Decorative concrete in Santa Ana CA - color and pattern that suit how you'll use it
Plain gray slab or a worn stamped one? We help you pick a pattern and color that holds up to how you use it.
What goes into decorative concrete, and what sets the price?
Decorative concrete in Santa Ana usually means stamped concrete, a slab that's colored, pressed with rubber pattern mats while it's still soft and then sealed, so your patio, walkway or driveway looks like stone, brick, wood or tile. Most of the time you're without the space goes to tear-out, pour day and the cure before you can use it.
Most people who call us have a plain gray slab they're tired of, or an older stamped one that's faded, chipped or cracked, and they want to know if it's worth doing over. The price moves with the square footage, how busy the pattern and borders are, the color method, and whether an old slab has to be broken out and hauled away first, while the schedule turns on the tear-out, the base work, the pour and the cure before you walk or drive on it. If you've already looked at stamped concrete, this is the same family of work with more choices in color and finish, and when I come out to write your estimate, you'll get the number for your own slab.
How we build decorative concrete, step by step
I start by asking how the slab will be used before I suggest a color method, because color that sits only on top can show gray underneath where it gets chipped deep. Then our crew digs out and packs the subgrade, the base the slab sits on, checks which way the water runs so the slab falls away from your house, sets the thickness for the use and adds rebar, the steel that helps hold a slab together, where the job calls for it. That base is the part nobody sees on day one and the first thing people want to trim from the budget, and I'd rather spend there than on extra pattern, because a nice finish on a base that settles will crack and tilt with the dirt. We pour early so the midday heat doesn't leave a weak, dusty top, press the pattern while the concrete is still soft, and cut the control joints, planned cuts that give the slab a place to crack, into the pattern's grout lines so they read as part of the design. Then the slab cures, the wait while it gains strength before you use it, and we seal it.
Decorative work often sits next to other concrete. If your yard slopes and the patio needs level ground, we build concrete retaining walls first so the new slab isn't fighting the hill. Inside a garage, shop or addition, concrete floor installation gives you a flat, sound floor, and we can talk about color or sealer while we plan it.
Why Santa Ana homeowners call Mainstay Santa Ana Concrete for decorative concrete
I write your estimate myself
I come out, look at the job and write the estimate, and then our own crew does the work with a lead hand running the site and me checking in along the way. You hear the plan from the person who priced it, and that person keeps an eye on it while it's built.
Plain answers, in business since 2017
I wrote up concrete jobs on the sales side for a few years before I moved onto a crew to learn the work, and I opened this business in 2017. That's why I walk you through what a job will and won't do before we start, cracking, curing and resealing included.
Licensed and insured on every job
We're fully licensed and insured, and it's our own crew on your property, not whoever we could find that week. You know exactly who's working at your house and that they're covered while they do it.
Concrete washout kept off the street
Concrete and grout are on the county's list of construction site materials that may pollute runoff, so we keep washout and loose dirt out of the gutter and off your street. A calm, tidy site also means your driveway and your neighbors' aren't left with our mess.
On decorative work, I care most that you know how your color, pattern and sealer will wear before we pour. Send us your project details or call (657) 643-0084, and I'll come out to take a look.
Get a free on-site estimate for your decorative slab
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out, look at the slab and write your free estimate, with no obligation. It helps to have the slab's size, how you'll use it, a color idea and photos of any cracks ready.
Patterns and colors in concrete
Questions before you book decorative concrete
Will my new stamped concrete crack like the old slab did?
Probably a little, because some cracking from the concrete drying and shrinking stays in most slabs, so it's better to plan for it than to expect a crack-free patio. Good reinforcement and joints can keep cracking down and control the big, visible cracks, which is why we put the joints where the pattern hides them. I'd rather you hear that from me at the estimate than find it out later.
What is the best way to color a stamped concrete driveway?
There are two main ways, and the better one depends on how hard your driveway gets used. Integral color runs through the whole depth of the slab, so a chip shows the same color, while a color hardener goes on top for richer color and a harder surface. One field guide calls hardener the common driveway choice, but deep damage to it shows the gray concrete underneath, and it has to be spread and floated evenly or it comes out blotchy, so that's a fair thing to ask any crew about.
How much does stamped concrete cost in Santa Ana?
Installed stamped concrete across the US usually costs about $26 to $31 per square foot, and that's the general market, not our price. What moves your job up or down is the pattern, the borders, the color method and whether an old slab has to come out first. Your own number comes from the estimate, once I've measured and seen the site.
How do I decide between resurfacing my cracked concrete and replacing it?
Start with how cracked the old slab is, because one overlay maker warns that random cracks in existing concrete may come back through a cured overlay even after they're repaired. If your slab is already cracking in places nobody chose, a resurface can carry those lines right into the new finish, so weigh that before you pay for it. Send photos of the cracks with your request and I'll tell you what I'd do.
How often do you need to reseal stamped concrete?
One field guide advises resealing stamped concrete every 2 to 3 years, so plan that into the slab's long-term care. The same guide calls for two thin, even coats, since a heavy flood coat bubbles, blushes white and turns slick when it's wet, and that's worth asking whoever does your sealing.
Who issues permits for concrete work in Santa Ana's public right of way?
Santa Ana's Development Engineering staff issue encroachment permits for work in the street or public right of way, and the city wants that work done by a licensed contractor whose state license number goes on the application. Their list names sidewalks, not decorative concrete, so check with them about your job, and know that the city's posted requirements allow a C-8 license when the project is concrete replacement only and call for an A license otherwise, so ask them for the current version. When the job needs a permit, we can pull it for you and plan the work around the city's reviews and inspections.
Other concrete work that often goes with it
- Concrete retaining walls
When a slope crowds the patio you want, a retaining wall holds the dirt back and gives your new decorative slab level ground to sit on.
- Concrete floor installation
For a garage, workshop or addition that needs a new floor, we pour the slab flat and solid so any color or sealer has a sound surface.