We just finished work on a new concrete driveway for a realtor in the Lakeville, MN area.  His old asphalt driveway was sinking and falling apart, and it was time to replace it with new concrete.  We tore out the old asphalt driveway as well as a failing section of the front stoop, replaced the water service cover, and poured new concrete.  Just a sideline- the stoop was failing because it wasn’t built properly and had no footing underneath it to protect from the frost.

Check back soon for pictures of the front stoop with a special colored concrete sealer applied to blend the colors of the new and old concrete!

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Earlier this summer we poured a new stamped concrete patio for Eric and Jessica.  They have a newer home in Watertown and finished building the deck, so it was time to work on the backyard.  The builder left them with just a small gray slab outside the sliding glass door, and they were looking for something more attractive and useful.  A new stamped concrete patio is a perfect choice!  The texture they chose was Belgium Slate, with a Beige Cream base color and a Russet antique release.  Take a look at the pictures to see the results!

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As mentioned earlier, Gary and Mary were so happy with the stamped concrete patio, stoop and sidewalk that Countryside installed for them earlier this year, they decided to replace their worn-out asphalt driveway with brand-new concrete!  You can take a look at the other work we did for them at the link above.  I don’t have any pictures that show the old deteriorated asphalt driveway before we tore it out, but some of it is visible in the pictures of the new stamped concrete sidewalk work we did.  Take a look at the difference a new concrete driveway makes!

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Scott and Liz live in Chaska and they’re friends of our buddy Charlie at Carver Brick & Stone.  They have a great backyard, with a pool in the summer and hockey rink in the winter, as well as a nice paver patio and hot tub.  They like to have friends over to entertain, but were looking for something more interesting to gather around than a table and chairs.

They saw our work at The Mustard Seed, and decided that was the perfect solution to make the backyard more fun to be in!  They decided not to go with a grill, since they had one on the deck.  It’s no problem for Countryside to work around whatever design issues our customers have, we came up with an angled bar area with a refrigerator and built-in storage cabinets for cushions, tiki torch fuel, can coolers and other patio accessories.

The custom color they chose for the concrete countertops works great with the natural split fieldstone on the sides of the bar area.  The cedar you see underneath the bottom of the countertops in the outside of the bar hides a string of LED lighting that illuminates the stone at night- a very cool feature!

Contact the experts at Countryside Concrete today to discuss your dreams for a more attractive and function outdoor living space.  From an elaborate outdoor kitchen with a pergola on top of a new stamped concrete patio to a simple firepit or backyard bar area, we can help you take the indoors outside!

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This stamped concrete patio is definitely one of the highlights of the year for all of us at Countryside Concrete. In a cooperative effort with the Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce that began last fall, we designed and built the stamped concrete patio with concrete sitting benches and a memorial concrete picnic table. They wanted to have a place for the kids to sit and eat treats while taking a break from swimming in the pool. The design evolved quite a bit through the fall and over the winter as a collaborative effort with the Chamber, and what we finally ended up with is what you see below.

The patio was stamped concrete in a Belgium Slate Texture Skin, and the coloringwas achieved using Vintage Umber Acid Stain. Some of the added features are the stamped compass in the middle, and the stamped dolphins border along the edge- both those items were painstakingly hand-stained. The vertically stamped concrete walls were also stained and colored by hand. Pay special attention to the decorative mirror inlay in the concrete wall caps.

We also built the concrete picnic table with a laser-engraved granite memorial to a local boy who passed away this spring. The Belle Plaine class of 1990 donated the table to the pool and the community, and we were proud to have taken a part in it’s construction.

Special thanks goes out to all who were involved in this project: Leroy and the crew at River’s Edge Concrete; Sandy, Lisa and everyone else at the Chamber of Commerce;Belle Plaine High School Class of 1990; the community of Belle Plaine; Troy and the gang at Poppitz Construction; Al and entire Public Works Department; Paul and his crew at Countryside Construction; and everyone else involved. It was truly a pleasure to have been involved with this project, and we hope the kids and community as a whole will enjoy it for many years to come.

Filed under: Concrete Furniture & Fun Stuff, Custom Inlays, Patios, Staining, Stamped & Colored Concrete, Vertical Stamping | No Comments »