Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!
Pavement and stamped concrete
Within the wide range of constructive possibilities in which the concrete and its different applications, there is the stamped concrete (also commonly called printed pavement and erroneously assigned with the name of «printed cement»Being that they are different concepts).
To understand stamped concrete; what it is, what it is for, types, colors, where it is put or why it is used. First we have to review what is concrete.
The concrete or concrete (in South America), is a construction material where different elements are combined; a binder (which is usually Portland cement), aggregates (sand, gravel, gravel, etc.), water and some specific additives (See examples of houses with concrete).
By combining them, according to proportions and properties, we have a construction material with certain benefits, which, in addition, in general, is malleable, has adherent characteristics and it is from great hardness.
Starting from here, an aesthetic alternative to the traditional decorative architectural materials used in outdoor flooring What; wood, ceramic, terrazzo, etc. New techniques and construction systems that represent imitations of noble materials.
The use of fair-faced concrete for exterior flooring (mainly in outdoor floors or exposed to climatic conditions) is another aesthetic option to the materials that is similar, but has particularities and is what we are going to discover in this article.
What is printed concrete?
is defined as stamped concrete flooring to decorative technique resulting from applying a continuous hardening mortar made in situ, usually colored, on a fresh concrete surface. The subsequent texture, reliefs, prints, are with molds of different shapes and designs, and the application of the final product and protection (which is a resin).
The resulting hardened mortar will give us appearance similar to noble materials such as slate, stone, slate, paver, ceramic tile, wood or, practically, any other with various geometric shapes (See also types of laminate floors and which is better).
To understand the stamped into concrete From a schematic perspective, we leave the two most general cases with their main layers; when we have no base and with base - screed on consolidated soil.
It is not a new covering mortar, it already has years of experience, and it is a material par excellence in floors of many public places; on walks, sidewalks, roads, streets, squares, urbanizations, etc. But, its usefulness has also been transferred to building exterior, in their common areas, or especially in single family homes (chalets) as covering terraces, porches, paths, in short, outdoor areas or the edges of swimming pools (in the latter, you have to be careful about the pH - chlorine of the pool)
Although it has some advantages, it must be said that they will never give us the true aesthetics of a noble material such as stone or wood, or the possible perfectionist finishes of a good ceramic or precast terrazzo tile, we must take that into account!
Printed concrete, although it has favorable aspects, will never give us the aesthetic beauty of a noble material or perfectionist finishes of precast slabs.
The pigmented concrete In which a grid is engraved while it is fresh that simulates pieces and textures of other materials. It requires quite technical specifications in cases with significant road traffic or special settings (there is a guide for this purpose below)
Templates and molds
The market offers for sale a wide variety of grids, embossed flat templates and molds (metallic - polyurethane) with different solutions, dimensions and thickness; small, large, rectangular, oval, arched, herringbone, etc, which are obviously symmetrical and we can replicate them to our liking. The types of molds for stamped concrete most common are:
- Cobblestone imitation mold
- Imitation stone mold
- Imitation tile mold
- Imitation border mold
- Imitation wood mold
Image above represents polyurethane stencils that are much less heavy and easy to use when printing a texture to look like imitations. There are also solutions with reliefs like the following image or rougher ones with an edge to simulate stones on a path.
Pigmentation in cements and concretes
Some professionals call "colorante" (soluble substance) to the product that colors the mortar when we practice the stamped concreteBut, in reality, the technical description is pigment (insoluble substance).
There is a wide range of cement staining products and concrete, which in turn adds complexity when it comes to obtaining a specific color (See article on color in architecture). You always have to carry out previous tests to see the final result or we can get a good scare and not get the color that the client wants.
You always have to carry out previous color tests to see the final result
The pigments can be natural or artificial. They usually go with colors from organic green, blue, yellow and red ideal for interiors and, black, red, yellow, gray, brown, inorganic green and blue for exterior.
