Stamped Concrete with Architectural Walls and Steps
It all starts with a plan, which was mostly an idea as many of our projects are. There were no formal plans to build from, so we sketched a little something on paper to give an idea of how the water would drain and the general layout of stairs and concrete retaining wall needed, and then we started to construct.
The backyard was a bowl with gravel and not very appealing to sit and enjoy the summer. Grass would not grow and only select plants, so we decided a large patio surrounded by concrete planters around it would be low maintenance and a functional yard as well as making the back very inviting for the homeowners and any guests.
We opted to make the retaining walls and borders a light wash architectural concrete finish and interior parts stamped concrete with multi-colours. See in detail how we had achieved the multi-coloured, custom-cut, and grouted stamp concrete on a different stamp concrete analysis. See the page on creating custom stamped concrete.
Different angles are grouped to show the massive transformation of the yard from different angles and perspectives.
This angle is taken looking from the South East corner and shows the massive change. It the lowest part of the concrete patio water drains to a washed rock area here.
Many of the retaining walls are at a comfortable height, finish and width so that guests can sit around and perimeter and mingle. There are 120 ft of a concrete retaining wall for 1500ft2 of planters.
There were 7 dump truck loads of soil material taken out of this backyard through the little gate. Small machines are a huge asset, and we have a range of different size machines to do jobs like this efficient and more affordable.
54,000 lbs of concrete patio, walls and steps were poured in this yard, and yet when you walk through it feels very private, not overdone, it’s surrounded by trees and planters, making it very inviting.
The concrete steps were poured separately from the stamped concrete, and that highlights the risers. The risers are lightly washed with an undercut to create a subtle floating look, these style of steps are very contemporary and sought after by homeowners wanting a modern style looking stair riser.
7 different colours were trowled into the surface to create a very natural random stone look. A lot of rock in nature has many colours, and this customer opted to have a similar look to natural stone with the full range of colours to make the stamped concrete visually exciting and unique.
Every stamped concrete patio we do is custom, and colours can be tailored to suit that customer’s taste from one colour to many colours in any spectrum, the possibilities are truly endless.
The side yard connects to the main back area with a walkway with stamped concrete pieces every 10′ to match the larger stamped areas. This backyard patio project took 4 weeks from start to finish, and at the end of the four weeks, the back yard was entirely transformed and inviting.
If you would like a unique and beautiful backyard patio, please contact us today for a free estimate.