I am thinking about resurfacing a concrete porch and 'stamping' it to look like stone, brick, tile, etc. Since I don't want an irregular surface, I thought I would just use a grid device to create the 'joints.' Has anyone done this and what do you think?

I DID THIS ON MY FRONT PORCH.I FIRST PAINTED THE CONCRETE IN A CONCRETE COLOR FINISH.LIGHT GRAY.THEN I MADE A STENCIL JUST OUT OF STIFF CARDBOARD.I DREW STONE SHAPES ON THE CARDBOARD,THEN CUT OUT THE SHAPES WITH A KNIFE.THIS WAS A LARGE PIECE OF CARDBOARD.LAY THE CARDBOARD DOWN ON THE PORCH AND STENCIL.THEN I JUST MIXED THE SHADE OF DARKER GRAY FOR THE STONES.LAY THE STENCIL ON THE PORCH AND SPONGED THE GRAY IN.THEN PUT A SEALER ON WHEN FINISHED.IT IS GREAT PEOPLE JUST DRIVE BY AND STOP AND ASK WHO DONE THIS. I HAVE HAD MANY JOB OFFERS TO DO IT FOR OTHERS.

Thanks for the help, what sealer did you use?

You can also use a large pan (have also seen pizza boxes used) put three colors in the bottom, keep them seperated at first. You dip a sponge in each color and then dab the sponge off in your container to mix the paint colors on the sponge. This will give more depth to your stone look.

[Go to concretenetwork.com for hundreds of beautiful answers to concrete stamping, colors, surfacing, designs and many other applications too numerous to mention. Hope you post your results.

The most comprehensive website for stamped concrete information, tips, design tools, calculators and do it yourself tips would be ConcreteForever.com This company is the largest Decorative Concrete Contractors in the United States and has extensive free information for the average home owner or contractor for information on stamped concrete patio or driveway. There is no advertising on concreteforever.com, no books for sale or tee shirts to buy, just hundreds of pages of information on stamped concrete including a decorative concrete forum moderated by certified professionals...good luck!

Just saw a new? product ad on TV for two kinds of finish that you lay out the shapes you want with some kind of a masking tap and when you are done at some point in time you just pull the tape off. The ad photos looked teriffic, as they all do, but I donot remember the brand. Try google.

If your surface is in good shape, stenciling with paint is a great option.

But if your surface needs repair then you need to add a thin layer. And you need to make sure it will adhear to the current surface. Talk to the pros when you buy. Make sure your new surface is thick enough to resist breakage. There are companys who will do it all for you, if you want.

The pattern is STAMPED on with a large textured "stamp". That would be hard to create on your own, but not impossible. If it's a large enough area to make it worth the expense (or if you have a friend who would share the expence & use it at her home, too) you could look into buying your own stamp.

To all that have helped with this idea. My current thinking is to resurface my poarch with the quiccrete concrete resurface product in the beige color. Then use the 3M contrete masking tape to cover the 'grout' lines and use a concrete 'stain' in a blue gray 'slate color. Then seal the entire job with concrete sealer.

The area is 500 sq feet so it should not be too labor intensive when the weather is cooler here in SC. Any comments? I'll post how it comes out.

from a decorative concrete installer of 10 years:

DON"T do the stencil/tape - paint design. These sponging/painting, pan/box techniques end up looking like--- well, sponged-on stones done by a homeowner. They look very fake and usually dont last.

You mentioned "stamping".. Why don't you apply a "stamped" overlay? If you cant rent a stamp, you can buy a small texture mat for under a $100. Or you could make you own for probably $50.. or you could use a wrinkled up garbage bag or something else to simulate stone texture.

Home depot now sells a polymer that can be mixed with cement and silica sand to create a blend that is trowelable, and stampable at 1/4 - 3/8"... It is a VAE, or vinyl-acetate ethylene.. basically the same polymer used by many of the overlay material manufacturers.

Mix designs are basic, and installation is fairly simple for small areas.. you just need a drill/mixing paddle, bucket, trowel, silica sand (play sand will work), cement (and color if you want), and the polymer.. it is the concrete adhesive.. not the acrylic (blue, not red)..it comes in gallons and quarts and you can find it in the concrete section at Home Depot.

You can buy powdered release for color, or use oderless mineral spirits (sprayed on) as a liquid release..
Just do some research.. you can find sites out there that detail the application. But please, don't paint on stones with a sponge and pizza boxes.

In an earlier post someone said you could make your own stamps for cement overlays. I would be interested in how you would do this.

wow this sounds like a beautiful and creative solution, I'm really excited to have come across this thread because it's giving me some new ideas.. but can anyone name some brands as what would be the best sealant to use because it would be a shame having all of this hard work wear off in a year or two! -Fishfool @ The Reef Tank

For $49 you can get a texture roller that fits on a standard 9" paint roller frame. Weathered Flagstone or Italian Slate will be perfect for small overlay applications. For Beginners, a great Mix can be purchased at Home Depot, called Rapid Set Mortar Mix. As long as the concrete surface is clean and free of paint, it will create a crystallized spiking into the old concrete. Under a microscope it looks like a tornado with nasty little fingers projecting outward in all directions. Using the Texture Roller: Dip the roller in water and roll across Mortar Mix to create texture. Once Dry you can cut !/8" grout lines for tile with a 4" grinder and diamond blade or cut flagstone grout lines using a 1/4" Masonry grinding wheel. Color each stone or tile with a damp sponge and grout powders or watered down siliconized acrylic concrete paint. These are just some of the many options for overlaying and coloring a concrete surface. I've worked in decorative concrete for over 20 years and the only service I will not do is a painted application. Epoxies and Paints may look o.k. for a while but fall short for long term durability. For tutorial and project ideas go to YouTube and type in betterpaths in the search bar or see sight as follows.