Concrete Poured and Stamped

Today was a big day in the Patio/Deck saga that is our summer. Bright and early at 6:30 this morning, the cement truck pulled up (the first of 2...). It was time to pour concrete!

Everything was a blur, but here were the key steps (once everything was prepared):
1. Concrete was poured and smoothed to a glossy finish (16 yards of concrete--which is about 1.6 loads of a heavy-duty concrete truck!).

2. Color Hardener (which is "Ash White" in color) was then thrown on the entirety of the concrete. The concrete is re-smoothed to a glossy finish so that the Ash White color is completely in the top layer of concrete.

3. Stamping time! Release color (which is "Smoke Beige" in color) was then thrown onto the top of the concrete just ahead of where several guys were starting to stamp. They used about 8 different stamps (all of them were numbered for a specific pattern). The workers would throw Release, put a stamp down, stamp it with a big, handled, weight, and then repeat. They worked one end of the patio to the other on the top, then the same on the bottom.

4. They finished the tops of the steps with a texture stamp, but not with a pattern (since the steps are too small with a pattern).

They were all done and cleaned up by noon, and the results are amazing. (Pictures below). The pictures show more the beige color in the release, but once they pressure wash it, the hardener "white" color will come back through.

Next up, they will come back and finish the sides and the risers in the steps, cut relief lines, and then power wash it.

On Wednesday, they will be back out for the staining process, where the actual "stones" will come to life as individually colored pieces. At that point, the Patio will be complete!

ALL Pictures (of the process too) below: