What Is Wood Stamped Concrete

If you have been looking into the alternatives of wood flooring, chances are that you have stumbled upon options like machined wood, vinyl wood or laminated wood flooring but have you heard about wood stamped concrete? We know what you are thinking, how can concrete give me the appearance of wood? Well, with innovation in the field of concrete, contractors have found a way to simulate the appearance of traditional wood flooring with concrete by using rubber mats that are molded to the shape of natural wood planks. Are you curious about what wood stamped concrete is now? Well today, we are going to be taking a closer look at these stamped concrete solutions to show you what they are! So let’s get started!

Wood stamped concrete is a variation of the ever-popular technique of concrete stamping. Unlike traditional concrete stamping where mats are molded to form natural stone shapes, wood stamping mats are molded from real wooden planks so they have realistic grains, plank sizes, and textures. While the rubber mats are available online to buy and DIY, we recommend the use of a professional contractor as they can use stains on the wood stamp to give the appearance of real wood that has been sealed or stained. The best part is that wood concrete can be crafted on new concrete when it is still moldable and on existing concrete with the use of overlays.

While traditional wood flooring has been one of the most popular flooring options for centuries, we feel as if wood concrete has taken all the weak points of traditional wood and turned them into strong points! For example, wood concrete is incredibly easy to maintain, is very durable and can be used outdoors, indoors and in basements without warping, rotting or splintering. In terms of maintenance, we all know just how hard and tedious maintaining natural wood floors can be with sanding, filling and depending on the area, lacquering. Wood concrete, on the other hand, offers a simplistic maintenance protocol that persists of mopping, sweeping and the replacement of the sealer every 2-5 years depending on where it is placed.

One of the key advantages that homeowners have stated wood concrete has over traditional wood is the ability to have it installed nearly anywhere! Have you ever wanted a wooden driveway, pool deck or patio? We know just how tough the climate and humidity can be on wood surfaces, so the perfect way to implement wood into your landscaping, front entryway, and even garage is with wood concrete. This is because wood stamped concrete is resistant to UV damage, stains and is weatherproof when paired with a sealer, as it should be. Down below, we have outlined some of the most popular areas that American homeowners are using wood stamped concrete in their home:

Thankfully, we have found that wood stamped concrete won’t break your savings account. In fact, when taking average pricing into account, wood stamping doesn’t cost much more than regular concrete and is a fraction of the price of wooden surfaces like patios, pool decks and dramatically less than interior wood flooring. We have found that the average contractor can charge anywhere between 8-12$ a Sq Ft for wood stamping but to compare, the average wooden patio can cost up to 25$ a Sq Ft to craft with middle of the road materials. As we have mentioned above, stamped concrete offers a simplistic maintenance regiment and can last upwards of 30 years depending on where it installed, so the savings to be had with stamped concrete will last its entire service life.

Unfortunately, concrete has one gleaming weakness, cracks. No matter how well the concrete is installed or maintained, it will inevitably crack. As my Grandfather used to tell me,” There are 2 types of concrete, concrete that is cracked and concrete that is going to crack.”. Another problem with stamped concrete is that even though it is durable, chips or other forms of damage, repairs can be made but it will be incredibly hard to match the colors, especially if the coating is placed outside or is aged. while it may be easy to track down the same color, fading can take its toll, making it nearly impossible to match the color unless you recolor the entire surface.

Well, there you have it, the best ways to transform your dull concrete! We hope you have found our article informative in your quest to improve upon your existing or future concrete slabs! We leave you with best wishes on all of your home improvements to come!