Application to cover concrete driveway
 

I would like to know what is your preferred application to cover your concrete driveway and walkway to your front door. We are finally ready to have this done but I'm not sure which product is the best way to go.

My top choice is stamped concrete. What is your experience with this product if this is the application you chose to cover your driveway and walkway? My main concern.....is stamped concrete slippery when wet, especially with certain foot wear. Is it slippery when wet when barefoot? I'm hoping it is not porous and is easy to clean. That is another concern with this application.

Pavers are also a consideration and my second choice. I am concerned about how porous they are. Do pavers stain easily and how easy or difficult is it to keep pavers clean?

I'm prepared to keep up with maintenance of which ever application we choose. I fully expect all applications will require some upkeep to maintain a nice appearance.

I welcome any feedback for other applications besides my top two that I mentioned.

Thank you for your input.

Driveway
 

We used Go concrete and really like it. It's not slippery when wet. They provided some addresses so we could see "real work" and even ones that were in process. Hope that helps.

I believe this is the company that did a driveway on my block not too long ago. The job is really nice. Did you have concrete overlay done over your existing concrete driveway?

Yes they do. In my opinion, Go Concrete does a great job and the driveway looks great....much better than just a painted driveway.

Also, I have recently seen a great looking and not slippery driveway done by "Concrete Texture and Design" from Fruitland Park. It is a husband and wife team. Their number is 352-636-0274. That driveway was simply amazing.

Those are about the only two options I would consider.

While many like pavers, they are not without their problems. I have seen many very expensive paver driveways that were not done well and have resulted in drainage problems, etc.

Hope that helps!

Frank

My preferred method is to just leave the bare concrete alone. I recently viewed a house for sale that had several sections of stamped concrete that had separated from the concrete underneath and needed to be repaired. I have also seen paved driveways with many cracks in the pavers.

We had pavers laid immediately we purchased, I love ours but I would not recommend them. Our driveway and walk looks great, but pavers do crack and it is almost impossible to find someone who wants to work on them. In our case my other half does our pavers every year or sometimes more often when needed. Our pavers have not stained, but you have to maintain them regularly.

I would add that as a "walker" I see many driveways that are decorated with the owner's choice - i.e. team emblems, animals, pictures. This is fine while you own the house, but not so good when you come to sell the property! IMHO if you intend to decorate the driveway, make it a generic decoration.

In 2011 Stone Creations did all the concrete at our house, including the lanai, using stamped overlay. Prior to our decision friends had them do their driveway and it turned out to be slippery when wet, resulting in a couple broken ribs. So they called the contractor back to reapply the sealer with more grit. When they did ours, my husband made sure they used enough grit to make it nonskid. Three years later the concrete overlay was intact but the color and sealer had deteriorated. By that time Stone Creations' reputation had plummeted, as the resealing work they were doing on existing jobs was pitiful. So we hired Go Concrete to recolor and reseal in 2014.

The stamped overlay is still intact on all the surfaces. But on the driveway, which is exposed to the afternoon sun, the color again has faded and needs to be reapplied and resealed. The lanai, being mostly in the shade, has never had to be recolored. Apparently, no matter what treatment is applied to concrete it needs resealing from time to time and reapplying the color is not complicated.

Sometime after resealing, there was a crack in the concrete "gutter" on the street and it took out a small chunk of the driveway. Go Concrete came and repaired it very reasonably. We were very happy with them.

All in all, we are satisfied with the stamped overlay and would do it again.

Do you have the thin pavers? I have seen many thin pavers with cracks. For driveways, thick pavers are a better choice. We have thick pavers and have no issues.

Yes
 

We had a painted driveway, but it faded quickly, which is why we went with the overlay. They need to remove the old paint and then put the new on. They used grinders but had "vacums" to pull up the dust.

I've seen 3 homes with Chattahoochee river rock over top of the cement. Looks fabulous and very durable, just about maintenance free.

I have had all except for pavers. I now have the liquid concrete. The best ever. Never shows tire marks and lasts for years.

How would you define "Liquid Concrete"?

Choice concrete did my pool deck and it looks beautiful. Solved the small cracks problem with the stamped concrete. Much more reasonable than pavers.

Add water to cement and wallah, you have liquid concrete, a semi-liquid slurry.

Yes thin, at the time we had ours done they were only making the thin pavers, within a year or so they were producing thick pavers. My neighbor has the thick pavers and nothing has ever needed to be done with them and they look very elegant.

I am amazed at how many people want to fix something that is not broken. I am an engineer with decades of construction experience. I believe that concrete is a great product and it looks great too. Why not just leave it alone?

It's just the "blah" factor, I suppose.

What are you talking about?????

