Stamped concrete services in Duluth MN - a patterned slab sealed with winter in mind
A plain gray patio or walk that looks tired? We stamp, color and seal new concrete, with a sealer plan picked for Duluth winters.
- Services
- 16
- Service areas
- 4
Get an estimate for your stamped patio
I'll measure, check where water runs off and talk through pattern, color and shine with you.
Request an estimateWhat goes into a stamped concrete patio in Duluth?
Stamped concrete services in Duluth start with a new slab for a patio, walk or steps. While it's still soft, we press a pattern into it and add color, so it looks like stone, slate or brick instead of plain gray. Most of the look comes from the color, with a release powder that leaves a second shade in the low spots of the pattern. After the pour, you'll stay off it for a few days while it cures, which is the wait while the concrete hardens enough to use.
Maybe your old patio is cracked or sinking, or you're adding a slab and don't want it to look like a parking spot. The price moves with the size, the pattern and how many colors you want, and with whether there's old concrete to break out with concrete cutting, whether you want steel in it and how easily a truck can reach the spot. The schedule turns on the weather, because we won't pour in a hard freeze or in midday heat that leaves a weak, dusty top, and on whether the work reaches the street and needs a city permit first. I'll measure and give you your own number at the estimate, so you know what you're paying for before we start.
How we handle a stamped concrete job
I start by asking how you'll use the space and how much shine you want. With stamped work, the sealer plan matters as much as the pattern, and a glossy finish means more upkeep down the road. Once we've settled the pattern, colors and finish together, our crew digs out and sets the forms so the slab slopes away from your house and the water has somewhere to go besides your foundation. We pour early in the day, color the concrete, lay down the release and stamp it while it's at the right stage. That window is short, so the whole crew is on it. Once the slab has cured, we seal it the way we agreed, and that's the part you'll live with longest.
Stamped patios rarely stand alone. If you want a plain walk from the patio to the driveway or the front door, we do concrete sidewalk building and can plan it with the patio. If your garage needs a new slab too, we handle garage floor concrete and can look at it on the same visit.
What changes a stamped concrete job in Duluth
If your stamped work reaches the street, like a driveway apron, the permit comes from the city's engineering office. Any driveway opening in the public right-of-way needs an approved application and an excavation permit. Permits for work on your own lot go through the city's construction services and inspections office. I can't tell you from here whether a patio on its own needs one, so that's the office to ask. When a job needs a permit, we pull it and book the inspections. If you'd rather apply yourself, I'll tell you what the city will want to see from us. The city also asks that every dig, big or small, be marked through Gopher State One Call first, so we get that done before we break ground.
Winter is the bigger story for stamped concrete here. The state building code puts St. Louis County in frost Zone I, which calls for deeper minimum footings than Zone II, so if steps or a wall come with your patio, their footings go down to that depth. That same hard freeze is why I plan the sealer and the first winter's care before we pour the slab. We're based in Duluth and also work in Superior and the cities around us, and we follow the same plan on jobs in Hermantown and Cloquet.
Why call us for stamped concrete
I meet you and run the job
I come out to look at the job and meet with you myself. Our crew does the work, and I'm on site running it, so the person who heard what you wanted is the one watching the pour.
Five years of figuring jobs out
I learned concrete on my own place and on other crews, then started Duluth Concrete Works in 2021, and the jobs that take some figuring out are the ones we're known for. On stamped work, that means the questions about drainage and sealer get asked before the truck shows up.
Licensed and insured in Minnesota
We're licensed and insured. In Minnesota, a contractor who works directly for a homeowner on more than one kind of skilled work needs a residential contractor or remodeler license from the state Department of Labor and Industry, and state law lists slabs as concrete work.
Know the price before we start
Before we start, I go over what's in the number, including the pattern, the colors, any steel and the sealer. That way you know what you're paying for and can compare it with other bids line by line.
- Phone
- (218) 514-2182
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
- Location
- Duluth, MN 55802
On a stamped job, the finish you'll live with comes down to the sealer plan, so let's talk it through at your place. Call (218) 514-2182 or request an estimate.
Get your stamped concrete estimate on site
Send us the rough square footage and tell us whether the work reaches a driveway opening at the street. We reply within 1 business day to set a time. Then I come out to look at the job and meet with you myself for a free estimate, with no pressure and no obligation.
- Phone
- (218) 514-2182
- Location
- Duluth, MN 55802
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
- Credentials
- Licensed and insured.
Frequently asked questions
How much does stamped concrete cost in Duluth?
A stamped concrete patio in Duluth usually costs about $8 to $17 per square foot, which is the going rate around here, not our price. A reinforced patio, one with rebar or other steel laid inside to help hold the slab together, costs more per square foot than one without. The pattern and colors move the price too, and you'll get your own figure when I come out to measure.
What is the best sealer for stamped concrete in a Duluth winter?
Most stamped concrete gets a topical sealer, a film that sits on the surface, because it deepens the color. One sealer maker's guide prefers a penetrating sealer, one that soaks in, for outdoor concrete that faces freeze-thaw cycles and deicers, and says it typically protects for 5 to 10 years when it's put on properly. A penetrating sealer keeps a natural look with no added shine and keeps the surface's traction, so you're trading gloss for grip. Too much sealer, or sealer put on too early, can spoil the look, so we'll tell you how much goes on and when.
How often should stamped concrete be resealed?
Reseal when the water and stain repellency or the depth of color starts to fade, not on a set number of years, according to the national concrete contractors' association. Sealing more often than the slab needs leaves a buildup on the surface that's slow and expensive to remove, which is also why resealing every year to keep a high gloss can become a problem. If you want lasting shine, weigh that upkeep before you pick the finish.
How do I protect new stamped concrete in its first winter?
One maker's guide says to skip deicing salts, such as sodium chloride or calcium chloride, during a new slab's first winter, because deicers speed up scaling, the flaking of the top surface. Use sand for traction that season instead, and let whoever plows or shovels for you know too.
What causes a new stamped concrete patio to crack?
Concrete shrinks as it dries and moves as the ground freezes and thaws, so most slabs crack somewhere, and the goal is to choose where. Control joints are shallow cuts that give those cracks a straight, planned line to follow, and on stamped work we line them up with the pattern so they blend in. When joints are cut late or skipped, the cracks pick their own spots, and that's usually what you're looking at in an old slab.
Should a stamped concrete bid in Minnesota include air-entrained concrete?
It's worth asking, because one maker's guide recommends air-entraining admixtures, which put microscopic air pockets in the mix that relieve the pressure when water inside the concrete freezes. When you compare bids, ask whether each one includes it, and I'll tell you what's in ours at the estimate.
Other work that often goes with a stamped patio
Concrete sidewalk building
When a cracked or heaved walk sits next to your new patio, replacing it now saves a second setup and keeps the two looking like they belong together.
Garage floor concrete
A garage slab that's cracked, pitted from road salt or holding puddles is worth a look, since it carries your car's weight and the winter slush every day.