Broom finish
The standard exterior finish. A fine directional texture dragged across the surface while it is still green, for grip in the rain.
Decorative & stamped
Stamped and Decorative Concrete
Patterned, textured and finished concrete for patios, walkways and outdoor living areas — built on the same base and jointing work as any other slab we pour.
Verify before publishing This page has no photographs of finished decorative work yet.
None of the jobsite photos supplied for this website show stamped or decorative concrete, so nothing on this page pretends to. The tiles below are labelled placeholders, not stock photography. Replace each one with a real Salgado decorative project before this page goes live, and confirm which stamp patterns, release colours and sealers you actually offer.
Finishes
How a concrete surface can be finished
The finish is chosen for where the slab is and what happens on it. Around a pool, grip matters more than looks; on a covered patio the reverse is often true.
Smooth trowel finish
Machine trowelled to a hard, dense surface. Right for interior slabs and covered areas; too slick for open exterior work.
Exposed and textured
Surface worked back to reveal the aggregate, giving a harder-wearing, less uniform surface than a plain broom finish.
Stamped patio photo
Replace with a real Salgado project
Stamped patterns
Patterns pressed into the fresh surface to read as stone, slate or plank. Confirm available patterns
Colour & release photo
Replace with a real Salgado project
Colour and release
Integral colour or a broadcast hardener, with a release agent that leaves the secondary tone in the pattern. Confirm colours offered
Saw-cut pattern photo
Replace with a real Salgado project
Saw-cut layouts
Control joints cut on a deliberate grid or diagonal so the joints that have to be there become the pattern.
What decorative work does not change
A pattern will not save a bad slab
Decorative concrete is a surface treatment on an ordinary structural slab. If the base is not compacted, the reinforcement is not there or the joints are not cut, the pattern cracks along with everything else — and it is far more obvious when it does.
So a stamped patio gets the same preparation as any other pour: graded and compacted base, vapor barrier where it belongs, reinforcement on chairs, forms set to the finished elevation and joints planned before the concrete is ordered.
- Joints planned into the pattern rather than cut across it afterwards.
- Drainage sorted first — a patio that ponds water will stain no matter what colour it is.
- Sealer maintenance explained before you commit, so the upkeep is not a surprise.
Verify Add the sealer product you use and the reseal interval you recommend, so this page gives homeowners a real maintenance expectation instead of a general statement.
Planning a patio or outdoor living area?
Tell us the space and how you want to use it, and we will walk it with you.