Decorative concrete in Merrimack NH - color and texture that hold up to traffic
Plain gray slab or a tired, worn patio? We pour colored, stamped and textured concrete with a finish picked for how you'll use it.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What is decorative concrete, and what goes into a job in Merrimack?
Decorative concrete is concrete given color, texture or a pattern as it's placed, by coloring, staining, stamping, exposing the stone in the mix, polishing or sealing, and in Merrimack we use it so a patio, walk, driveway or floor looks finished instead of plain gray.
Most people call us because a slab has gone tired and dull, or because they're pouring new and want more than gray, and you can mix techniques, like a colored border around a stamped field. The price moves with the size of the area, how much digging and base work the spot needs, and how many techniques you stack, since each color and pattern adds labor. The schedule turns on the season for outdoor pours, how long the concrete has to cure before you use it, and whether the work reaches the street, which brings in the city. If a stone or brick look is what you're after, our stamped concrete services page goes deeper, and when I come out you get an estimate for your own job on site.
Is your patio or walk due for a decorative finish?
Color faded or blotchy
When an old colored or stamped slab looks washed out or patchy, the sealer has usually worn off and the surface is taking the weather head on. Left alone, the wear goes deeper, and a reseal that would have done the job turns into resurfacing.
Top flaking off in spots
Thin chips peeling off the top, which we call scaling, usually point to deicing salt, a rushed finish or a surface that was never sealed. It spreads a little more each winter, so the sooner we look, the more of the slab you can keep.
Cracks that keep growing
Cracks that widen year to year, or a slab that's dropped at one corner, usually mean the ground underneath has moved. A new finish laid over that tends to crack right along with it, so we sort out the cause before we talk color.
How we handle decorative concrete, from the base to the sealer
Decorative work takes a different touch than plain flatwork, so we start by going over finishes and colors with you, and where the surface will take cars or heavy foot traffic, we steer you to the tougher option. Then we dig out and pack the subgrade, the soil and stone the slab sits on, and check where the water runs so the slab falls away from your house, because a pretty pattern can't hide a slab that settles or holds a puddle. We set forms, add rebar where the job calls for it so the steel holds the slab together if it does crack, and pour when the heat won't rush the top into a weak, dusty surface. Color, stamping or texture goes on while the concrete is still workable, then we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give cracks a planned place to form, and let it cure, the slow hardening stretch before you walk or drive on it. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather simplify the pattern than cut corners on the base, because nobody sees the base on day one but it decides how the finish looks in ten years. We seal it before we go, and I'll tell you up front that resealing is part of owning a decorative finish.
The same planning carries into the work around a decorative slab. When a patio sits on a slope, we can pour concrete retaining walls to hold the ground and finish them to match, and if you want a stained or polished look indoors, it starts with concrete floor installation done with that finish in mind.
Stamped and textured finishes
Patterns pressed into the surface, like stone or brick looks, or exposed aggregate where the stones in the mix show through, suit patios, walks and pool edges where you want grip and character. They do best when you keep up with sealing, since the low spots in a pattern collect water and dirt.
Smooth color, stain or polish
A smooth slab that's colored, stained or polished suits indoor floors and covered spaces where you want a surface that sweeps clean. Outside, a smooth colored slab usually gets a broom finish, fine brushed lines that give your feet grip, so it isn't slick when it's wet.
Get a free estimate on your decorative concrete
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day. I'll come out, look at the spot and leave you a free estimate on site, with no pressure to book.
(603) 377-5028- Based in
- Merrimack, NH 03054
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about decorative concrete?
Here's how a decorative job runs with us, from your first call to the day you can step out onto the finished slab.
Call or send the form
You reach us at (603) 377-5028 or through the form, and we set a time for me to come see the spot. Evenings and weekends work too, since we pick up the phone seven days a week.
I come out and look
I walk the area with you, ask how you'll use it and go over colors and finishes, and you have your estimate before I leave. If a simpler pattern would keep more of your budget in the base, I'll say so.
