Stamped and Colored Concrete Driveway Creates an Impressive Entrance

Solid Rock Concrete Services recently completed a 13,000-square-foot, stamped and colored driveway project for a home in Joplin, MO. The home had an existing, twenty year old driveway, but the homeowners were ready for something new that would provide an impressive entrance. Shane Ober, owner of Solid Rock, was up to the challenge.

This driveway project is a testament to the power of internet marketing. "The builder, Grebie Construction, found us on Concrete Network, saw photos of our work and our website and contacted us about the job," Shane recalls. However, the decorative concrete market in the area is very competitive and he wasn't sure they would get the job. So, he did all he could to prove that Solid Rock deserved the job. He even brought the builder down to Arkansas for a weekend to see some of their work in person. "In the end, we were very blessed because we got the job and complete faith from Grebie," says Shane. Ultimately, Solid Rock and Grebie Construction formed a great working relationship.

Before Solid Rock could begin the job, the old driveway had to be removed. "We brought in a backhoe and got rid of it so we could start fresh," explains Shane. "The only thing that remained was the outline of the old curbs. This gave us constraints to work within." New concrete was then poured where the old driveway used to be..

The focal point of this driveway is the roundabout directly in front of the home. Shane calls this part of the driveway the valet. It is stamped and colored to look like brick pavers. Solid Rock used a custom, herringbone stamp, ordered from Proline Tools, to create the pattern for the valet. The concrete in this area was colored a brick red to further authenticate the look.

Just past the valet the look of the driveway changes, the red color stops and the stamped pattern changes to Roman slate. Along this portion of the driveway, expansion joints were cut every 3 ft. to keep the concrete from cracking. To add decorative interest and create unity, the herringbone pattern and brick color from the valet were repeated every 20 ft., creating bands that tie the entire driveway together.

Shane's favorite part of this project was redoing the curbs. The curbs started off plain and grey, but were replaced with what looks like real bricks. The old curbs were torn out and new curbs were formed in their place. Shane explained that the key to creating the brick look was taking the time to stamp each side of the curb. To create this pattern, Solid Rock used a brick stamp from Brickform and coloring to match the valet.

The biggest challenge for the crew was pouring the driveway during the middle of winter. "Each day we poured, except for one, it either snowed or rained," laughs Shane. This made things difficult for the crew by creating a lot of extra work. They had to be very careful about the ground temperature before pouring and watch the curing process closely. "There was a lot of hassle with concrete blankets," remembers Shane. The experience that Solid Rock had with this project is a great example of how cold weather affects concrete work (For more information see Placing Decorative Concrete in Cold Weather).

This driveway took a lot of commitment from Shane and his crew. He had seven guys working on the project, which was an hour and a half commute from their home base. Due to the size of the pour and weather issues, it took four months to complete the driveway. But, Solid Rock proved that they were willing to work hard and determined to do the job right, no matter what they came up against. All the time and hard work paid off with a beautiful result, which both the builder and the homeowner love.

On their website, Solid Rock Concrete Services states, "Our goal is not only to make a path to walk or drive on, we can help you create and define your own unique home or business atmosphere." That is exactly what they have done here.

Solid Rock Concrete Services
Shane Ober
15625 Gaddy Ln
Gravette, AR 72736
(479) 254-9333

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