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Hot take: colored concrete finish stamps are a waste of money for residential driveways
Did a job last spring for a guy in the suburbs outside Portland. He insisted on those fancy stamped concrete patterns with the integral color. Looked great for about 4 months until the first winter came. Now the color is faded uneven and the stamp lines are collecting dirt. I told him plain broom finish with a simple acid stain would have held up better for half the cost. Anyone else finding that homeowners are pushing for these elaborate finishes that just don't last in real weather conditions?
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spencer_hayes7113h ago
Stick with broom finish. Stamped stuff just traps dirt and fades fast in rain.
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abby1899h ago
My neighbor paid $4k for stamped concrete 3 years ago and now it looks like a cracked mess with faded spots everywhere. Broom finish is just smarter because it's one pour and done, no extra layers to fail. People get sold on the fancy look without thinking about how it actually holds up in real weather. That's the problem with a lot of home improvement stuff these days everyone wants the Instagram shot but nobody thinks about maintenance. Rain, snow, sun, all that stamped texture just collects gunk in the grooves and the color wears off in patches. Stick with simple and it'll still look decent when the next trend comes and goes.
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