Exposed aggregate or stamped concrete, pros & cons

coverdrive, Jun 25, 9:35am
My concrete patio is being replaced for EQ repairs. I have a choice of what to use - exposed aggregate or stamped concrete. Any recommendations as to pros and cons?
unclejake, Jun 25, 10:04am
Stamped concrete is pretty dated (IMO) and can also gather a fair bit of dirt in the crevices. It's usually coloured too and can be a bit slippery (sometimes)

Exposed aggregate has been around for much, much longer, but doesn't seem as dated to me, but at the end of the day it's your personal taste that matters most
nzmax, Jun 25, 10:05am
I have a stamped concrete patio, a random block look, which looks fine, but the stamp indentations are difficult to keep clean, and also water run off isn't probably as good as it should be because of the indentations. imagine the mortar joints in a brick wall laid down on the ground. Its also difficult to get patio furniture to not wobble, as you can almost guarantee one leg will be in an indentation.

Not sure about the finished texture of an exposed aggregate patio, but friends have their drive done as exposed aggregate and its rough to walk on in bare feet. I guess there is different levels of texture they can do.
unclejake, Jun 25, 10:09am
^ The bare feet thing is a good point.

For a patio you should ask for exposed river pebble rather than crushed rock. The pebble is much nicer underfoot than split 'gravel'
coverdrive, Jun 25, 11:03pm
Ah - thanks for that info.
koru67, Jun 26, 2:13am
Both good points. We had the imprinted concrete and I cleaned the grooves (sit down with a screwdriver, then when dry used an old vacuum to suck up the dirt) then used pavelock and it looked great. Stopped the annoying weeds.
Our current house has the red chip driveways (not as modern as the finish you would get now). It has been waterblasted before our time here and I cannot walk on it in bare feet as it nicks your feet, which then catches on the carpet, ouch! .
jacinda2059, Jun 26, 2:46am
I have done exposed pebble, 20mm. you can just broadcast it on then pat it down level with boxing, then wash cement of next day with waterblaster set on fan spray, let dry, then seal.
cagivachick1, Jun 26, 5:53am
that wont be as good as using the correct aggregate
stevo112, Jun 26, 8:00am
If it is Insurance work the cost allowance for stamped is about the same as the allowance for standard exposed which will be a standard exposed mix, most insurance companies are happy to substitute one finish for the other but will not pay for seeded concrete or anything other than standard mix exposed as it is deemed as betterment and would be an additional cost to the policy holder. Stamped is dated and the quality of the stamps available in christchurch are less than average condition wise meaning you cannot expect a flawless finish also you may get stamp depth variation dependant on size of the job . Exposed and stamped both should have more fall than plain concrete also to encourage water to fall in the required direction. Also when the concrete cracks stamped can crack in a more uncontrolled and less predictable manner than exposed because of the lines stamped into it, hopefully your control cuts will work as they are intended.
coverdrive, Jun 26, 10:47pm
That is really useful information. Thanks heaps.
ira78, Jun 27, 12:59am
Also exposed aggregate collects all the debris and moss MUCH worse than stamped. So stamped looks so much cleaner
zoopa, Jun 27, 1:52am
I would be concerned that as stamping isn??
stevo112, Dec 6, 11:03am
Stamps are not hard to get usually they are hired from concrete plus where they have a few sets of each the problem lies with their condition, there are still heaps of placers about capable of doing a good stamp job. If you go with half shot oxide it will cost in the vicinity of $3 per m2 or $6 for a full shot, I always recommend a Full shot to go with exposed as it also can even the tone out to give it a more consistent look. You will usually have to pick two colours with the stamped option the base colour and the release.