I am a concrete contractor and I talk to many people who estimate and are looking for work for my business. Many times people think that stamped concrete is completely different from normal concrete and that it is a completely different product. This is somewhat true, but the basic concepts of the two are the same, and are usually specified in the same way, when used in the same application. For example, if stamped concrete or regular concrete is used for a driveway, they will generally have the same thickness and design strength.
Common concrete is the concrete you use every day on sidewalks, driveways, patios, roads, and anytime regular pavement is being built. It is usually placed on some type of gravel or native soil base that is compacted. The area is then shaped with wood or manufactured forms. The reinforcement is usually installed at the base, which is usually a rebar or wire mesh. Concrete is specified to the desired thickness that is designed for your application. For example, a driveway for cars and light trucks is typically four inches thick. The concrete mix is also specified which is usually a 4000 psi mix here in areas that have severe winters. That is the strength that concrete reaches in 28 days. Concrete is placed, screeded, smoothed, and then you get a non-slip finish, like a broom. After that, the concrete is cured with water and burlap, or easily with a curing compound that forms a membrane.
Stamped concrete is placed in much the same way as regular concrete. Generally all the steps are the same except the finishing steps. The concrete, which is normally added to the mix, is also colored. It can also be colored with a color hardener, but most contractors use an integral color. After bull floatation is when things change with stamped concrete. Some contractors go a step further and trowel the concrete to make it really smooth. We use air-entrained concrete in our area because of the harsh winters, which is not supposed to be smoothed, so we usually smooth it out as much as possible with a magnesium trowel. After the concrete reaches the desired hardness, the concrete is stamped with rubber stamps. A release agent that is either an old color release agent or a liquid release agent is used to prevent the stamps from sticking to the concrete. Some contractors will put curing paper over the concrete to cure it until the next day, when the concrete will be washed and sealed with a high-gloss sealer that is also a membrane-forming cure.
So to sum it up patterned and regular, there isn’t much difference between the two other than how they look on the surface. Many people think that stamped concrete is not as durable as regular concrete and that is not the case. The only thing that could make it less durable is the texture of the stamped concrete. In an environment where it snows, stamped concrete can be damaged by snow removal equipment such as snow plows.