When you start to look at the options for a new driveway in front of your home, you’ll find there are lots of different driveway types to consider.
And they all have lots of different names.
Whilst some are obvious – like cobblestone or resin – others can be a bit confusing.
Concrete driveways fall into this category, because you’ll come across several different varieties: stamped, pressed, decorative and printed.
So what’s the difference?
There isn’t one!
What is pressed concrete?
Pressed concrete is simply a type of concrete that’s poured onto a solid sub-layer, and then coloured and pressed with a pattern or design.
After it’s poured, installers will press the pattern on top of the wet concrete before it sets. Hence the name.
You could also say that you take the desired pattern you want and stamp it onto the concrete to make a print. That’s why it’s also called stamped concrete.
Stamped concrete driveways
Stamped concrete is commonly used for driveways all around the world.
Wikipedia refer to this type of concrete as stamped concrete, but then describe the concrete as being pressed with a pattern.
So basically, you can call it pressed concrete, stamped concrete or pattern imprinted concrete. It’s simply a case of whichever you prefer.
Pattern imprinted concrete (PIC) is the most common name, and it’s how we refer to the material we use for our driveways.
We like to print decorative patterns onto the driveways we install, as it’s a delicate, skilled process. We don’t just stamp concrete here, there and everywhere!
What makes stamped concrete different from regular concrete?
There are three processes done to concrete that defines it as stamped, pressed or printed.
- A base colour is added
- An accent or textured colour is added
- A pattern is stamped onto the poured concrete
This is the great flexibility of stamped concrete. You can have a huge range of coloured options, to give your driveway a unique look and feel. It can be made to look like any type of driveway you like.
With dozens of patterns to choose from, the pressed concrete can look exactly like block paving, cobblestone, sandstone or any other driveway material.