Stamped Concrete: The Perfect Alternative To Brick Paver Driveways

A driveway made from brick pavers can be an attractive addition to any property, but these beautiful driveways do have a number of shortcomings. If you want to achieve the look and feel of a premium, brick paver driveway but don't want to deal with the headaches of owning one, stamped concrete driveways may be the perfect alternative.

Concrete driveway installation services can use specialized stamps, molds, and dyes to make a concrete driveway that looks virtually identical to a 'real' brick paver driveway. These stamped concrete driveways have a number of advantages over brick pavers:

Superior Durability

Brick paver driveways are tough and can bear reasonably heavy loads, but they are not invulnerable. Brick pavers made from traditional clay are prone to flaking after heavy use, and all types of brick pavers can be very vulnerable to damage caused by freezing temperatures. Poorly maintained, unsealed pavers are particularly vulnerable to wear and damage.

Stamped concrete driveways provide all of the toughness and durability you would expect from a concrete structure and are less vulnerable to peeling and flaking than brick pavers. They also have greater load-bearing strength, a useful property if your driveway will be used by heavy trucks or commercial vehicles.

Lower Maintenance Requirements

Stamped concrete driveways usually require a little less maintenance than brick paver driveways. Both types of driveways will need to be treated with silicone-based sealants on a regular basis to prevent water damage, but concrete tends to retain sealants for longer and can go for longer between applications.

Stamped concrete driveways are also easier to clean using pressure washing equipment because the stamped grooves between the fake 'pavers' are much shallower than the gaps between real brick pavers. Because stamped concrete forms a continuous surface, it is also much less vulnerable to weed growth, which can make brick paver driveways look very unsightly.

More Design Flexibility

Stamped concrete driveways are poured in liquid form in the same way as regular concrete and can be used to form almost any shape or design you can imagine. By contrast, brick pavers are limited by their standardized shape and size and work best when used to create straight or gently curved driveways. If you need a sharply curved driveway for a small property or a winding driveway curving around large, established trees, stamped concrete may be easier to work with.

Lower Costs

Despite these advantages, stamped concrete driveways are generally considerably cheaper than brick paver driveways and are perfect if you want to achieve the look of brick pavers on a tighter budget.

Constructing a brick paver driveway is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the pavers themselves can be quite expensive. Stamped concrete takes a lot less manpower to install and uses cheaper materials. This also means stamped concrete driveways can be installed more quickly, which can be useful if you need a new driveway fast or want to flip a property as quickly as possible.

Contact a company like Advantage Concrete LLC to learn more.