Exposed Aggregate, Stamped or Broom Finish?

A broom finish is the right choice for most driveways and walkways: it grips in winter, costs the least and wears the best. Exposed aggregate suits a patio or a front walk where you want texture and a natural look. Stamped concrete suits a patio or an entrance where the look of stone or brick matters more than the simplest upkeep. All three are poured on the same base, at the same thickness, in the same mix; only the top differs.

We install all three as part of our concrete work in Hamilton, with the plain driveway covered on our concrete driveways page. Here is how each finish is made, what it looks like a few winters on, and how to choose.

Broom finish

After the concrete is placed, screeded and floated, a stiff broom is pulled across the surface, leaving fine parallel lines. That is the whole finish, and it is the one most of the sidewalks and driveways in Hamilton have.

• Grip: the best of the three, which matters on a sloped driveway in January.
• Look: plain, clean and quiet. It suits any house and never dates.
• Wear: the surface is dense and even, so it resists scaling from salt and freeze and thaw better than a worked finish.
• Care: a seal after the first month, and resealing every few years. Nothing else.
• Where: driveways, side walks, shed pads, steps, and any patio where you want the simplest surface.

Exposed aggregate

The concrete is poured and finished, then the top layer of cement paste is washed off before it fully hardens, revealing the stone in the mix. The stone can be the standard aggregate or a decorative one chosen for colour. The surface is pebbly, like a riverbed set in concrete.

• Grip: very good; the stones give traction wet or dry.
• Look: natural and textured, with real variation. It hides dirt and suits gardens, pool surrounds and older homes.
• Wear: the stones are the hardest part of the concrete and wear well, but the paste between them is exposed and needs sealing to resist salt. Snow shovels catch on it more than on a broom finish.
• Care: seal it, and reseal more often than broom. Pressure wash gently; too much pressure loosens stones.
• Where: patios, front walks and entrances, pool decks, and driveways where the look is worth the extra upkeep. Plenty of older pool decks around Ancaster and across Hamilton are exposed aggregate, and the finish has a long track record here.

Stamped concrete

Colour is added to the mix or the surface, then rubber mats patterned as flagstone, slate, cobble or wood plank are pressed into the wet concrete. A release agent gives the shadows and highlights, and the result is a continuous slab that reads as individual stones.

• Grip: depends on the pattern and the sealer. Some patterns are smooth, and a glossy sealer can be slippery when wet; a textured pattern with a non-slip additive in the sealer is fine.
• Look: the richest of the three, with colour and pattern. Done well it is handsome; done badly it looks like a rubber mat was pressed into concrete, which it was.
• Wear: the colour is in the top layer, so it fades without sealing, and a chip or a crack shows more than on plain concrete because it breaks the pattern. The stress joints have to be planned into the pattern or they cut across it.
• Care: sealing every couple of years to keep the colour, and the sealer is where the cost of upkeep lives.
• Where: patios, entrances, pool decks, and the borders of a plain driveway. A fully stamped driveway is possible and looks striking, but it needs the most care of the three.

What is the same under all three

The finish is the last hour of a job that takes a week. Underneath is the excavation, the four inch compacted aggregate base, the wire mesh, and the 32 MPa concrete poured at four inches or more, with stress joints cut on time. That is where the driveway or patio lasts or fails, and it does not change with the finish. Our guide to preventing concrete cracking in Ontario winters covers the care that all three need.

How to choose

• Driveway, especially a sloped one: broom. Add a stamped or exposed border if you want some interest.
• Front walk and entrance: broom for simplicity, exposed aggregate for texture, stamped for colour.
• Patio: any of the three; think about how it will be sealed and how slippery it will be wet.
• Pool deck: exposed aggregate or a textured stamp with a non-slip sealer. Not a glossy stamp.
• Steps: broom, always.

Frequently asked questions

Is stamped concrete cheaper than pavers?

Usually, for the same area, because it is one pour rather than hundreds of stones laid by hand. Pavers can be repaired one at a time and stamped concrete cannot, so the comparison is about more than the first price. See stamped concrete versus pavers.

Can you mix finishes on one job?

Yes, and it is often the best answer: a broom finish field with a stamped or exposed border, or a broom driveway with a stamped landing at the door.

When can we use it?

Walk on it the next day, drive on it after at least seven days, and seal it after at least thirty days of air drying. We give you the dates before we leave.

Pick a finish with a sample in front of you

Call (905) 906-0671 or send the form on our contact page and tell us what you have in mind. We are quick to quote, quick to start, and we answer every call.