The organic pigments are not stable due to its sometimes greater reactivity (high resistance to alkalis is needed - cement and lime are alkaline in nature), due to the small size of its particle, resistance to solar radiation or its low resistance to weathering.
For patterned floors in construction and construction, normally use artificial ones - inorganic and within this palette, the most recommended are the ones synthetic iron oxides.
For coloring cementitious products That we will use outdoors we have limitations that mark us the different shades of the pigments that we can use (Technical guide here). In the following image we have the synthetic color palette that we can use:
Advantages and disadvantages of stamped concrete
There is no work or constructive element that is perfect and in most cases, the economic investment (paying more or less, both in the work of the operators and in the materials) largely determines the useful life of the work. executed.
| Advantages stamped concrete | Disadvantages stamped concrete |
| Multiple designs | Skilled labor is needed |
| Fast execution | Expensive repairs |
| Lower price compared to traditional materials | Be careful with the release agent and sealer |
| Prevents weed growth | Cracks |
| Low demand on maintenance | Not suitable for extreme environments |
| Long useful life | Be careful with the drainage |
| Point breaks | Beware of hidden items |
Advantages
- Multiple designs. The possibilities of geometric patterns in a patterned floor, textures and colors in the finishes are practically endless. There are even some companies that can create patterns according to customer needs, which obviously increases the execution price.
- Fast execution. The installation of mortar in situ, being continuous, is usually faster than the betrayed paving. An important advantage in the architecture sector and you have to be careful with geometric shapes, the more complex, the more execution time, and, therefore, a higher final price.
- Lower price compared to traditional materials. On average, the price per square meter is normally lower when compared to paving stones of medium quality.
- Prevents weed growth. By forming a larger "slab" style paving, weed growth is prevented through it. Two frustrating factors in an exterior paved space are weeds growing through the joints and water that carries material away and creates crooked and swaying slabs.
- Low demand on maintenance. No special care is required once executed, but an impeccable implementation is required if we do not want to have problems throughout its useful life (if there is a lot of wear due to rolling of cars or for some other reason, it will be necessary to execute a new layer of sealed).
- Long useful life. Printed concrete has great resistance and durability to atmospheric conditions and, therefore, a longer useful life than many other materials used outdoors.
- Point breaks. A possible forceful blow on the ground is focused on only one point, on the cobblestones, in many cases we would see it split in two.
Disadvantages
- Skilled labor is needed. Although apparently its execution is simple, if we want durability, we must follow some specific steps respecting the setting time - hardening, application of release agent, pigments, etc. Directly to hire a professional.
- Expensive repairs. When we have a poor execution or a specific problem, it is difficult and expensive to patch or repair stamped concrete. Also, if we have a poorly printed, chipped or colored section, if we proceed to trimming, replacement - polishing, in general, there will be an obvious difference from the original surface.
- Be careful with the release agent and sealer. Old products in poor condition can cause premature wear on surfaces, flaking, different shades, ect.
- Cracks. When running continuously and forming larger slabs, special attention must be paid to expansion joints. A lack of them, we can have problems in random cracking of the surface.
- Not suitable for extreme environments. With the expansions and contractions that concrete undergoes, it is not always the best option in places with extreme climatic changes.
- Be careful with the drainage. Although we have the expansion joints, there may be future problems with the water drainage.
- Beware of hidden items. We must take care that there are no pipes or other elements of importance buried, it would take us a repair that is not pleasant and expensive.
What is the price of stamped concrete?
In reality, here we can spend hours discussing in a very wide market, with multiple companies specialized in its placement and without taking into account the requirements or the budget of the client, surface or accessibility.
You have to ask for several estimates, always with a contract and well detailed with specified techniques
What we do have clear is that the budget must go per square meter executed (labor and materials) and finished (in the case of curbs, it is usually budgeted per linear meter).
