We Just Power Washed and Sealed Our Stamped Concrete- Here Are The Results

We stamped the concrete sidewalk on our new house so it would look like it’s made of slate. The masons threw down colored release powder on the fresh concrete and then tamped in stamps with a slate pattern to get this look. Now we have to power wash off the release powder to see the final result. The goal is to remove about 80 percent of the powder. The powder is darker than the concrete- by leaving some behind it creates variations in color so it looks like natural slate. Next, we’re going to seal the sidewalk. Because concrete can be slippery, we’re going to add in Traction Grip- it’s a micro powder made of propylene that gets mixed right into the sealer. We paid extra money for a dark gray concrete, and you can see how the sealer really brings out the color. The sealer will also protect the concrete from moisture and staining. Here you can see the dark release color in the veins compared to the lighter concrete color. I sloped the sidewalk away from the house for the first 16’ about a ¼’ per foot, and in the middle it slopes from left to right, so water can run off to the side yard. I’m going to let this first coat of sealer cure over the weekend, and I’ll put a second coat on Monday. @hausplans #build #howto #construction #diy #contractor #stamped concrete