Design Options, Installing, and Maintaining Concrete Sidewalks

Concrete sidewalks dont have to be plain, gray walkways to and around your home. They can enhance landscaping and curb appeal as well as provide a delightful entrance to your home. There are many options for decorating sidewalks including improvements to already existing concrete.


Stamped concrete sidewalk with integral color meandering through backyard. Sidewalks can be much more than the usual boring gray concrete.	How to prevent this from happening to your sidewalks. Proper installation and a bit of periodic maintenance can go along way.

Decorative Options

Stamping is the most desirable type of finish but it is also the most expensive. It can make concrete look like slate, stone, brick, tile, etc. with various coloring methods to achieve a realistic appearance. This can be done with new concrete or with a stamped overlay.
Exposed aggregate finishes are also popular for sidewalks. The cement is washed away from the surface to expose the rock in the mix whether its decorative stone or pea gravel.
Staining is a fairly easy and inexpensive way to decorate sidewalks and works for both new and already existing walks. The use of acid stains, acrylic stains, or faux finish staining techniques can add beautiful vibrant or natural coloring that wont peel or flake away. You can also create designs and patterns with engraving/scoring.
The easiest method is applying a colored sealer. This gives the appearance of a painted sidewalk but there is a wide array of colors and is a one step decorate/seal process.
Integral coloring is simply having dyes added to the mix so that the color exists throughout. If a sidewalk chips or pops, its not as noticeable as with any of the other surface enhancing methods.

You dont have to settle for boring concrete sidewalks even if they are several years old. If stamping or exposed aggregate isnt in your budget, then consider do-it-yourself methods of staining or color sealing.

More Concrete Sidewalks Info

Installing Concrete Sidewalks... Guidelines and tips for pouring sidewalks and how to prevent the premature structural and cosmetic deterioration.

Staining Concrete Sidewalks... Dressing up or refreshing the look of an existing sidewalk. Do it yourself with little time and money!

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