We had our driveway painted, almost 4 years ago, no fading, no maintenance except for the occasional pressure wash. No tire marks, and 2 cars are parked on this driveway 24/7/365, our daily drivers. Also had the driveway expanded during this period, and the installer was able to match the original color and design, looks like it was all done at the same time. As note above, we had 'shark grip' added to the paint so we do not have a slippery mess when it rains. Our neighbor with THIN pavers has mentioned a few times that he wishes he had painted instead of installing THIN pavers. Also as noted above I have another friend that experienced significant water intrusion problems in the garage after having 2 inch pavers installed. I believe there is a thread on this installation.
Bottom line, do what you want to do, be sure to get ARC approval before you start work.
Hope this helps.

I wish I could leave the bare concrete but I have one problem. The concrete near my front door, has dark brown stains that I can not remove. I have tried an arsenal of cleaners, straight, and nothing touches these stains. I don't know what the stains are but the concrete had these stains when we purchased the house. It is time to cover up that mess so I have to do something.

This does look nice, and is typically not slippery. However, in a neighborhood I lived in until this year, the surrounding homes were about 20 years old. Many of the driveways were done in this fashion. They had large portions spall off of the concrete it was attached to.

One other option that I never see in The Villages, is stained concrete. There is oil based and latex based. VERY cheap and easy to do yourself, and often looks amazing. I did it on a patio and lanai in a previous home and got tons of compliments.

On the Go Concrete option, I would think that using a UV sealer every 3 years or so would minimize fading.

I agree about the decorative additions to personalize a driveway. I'm not a fan.

What is liquid concrete? Who applies this? Are there different colors and designs or is it a solid color?

Great advise about the ARC approval. Thanks.

We have a textured drive that looks like brick pavers. It was done by previous owners in 2010 we have had small repair near garage, and resealed cost was $850 for 2 car drive plus golf cart.

Needs to be resealed ever 3 years or so. While it looks nice I would not do it to our next house. River rock needs to be resealed if in direct sun every 2 to 3 years.

Try rubbing it with a pumice stone. You can buy them at Home Depot in yhe swimming pool section.

Thank you. I'll try that. If it ruins the concrete....oh well. We are covering it anyway. LOL.

All is personal choice, we had ours painted three years ago by Decorative Concrete and seal it every year, no fading, not slippery.

Every couple of years, I have Egner's, (352) 728-8537, clean my all concrete driveway. It's not pressure washing with a wand. They come with what looks like an over-sized buffing machine. My driveway is a large, circular one; about twice the size of what I'd call a regular driveway. They clean right up to my front door. It's been costing me $180.

I am not sure how those concrete applications work down here in the south but up north they chip off and water gets beneath them. I have seen this personally.


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Since we do not have the weather changes, and most driveways are done professionally, with proper maintenance I have seen driveways over 15 years old still look new. Not sure of the percentage of decorative driveways done here, but in our neighborhood it’s at least 75%

Are you referring to concrete overlay application or stamped concrete? From what I'm understanding those are two different methods or am I incorrect about that?

I just looked it up to make sure....stamped concrete vs concrete overlay. There most certainly is a difference.

Stamped concrete requires a complete removal of the existing concrete and new concrete is put down. Then the top is stamped and colored.

Concrete overlay is a thin layer of concrete bonded to the existing concrete and then colored and stenciled to make the design.

The article I read about the differences in the two applications said the concrete overlay is good for low traffic areas, driveways not being one of them. This causes some concern. Those of you who have concrete overlay on your driveway.....what is your experience with the durability with car traffic on the overlay?

We will not be removing our existing concrete driveway and walk way so stamped concrete is not an option for us.

I will have to look up the company that did our drive. The previous owner had it done on 2010. Ours looks like brick, and mortar. Brick look is raised. Previous owner did not do any maintenance. At the garage a 8” by 3” had chipped off. We had original company come out do the repair and reseal the drive and sidewalk in 2016. That was $850. It should be resealed every 2 to 3 years, for around $500 to $600. As I said while it’s very curb appealing and held up well, I would opt for plain drive. We have 2 golf carts, a Sebring, and with a suv on the drive so it does take wear of our vehicles

I am part of the silent group who enjoy their buck naked driveways.


Probably envious Gracie.

Nothing beats the beauty of pavers. We have had ours for about 18 months with no problems. The best paver companies will guarantee against cracking for life as long as you pay about $400 every 2 year’s for complete cleaning and resealing which should be done anyway. Yes it is a bit pricy, but is is part of your front door.

We're going with the 60mm pavers. We like the look of pavers and are also willing to pay the cost of maintaining them to maintain the warranty. Should be installed in a few weeks by Native Cuts.

Egners just scrubbed ours two weeks ago. It looks like a brand-new driveway. I guess we're just "Up North" folks--never saw the need to fancify the driveway. Although I do like brick paved driveways.

I'd be afraid the snow plows would scrape up the painted driveway.:a20:

If you have them bring the plow to 1” your drive will be spared. So brick away.:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Where did you see the driveway done by the husband and wife team from Fruitland Park?