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Concrete Slab Design

Many homeowners think about transforming a part of their backyard into a lovely family area, and a concrete patio makes a good addition to such a plan. But a lot of people settle for a pretty simple slab, but if you pick a good concrete slab design you will add a lot more character to your backyard. We can look at five design ideas that can be used for any concrete slab design you choose if you want to add to or redo a concrete patio or garden.

A very basic and inexpensive concrete slab design is one made out of poured concrete. This does not mean you have to turn it into one boring gray slab. You can customize this slab in many ways. One of the options you have is to use exposed aggregate. This gives the slab more style because it allows you to use pebbles, colored glass and other items to decorate the surface of it. You can also use a concrete dye, which comes in a great number of colors. These colors are mixed in with concrete so you can get it to match your home's exterior or give it a contrast. A great way to use these colors is to alternate them in different areas to give the slab a checkerboard pattern. A concrete stain is similar to the dyes, and is best to use if you want your slab to look like slate or tile, and you can even get it to have shading and veins.

Another way to set up a concrete slab design is to go with a stamped concrete patio. A stamp or form is used to pour the concrete into and can give you a finish of pavers, tiles or flagstones. You need to dye the concrete first until it is the desired shade, and then pour it into the precast forms so that it mimics the look of rock, tile or brick. A stamped concrete patio gives you the most number of options and is also useful because the slab controls the growth of weeds.

A stenciled concrete patio is a good option to consider for your concrete slab design. This can be done with paper stencils that give the concrete a pattern of stone, tile or brick. This usually takes a lot less time and skill than the other methods of stamping concrete, and will still give the appearance of individual bricks or stones. Color needs to be applied to the concrete's surface before taking off the stencils.

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