Stamped concrete services in El Paso, TX - a patterned slab on a solid base
Plain gray patio or a tired old slab? We pour and stamp a patterned surface over a base that's dug out and packed right.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What goes into a stamped concrete job in El Paso?
Stamped concrete services in El Paso, TX, put color and a pattern into a fresh slab, so your patio, walk or driveway looks like stone or brick without laying it piece by piece.
Most people call because they're looking at a plain gray slab, or a cracked one, and want something that looks finished. The base under it is the first thing people want to cut from the budget, and I'd spend the money there before the pattern, because a stamp can't cover up ground that's going to settle. Price mostly comes down to the size of the slab, how much digging and base work the ground needs, whether old concrete has to come out first, and the pattern and color you pick. The schedule turns on any permit the job needs, the weather on pour day and curing, the wait while the slab gains strength before you walk or drive on it, and your estimate gives you your own figure.
How do you know it's time for a new stamped slab?
Cracks and sunken sections
A slab that's cracked across the middle or dropped at one corner usually sat on dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled with the ground. The longer you wait, the more water gets underneath and the farther it drops.
Water pooling by the house
If rain sits on the slab or runs back toward your walls, the slab was set with the wrong fall, and nobody checked where the water goes. Every storm keeps soaking the ground next to the house, so it's worth fixing the slope when the new slab goes in.
A dusty, flaking top
When the surface turns to powder or flakes off in patches, it was often poured or finished in the heat of midday and never cured right. It spreads with traffic, and a stamped pattern needs a sound top to press into.
How we do stamped concrete, start to finish
Before we talk patterns, we talk about the base, because a nice stamp won't hide a bad one. Our crew digs out to firm ground and packs the subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, then sets the forms so the slab falls away from your house and is thick enough for what's going to sit on it, with rebar inside, the steel that holds the pieces together if it cracks. Then we go over color hardener against color mixed all the way through, so you pick what suits how the slab gets used. We pour when conditions make sense, not in the heat of midday, and size each pour so the crew can place, color and stamp it before it sets. Once the pattern's pressed, we cut control joints, planned lines that give the slab a straight place to crack instead of a random one, then let it cure and seal it.
Stamped work usually sits next to plain concrete, so we handle that too. We do concrete sidewalk building for the walk that leads up to a stamped patio, and garage floor concrete when the garage slab needs replacing along with the driveway out front.
Color hardener, for driveways and busy areas
Color hardener is a colored powder worked into the top of the fresh slab, and it gives the richest color and a harder, denser surface, which is why it's the usual pick for driveways. A deep gouge will show gray concrete underneath, and the color only comes out even if it's spread and floated in evenly, so ask any crew how they keep that step even.
Integral color, for the most forgiving finish
Integral color is mixed into the concrete before it's poured, so a chip or a saw cut shows the same color and the slab ages without pale scars. It suits you if you'd rather not think about wear, but it won't reach the deepest or brightest shades.
Get a free estimate for your stamped slab
We respond within one business day to set a visit. I come out, measure and give you a written estimate. It's free, with no obligation.
- Based in
- El Paso, TX 79901
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about stamped concrete in El Paso?
Here's how a stamped job goes from your first call to a sealed slab, and what you'll have in hand before you decide.
Call or send the form
Call (915) 265-1446 or send the form, and we set a time for me to come out. I look at the spot where the slab will go.
Walk the site together
I measure, check where the water runs and ask how you'll use the slab. You get a written estimate that says what's included and what isn't, so you can hold it up against other bids line by line.
Paperwork, base and forms
We line up any permit the job needs, then our crew digs out, packs the base and sets the forms. Nothing gets poured until the base is right.
Pour, stamp and seal
We pour when conditions make sense, stamp the pattern while it's soft, cut the joints and seal it. Then the slab cures, and we tell you when it's ready for foot traffic and when it's ready for a car.
Why El Paso homeowners call Formcraft for stamped concrete
Our own crew, me at the pour
Our own crew does the work, and I'm on site for the pour. The person who told you how the base would be built is standing there when the concrete goes in.
Learned here, pouring since 2013
I framed houses for years, learned concrete under a finisher here in El Paso and started this business in 2013. I got into it because I was tired of building on slabs that weren't right, so the base is the part I watch.
Licensed and fully insured, every job
We're licensed and fully insured. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Have the slab's use, rough size, location and any color ideas ready, then call (915) 265-1446 or send us your project details.
Stamped driveways, patios and permits in El Paso
Which permit a stamped job needs in El Paso depends on where the slab sits. If your driveway meets a county road, putting it in or changing it, or running a sidewalk through the right-of-way, the strip of public land along the road, takes a county permit before work starts, and a County Inspector checks safety, drainage and damage to the road. Inside city limits, what the city publishes doesn't settle whether a patio or driveway like yours needs a building permit, so I check instead of assuming it doesn't. When a job calls for a permit, we handle the paperwork with whichever office covers your address, whether that's a city, the county or the state in New Mexico.
Around El Paso, most of our stamped calls are for back patios, front entries and driveway borders on houses where the builder left plain gray concrete. We plan those the same way on jobs in Horizon City and Socorro, base first and colors after.
Questions about stamped concrete in El Paso
What is stamped concrete?
Stamped concrete is regular poured concrete that's colored, pressed with rubber mats while it's still soft and then sealed. The mats leave the look of stone, brick, wood or tile in one continuous slab.
How much does stamped concrete cost in El Paso?
I can't give you an honest number without seeing the spot, because the price comes from your slab and not a chart. A simple one-color pattern on a patio costs less than a multi-color stone look with a border, and tearing out an old slab or building up a weak base adds to it. Your written estimate after the site visit shows your own figure.
How often does stamped concrete need resealing?
Reseal when the slab shows it needs it, not on a calendar. Trade guidance says the signs are water that stops beading up and color that's lost its depth, and resealing more often than that leaves a buildup that's slow and expensive to strip off.
What is the best sealer for stamped concrete?
Most stamped slabs get a sealer that forms a film on top, because it brings out the color, and coats put on too heavy or too early can spoil the look. One field guide calls for two thin, even coats and warns that a heavy flood coat can bubble, turn white and get slick when wet.
What causes stamped concrete to crack?
Most cracks come from a base that settled, joints that were cut late or skipped, or a slab too thin for what sits on it. I won't promise a slab with no cracks, because concrete doesn't work that way, but the joints we cut give a crack a straight line to follow instead of wandering across your pattern.
How do I apply for a building permit in El Paso?
You apply through the city's One Stop Shop, which takes in the building permits needed to build, alter or repair a building or structure within the city. It's also one of the main places to pay for building and over-the-counter construction permits, so ask us at the estimate whether your slab needs one.
Concrete work that often goes with stamped slabs
Concrete sidewalk building
When a new stamped patio needs a plain walk leading to it, or your old sidewalk is cracked and lifting, we pour it to match the grade.
Garage floor concrete
If the garage slab is cracked, sinking or pitted while we're redoing the driveway out front, doing both together lets us set the two slabs to meet cleanly.
Cities we cover for stamped concrete
Formcraft El Paso Concrete Company is based in El Paso, TX, and we pour stamped concrete across the city and the cities around it, in Texas and over the line in New Mexico. Twelve of those places have their own page here, including Sunland Park and Canutillo, and we work beyond them too.
El Paso, TX
Get a stamped concrete estimate on site
Patterns and colors are easier to pick standing where the slab will go, with your house and yard around it.