We prep, pour and finish
Once you say go, we get any permit paperwork moving, prep the ground, and I'm on site with our crew for the pour and the finish. Before we leave, I walk you through curing, winter care and when to reseal.
Why Merrimack homeowners call Quality Merrimack Concrete for decorative work
I write every estimate myself
I come out to look at each job, write the estimate and then run our own crew on site. The person who talked colors with you is the one standing there when the finish goes down.
Building in Merrimack since 2013
I started this business here in 2013 after years on restaurant lines, where prep and timing decide how the plate turns out. Concrete works the same way, so we don't hurry the base or the finish.
Licensed and insured on every job
We're licensed and insured. Decorative finishing takes skills and products most concrete jobs never use, so ask any crew you're comparing about their decorative work, not just their plain slabs.
Every job is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. Tell us about your project or call (603) 377-5028 to set up a visit.
Decorative concrete and driveway work in Merrimack
If your decorative job builds, changes or moves a driveway, or digs into the ground along the street, the Town of Merrimack requires a Right-of-Way Permit first. The right-of-way takes in the road and the strip between the road and your property line, so a stamped apron or a front walk that meets the road can fall under it even when that strip feels like your lawn. For a patio or walk out back, we'll help you find out which office handles it, and the city's Building Division takes building permit applications online. That office decides what your job needs, and we work to what they ask.
A lot of our decorative calls are front walks and driveway edges that run right to the street, and patios out back where an old slab has flaked or sunk. We plan the base and the drainage the same careful way on jobs in Nashua and Manchester, so water runs off the pattern and away from the house.
Questions about decorative concrete in Merrimack
Which decorative concrete finish holds up best on a driveway?
Color hardener is the usual pick for a driveway, because one field guide notes it forms a harder skin on top than other color methods. The trade-off is that its color sits only in that top layer, so a deep gouge can show gray concrete underneath. We go with the tougher option wherever tires and heavy traffic will be.
How much does stamped concrete cost in New Hampshire?
Installed stamped concrete in New Hampshire usually costs about $13 to $30 per square foot, statewide. Where your job lands depends on the size, the base work, the pattern and how many colors you want. Your estimate gives you a figure for your own yard.
When is the best time to pour decorative concrete in Merrimack?
Most Merrimack homeowners plan an outdoor pour outside late fall, winter and early spring, because fresh concrete that freezes soon after it's placed, while it's still soaked through, can be damaged. That's why it pays to get your estimate early and hold a spot in the warmer months.
How often do I need to reseal stamped concrete?
One field guide advises resealing patterned concrete every 2 to 3 years. Count that as part of the long-term cost of a decorative finish when you're comparing it to plain concrete, since skipping it is how color fades and the surface starts to flake.
How do I protect new decorative concrete in winter?
Keep deicers off it for the first year, and after that skip deicers made with ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate or magnesium salts, since those eat away concrete surfaces. Penetrating sealers made with silane or siloxane give the best resistance to deicers and to freezing and thawing, so ask any crew which sealer they plan to use.
What is the best way to put a decorative finish over old concrete?
A decorative overlay can work on old concrete, but it only covers how cracks show at the surface and won't stop the slab underneath from moving. One overlay maker has moving cracks filled with a repair resin and given new saw cuts to relieve the strain before the overlay goes on. If the old slab has sunk or broken up, I'll tell you a new pour is the better spend.
Related concrete work that pairs with decorative finishes
Concrete retaining walls
If your yard drops off or soil keeps washing onto the patio, a poured wall holds the grade and keeps the ground under your slab in place.
Concrete floor installation
Pouring a new basement, workshop or garage slab? Plan any stained or polished finish before the concrete goes down, because it shapes how we place and finish it.
Where we do decorative concrete around Merrimack
Quality Merrimack Concrete is based in Merrimack, NH, and we do decorative work across the cities around it, including Bedford, NH and Tyngsborough, MA. The 12 cities below each have their own page, and we work in plenty of others nearby.
Merrimack, NH
Get a price on your decorative finish
Call (603) 377-5028 or send the form with the rough size of the area, the finish you like and whether the work reaches the driveway or street edge, so I come out ready to talk through your options.