Tips on Finding the Right Company to Lay your Pattern Imprinted Concrete

Are you considering replacing your old flagged, tarmac or block paved driveway for something more attractive, lower maintenance, more durable and longer lasting? Have you looked at Pattern Imprinted Concrete, sometimes referred to as stamped concrete?




Many people and businesses all across Greater Manchester and the North West are making the move over to pattern Imprinted concrete, not just because of the points mentioned above such as it’s durability and stylish looks but because you can literally have any pattern you like, even a pattern you have dreamt up yourself and it you’re a business you can even have you company logo stamped into the concrete outside your offices, now imagine how impressed your clients will be when they see this?

Is Pattern Imprinted Concrete superior to Block Paving?

There has been a lot of online debate over the years as to which is better? Pattern Imprinted Concrete or Block Paving and to be perfectly honest each has its merits and in most cases it’s a personal choice as both can last many years if maintained and looked after.

However because Pattern Imprinted Concrete is still a relatively new to the driveway industry a few block paving installers who simply didn’t want to start offering an alternative to their customers, initially rubbished this amazing new product with comments like “it’s hideous”, “It’s a monstrosity” and claimed that the concrete would simple crack due to temperature changes throughout the year without doing any research whatsoever which made these doubters look very silly when pattern Imprinted or stamped concrete became popular outselling block paving 3:1 in 2017/18

As for the claims that the pattern imprinted concrete would crack or warp, theses claims were unfounded and more than likely just made up by a few rogue driveway installers who didn’t want to move with the times, especially when you find out that this isn’t just plain old concrete. Plain old concrete has been around for 100’s of years, stamped concrete is new and contains, amongst other things, a flexible resin so that it doesn’t crack or warp and if maintained can stay looking new for many years, in fact most professional pattern Imprinted concrete driveway installers offer an amazing 20 year guarantee on their product and work because they have that much confidence in it.

Of course in every industry their are the cowboys, the rogue traders the “have a go “amateurs all offering an inferior product and cutting corners to produce a bad job,  but websites like TrustaTrader, Checkatrade, LocalTrusted make it difficult nowadays for these types to get work and even if you don’t use these websites to check out who you are hiring, rogue driveway installers can be relatively easy to spot, first off there is no sign of the 20 year guarantee that’s offered by professional driveway installers and they’ll also claim that they can lay your new driveway in half a day when in fact it takes a couple of days to go through each important step to ensure that your driveway is done correctly and will last for many years.

With pattern imprinted concrete or stamped concrete poor quality work and cost cutting are not always noticeable straight away, a poorly or incorrectly laid driveway can look just as good as a professionally laid driveway when it is first done, it’s only in the weeks or months to come that you’ll realise that something is amiss and that steps where missed.

The concrete used needs to be special fibre meshed, air entrained concrete mixed with a special resin added to reduce the air molecules in the concrete and prevent expansion and contraction, some cowboys will even use standard concrete as it’s a lot cheaper for them and you’ll only know that this is the case when cracks start to appear or the concrete start to shrink or crumble along the edges, by this time the cowboy contractor has usually changed to a different pre-paid mobile phone number or even changed his company name altogether making it impossible to track them down.




Another cost cutting technique adopted by the rogue traders, cowboys and have a go amateurs is that they don’t dig down deep enough and lay hardcore which usually means the driveway will sink and crack after a few months.

Driveways should always be dug down to a minimum depth of 100mm, sometimes more if the driveway is to support large vehicles. Patios and paths need to be dug out to at least 75mm to ensure a good thickness of concrete making it stronger and less likely to get damaged. Properly laid imprinted concrete can easily take vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes so your family car will have no problem.

What maintenance does pattern imprinted concrete require?

Pattern imprinted concrete is in fact very low maintenance, and unlike flags, block paving and tarmac weeds cannot grow through it. You should however have your pattern imprinted concrete driveway resealed every 3 – 5 years which will increase its life and keep it looking as good as the day it was first laid, colour changes and enhancements are also possible.

In the highly unlikely event that your imprinted concrete does get damaged in some way then yes, it can be invisibly repaired and there are plenty of companies all across Greater Manchester offering this service which totally debunks the myth spread around by many that it cannot be repaired.

So if you are thinking about having a new driveway or patio then Is pattern imprinted concrete is by far the most cost effective, longest lasting and the most low maintenance option around. With an abundance different designs and colours available, there is a style, colour and pattern to suit everyone with the added benefits of being low maintenance, weed and moss free…

No sinking or lifting of block or flags meaning a pattern imprinted driveway or patio lasts much longer than any other driveway or patio option.