Decorative and acid stained concrete across Macomb County, on new or existing slabs.
Concrete does not have to be grey. We acid stain, color, texture, polish and seal, on a fresh decorative pour or on an existing slab that needs new life. It is the least expensive way to turn a plain floor or patio into a finished, custom surface.
Rich, variegated, permanent color.
Depth, sheen and protection.
A fresh pour or an old slab.
Michigan does not go easy on concrete. The Great Lakes region averages roughly 40 to 60 freeze and thaw cycles a year, and every one of them tries to lift, crack and flake a slab that was poured cheap. Most of what makes a slab survive that is buried before you ever see it, which is exactly why it is the first thing skipped. Here is what we do not skip.
This is not a preference, it is the code. Michigan rule R 408.30522 says exterior footings and foundation systems shall extend 42 inches below grade, and footings shall not bear on frozen soil. Anything poured shallower is being lifted by frost every single winter, whatever it looked like in June.
The Michigan Concrete Association spec calls for 6.5% (±1.5%) entrained air and 4000 psi. Those microscopic air bubbles give freezing water somewhere to expand. Without them the water has nowhere to go, so it takes the surface off instead. That is what scaling is.
Concrete will crack. A joint is just a crack you decided the location of first. Control joints get cut a quarter of the slab depth, about every 8 feet on a 4 inch slab, so the slab relieves itself on a straight line instead of a lightning bolt across your patio.
Stamped concrete is not a product you buy off a shelf, it is a finish that gets built into a slab in a narrow window while it is still wet. Done right it looks like flagstone at a fraction of the cost. Done wrong it looks like a driveway with lines in it. Here is how we do it.
Concrete goes down over a prepared base, screeded flat and floated so the surface is ready to take a stamp.
Color hardener is worked into the surface for the base tone, then a release powder so the stamps lift clean without sticking.
The texture mats are pressed in by hand, panel by panel, so the pattern lines up and reads like real flagstone, slate or cobblestone.
Once it has cured it gets cleaned and sealed, which locks the colour in, brings out the depth, and gives the surface a fighting chance against forty-odd freeze and thaw cycles a year.
A concrete project is permanent, so it should start with a clear written price and end with a surface you are happy to walk on. Here is how a General Maintenance Works job goes.
Call, text or email (586) 531-1490. Tell us what you are picturing, a patio, a driveway, a walkway, and we come look and put it in writing so there are no surprises.
We prep and compact the base, set the forms and the joints, then pour, finish and, if it is stamped, color and stamp it while the window is open.
Once it cures we seal it to lock in the color and protect it, clean up the site, and leave you with a finished surface that is ready to live on.
Tell us what you are picturing, a stamped patio, a driveway, a walkway, or a slab to tear out and replace, and we will come look and put a price in writing.
