![]() In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, concrete companies who received government bids for public works projects sometimes used concrete stamps featuring the company name and sometimes the year in which the concrete was poured, creating a visible historical record of when certain sidewalks were made. The ancient Romans used basic concrete stamping techniques, as evidenced in well-known structures such as the Pantheon. "It can be used as an eraser to correct unevenness or nonuniformity.Tribou & Blackman Co. "For touching up or fixing minor surface flaws, a texture skin can be your biggest ally," says Harris. For contractors new to stamping, skins can be the easiest method of creating texture because you don't have to worry about pattern alignment.Īnother application for skins is to fix blemishes from nonuniform stamping. If you're after a completely seamless look, you can even use skins in lieu of mats for the entire concrete surface. Skins are also handy for texturing vertical faces, such as stair risers. ![]() This is important because when you're working with a nonflexible stamp, the tool will overlap the edge of the form and you won't be able to fully depress it into the concrete. The skins are ideal for impressing texture along the slab edges. Like mats, they come in a variety of textured patterns, but the depth of detail is less pronounced.Īpplications: On many projects, you'll need to use both mats and texturing skins. Skins are ultra-thin and pliable, with feathered edges that overlap so they produce seamless texture without any grout lines. Floppies are typically available in the same patterns as the rigid mats so they are ideal for filling in areas where the mats can't work, minimizing final touch-up. The floppy is about half the thickness of a rigid mat and made with a more pliable urethane, so you can bend the mat to a 90-degree angle to conform to slab edges or walls.Īpplications: Floppy mats have no handles and aren't rigid enough to stand on, so their primary purpose is to work along edges, in confined areas such as corners, and up against walls, stairs, and columns. ![]() He also notes that the more flexible semi-rigid mat works well where there are undulations in the slab, such as on sloped areas or on driveway aprons where the ends flare up slightly. However, some contractors prefer to use a semi-rigid mat because they can feel the underlying contour of the concrete better, says Harris. How to Match the Stamp Type with the Applicationĭecorative Concrete Institute in Temple, GAĪpplications: Generally, you'll use a rigid mat to imprint the majority of the stamping job because it will leave the best impression, especially with deeper patterns. Imprint a repeated texture along slab edges or use for quickly texturing borders and bands.Ĭreate distinct circular patterns of any size with these multi-piece stamping kits. Provide an extra level of customization, typically semi-rigid.Įasily impart textures, patterns & profiles to step faces. Touch up work is eliminated and productivity is improved. Magnets lock together for quick and perfect alignment. Pliable, great for slab edges and don’t require pattern alignment. Pliable and can be bent around slab edges or walls. The sturdiest stamps available, leaves the best impression. Use the chart below to determine what tools you’ll need and what patterns are most popular. Because of this reality, many manufacturers sell stamping sets that include rigid mats, floppies and sometimes even texturing skins. ![]() Often you’ll find yourself using a variety of tools on a single job. Most experienced stamping contractors find that having a combination of different tool types and patterns is ideal. There are a variety of stamping tools available for today’s contractor. Types of Concrete Stamps A comparison chart of popular stamps & patterns ![]()
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