Your driveway is not only the gateway to your home, but it is the one of the first things visitors notice about the exterior of your home. An old, ugly and cracked driveway can make even a home with spectacular landscaping appear shabby. Your home is your castle and the entrance should make it look like one. Decorative concrete overlay is a work of art that will set your home apart from the other homes in the neighborhood.
Instantly Improve Your Homes Curb Appeal
One of the easiest ways to improve the curb appeal of your home is with a decorative concrete overlay. Overlays will instantly rejuvenate the existing concrete, especially surfaces that are pitted and/or discolored. Overlays are typically a blend of aggregates, cement and polymer resins that go over the existing concrete like a thick paint substance that will smooth the surface and add color. Decorative concrete overlays can be customized to almost any look by dying, staining, stenciling, scoring and/or stamping the surface. One of the best benefits of using an overlay system is that almost any slab of bland, unattractive concrete can be transformed into a work of art.
Decorative Concrete Overlay Options
There are a number of different situations in which concrete overlays can be used. However, whether the purpose of the overlay is to protect and maintain the integrity of a concrete pavement, floor or slab, it provides a new surface, extends the life of the structure and will eliminate the need for a complete replacement. There are several different decorative concrete overlay options, including:
- Stamped overlays, which are similar to the look of a conventionally stamped concrete slab, but overlays are less labor intensive and less time consuming during the installation. Once the overlay mix has been applied to the surface, it is imprinted with textures or stamps. There is a vast array of patterns to choose from that will allow the concrete to look like other building materials, such as stone, wood, brick or marble.
- Spray-down overlays is a type of finish that evenly sprayed onto the concrete with an air-powered sprayer, which produces a smooth finish. However, textured surfaces can be applied, such as creating a slip-resistent surface. Stencils can also be used for a decorative feature, which can include decorative borders, tile patterns or embossed motifs.
- Self-leveling overlays are frequently used for smoothing out concrete that is worn and/or uneven. The material is applied to the surface and spread evenly. This type of overlay is often used to create decorative patterns, used with dyes to add color, engraved designs and/or inlays of metal or wood, but the most common use is to level out the existing slab of concrete.
- Micro-toppings is a purely decorative concrete overlay that is spread in a micro-thin layer. The mixture can be applied in a single layer or in multiple layers for variations in the effect. It can be finished with textured or smooth surface. Color can be added during the mixture as well as after pouring, which creates a unique and interesting pattern and color design.
Decorative concrete overlay has virtually unlimited design, textures, patterns and color options. It can create an authentic look and feel of almost any other type of material and it is extremely affordable, especially when compared to full depth stamped concrete, paver’s and/or real stone or brick. Concrete overlays are highly resistant to deicing salts, extreme heat, wet conditions, UV rays and freeze/thaw climates. Concrete overlays require virtually no maintenance and it is one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve the curb appeal of your home.
At Increte of Houston, we can apply a stamped overlay which offers all the aesthetic benefits of conventional stamped concrete but is applied over existing concrete so it is a cheap alternative to increase your house or business’s curb appeal. Call us today at 281.499.3990 for a free estimate.
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