Driveways - Top 5 Driveway Patterns
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Find easy ways to decorate your driveway.
Your decorative options for existing concrete driveway finishes are nearly as broad as those for newly placed driveways. As long as the concrete is in sound condition, it can be colored, resurfaced, scored or engraved to achieve a multitude of patterns and color schemes.
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BEST TYPES OF CONCRETE DRIVEWAY FINISHES
See below to compare the decorative finishes you can use on concrete driveways. Often the best looks use a combination of these techniques, such as staining and engraving or resurfacing and sawcutting. Speak with a driveway contractor near you to get expert recommendations for the best driveway finish.
Here are the best finishes for a concrete driveway:
Broom Finish
A simple and affordable option for driveways that offers good traction. Try switching the direction of the broomed lines between joints to create some variation.
Rock Salt Finish
This is a traditional and easy method for adding subtle texture and skid resistance to a plain or colored concrete driveway. A salt finish leaves a pattern of shallow indentations on the surface, similar to slightly pitted, weathered rock.
Exposed Aggregate
Exposed aggregate concrete can be compared to a piece of granite or marble. The top layer is stripped away to reveal decorative aggregate that is durable and skid resistant. Looks especially nice when combined with driveway borders and bands.
Stained
Staining is an economical and versatile way to upgrade the look of both new and existing concrete driveways. Stains penetrate deeply into the concrete, producing fade-resistant, permanent color that will not flake off or peel away. The stain color can be made to complement your house color, or to mimic natural materials.
Stamped
A stamped concrete driveway offers many decorative options not possible with other paving materials. Using stamps combined with coloring agents, you can create cost-effective, realistic replicas of popular materials such as cobblestone, brick, natural slate, and flagstone.
Engraved
Concrete engraving uses special tools and equipment to etch patterns and designs into existing concrete. Try adding a beautiful tree or compass rose as a centerpiece to your driveway.
Sawcut Patterns
One of the easiest ways to transform an existing driveway is to cut decorative patterns into the concrete. Sawcuts can be used to create borders or a tile-like pattern. This process is also called scoring.
Stenciled
Contractors can transform existing driveways by using adhesive-backed stencils and concrete overlays. The stencils come in a variety of stone, brick, cobblestone, and tile patterns as well as special accent designs, permitting a wide variety of looks.
Pervious
Pervious concrete has a similar look to exposed aggregate, but allows water to pass through to the underlying soil. It offers an organic, rough-textured look and can be colored integrally. Plus, it helps with storm water management and reduces the urban heat-island effect.
