers the surface about 3/16 of an inch but it gives the concrete surface a longer wear life.
The color release can be applied in one of two procedures based on the two forms it is manufactured in: powdered (cast-on color release made up of calcium-releasing powders that repel water); or liquid - which is a light aromatic-based solvent, spray-on color release. Cast-on color release is a procedure where the powder color release is applied by spreading the color release on the surface of the concrete before the concrete is stamped. Spray-on color release is a procedure where liquid color release is sprayed on the bottom of the concrete stamps before the concrete is stamped.
Concrete stamping is the procedure which uses the concrete stamps to make the pattern in the stamped concrete. Concrete stamps are placed on the concrete after the color release has been applied. The concrete stamps are pushed into the concrete and then removed to leave the pattern in the stamped concrete.
In most cases concrete stamping is made to look like ordinary building products such as flagstone, brick, natural stone, etc.
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