forty-two windows: garage & backyard project: the patio

Here are the patio pictures. This part of the project was long awaited and so interesting to watch.
First let me say that the concrete guys were awesome. Working with concrete is hard labor and concrete is a perishable product. Once you start, there are no breaks until it's done; from what I can tell, concrete is not super forgiving. I was pretty excited for this day because my patio sketch came to life. Pretty cool stuff.

- before - such a muddy mess! -

- all formed out and ready for concrete -

- ahh yes, the bobcat... again -

- just another morning -

Okay, see the long board? That is what they use to smooth it out. You can see the concrete is tan-ish.
We chose this color (also called integral concrete colorant), and it is added to the concrete in the big mixer on the truck- it comes out of the truck like that. These guys wear heavy duty boots, labor all hunched over and work their way backwards until it's done.

Once the patio was smoothed out, they were ready to apply the powder stain (also called release agent).
We chose a brown-ish color. The release agent powder is applied to the large, rubber concrete stamps. The stamps are laid out and stepped on to set the pattern. We used Orchard Stone.

So this (see above) is what it looked like when the concrete guys left. The process took several hours.
It had to cure for a few days and then they just sprayed the surface with water. The powder stain darkens and settles into the crevices of the stone pattern. Cool, right? Then a few days later, a sealant was applied. We chose and prefer more of a matte finish.