To make a comparison that falls within a coherent reality, we have turned to the Construction Price Base published by the IVE for this year. The average price with a thickness of 14 centimeters, mesh and polypropylene fibers, comes out to 28.27 Euros per square meter including labor:
There are cases that will offer us with a thickness of 10 cm (We have seen an offer for 20 Euros / m2) instead of the 14 cm indicated in the image. It is very convenient to use a mesh - reinforcement. Do not put printed concrete without a reinforcement!
Remember that we wrote an article about an IVE tool on how to pre-calculate the execution costs of urban actions.
How is stamped concrete made?
Although the process of executing the printed flooring is relatively quick, obviously, we will have to follow a few steps and control the times, both for adequate adherence and homogeneity in color.
From a technical perspective, concrete floors and their choice requires professional knowledge and this reference guide (Free PDF download, if we register) on continuous pavements with concrete (Spanish regulations apply) will help us make the correct choice according to the road and other important technical aspects.
Given the great diversity of solutions and finishes, with joints that can respond to the same service situation, an identification code is defined that is indicative of its characteristics directly related to the use to which it will be subjected.
Now, we leave an infographic of the manufacturer Sika to see step by step the procedure of placement in situ in a general way:
And to see it from a visual perspective, we leave a fairly detailed video of the system and process of execution of stamped concrete with some helpful tips:
With the right tools, installation will not be a problem in the hands of specialists. The paving is manufactured directly on site and continuously. It is not limited to its placement on sloping or uneven floors, where other materials would not adapt (Of interest the article on mosaic floors and hydraulic tiles)
The cloth to be executed must be calculated well so that plasticity is not lost, working in short sections is better
Contraction joints in continuous concrete slabs are very important. Its function is to limit the stresses produced by shrinkage phenomena and thermal gradients, with them, we will avoid many problems of cracks and breaks:
- The ratio between the lengths of the major and minor sides must not exceed the value of 1.5
- In non-rectangular or square slabs, lower angles <60º should be avoided.
- If the pavement is built by band, staggered joints should be avoided
In addition, we want to add some useful tips from Pavistamp in your guide to selling materials on the implementation of the colored mortar for stamped concrete, powder release agent (prevents the mortar from sticking to the mold) and on the protective resin:
| Colored mortar application tips |
| The base where we want to pave will be properly compacted and clean, with the approval of the facultative direction, to receive the concrete. The thickness in all cases will be decided by the project management or the property. |
| Avoid concretes with excess additives, they make it difficult for the water to rise by capillarity, preventing the hitch - grip between the concrete and the mortar. |
| In printed pavements, in light tones, avoid applying on fresh concrete with excess water by capillary rise, apart from increasing consumption (3-4 kg / m2), we have loss of resistance and the consequent discoloration of the pavement once dry . |
| Do not add water to the product once it has been sprinkled on the fresh concrete. |
| Avoid application with direct sunlight and strong wind. |
| Powder release agent application tips |
| Manual dusting in plastic state. |
| Apply in one layer covering the entire surface. |
| Avoid application when the concrete has excess water on the surface, as it would form whitish areas that are very difficult to control. |
| Do not apply in strong wind. |
| Protective resin application tips |
| On cementitious bases: <4% humidity. |
| Supplied ready to use. |
| There is no need to add any additive to the resin when we apply it on decorated floors. |
| Indoors, apply with adequate ventilation. |
| During the work and application, wear gloves, a mask and safety glasses. |
| Do not apply with frost, risk of rain, humidity or direct sunlight. |
| Application temperatures between 10-25ºC (measured on the pavement). |
| It can be used over time for the conservation and maintenance of any concrete floor, whether smooth, decorated or with prominences. |
In one article it is impossible to detail all the systems and technical aspects of the wide world of printed concrete, the varieties of materials and put into work with different punctualities. We just wanted to give a general review that can add value.
This technique has been used for a long time and therefore there is a lot of experience on the market. The best advice is to look for different budgets and always in companies that have demonstrable projects that we can test.
If you liked the article, rate and share!
