Handcrafted decorative concrete paving or saw-cut paving, provides an up-market, smooth finish for residential driveways and patios with the appearance of high end pavers or tiles.
Saw-cut styles also work very well for outdoor entertaining areas where uneven pavers can cause wobbly table legs.
Commercially, Panorama has been installing these styles around nursing homes and units where flat, smooth walkways are essential for ease of access for residents.
We recently installed handcrafted saw-cut concrete paving in Bank Street, Adelaide which has a high volume of people walking down it daily to the train station. Adelaide Council required a smooth, flat surface for pedestrians and tables extending out from the eateries along the street. At night Bank Street is used as a heavy vehicle access road so the paving had to be strong enough for these requirements as well.
Our Milled Exposed Aggregate with a special black granite stone was chosen. After we installed the concrete paving our specialist team saw-cut a rectangular pattern into the surface to give a paver look that remains smooth and flat without the bumps and unevenness which can happen when individual pavers move.
How We Install Our Handcrafted Finishes
Saw-cutting concrete involves cutting rectangles and squares into the surface of the concrete after it has hardened. This is a job for a well trained specialist. Control joints as per AS/NZS 1428.4.1:2009 are always incorporated to fit in with the design.
For our saw-cut handcrafted paving, integral (colour through) concrete paving is poured and troweled to an even consistency with a small amount of texture to ensure the paving isn’t slippery when wet. We call this a smudge finish. After the concrete paving has cured enough we come back to saw cut the pattern.
For our Milled handcrafted paving, an integral coloured exposed aggregate mix is poured. A special retarder is then placed over the top which ensures that small flecks of stone show through on the concrete surface to give added interest. After the concrete paving has cured enough we come back to saw cut in the pattern.
Our Special Handcrafted Decorative Paving Finishes
The photo above shows an example of our handcrafted decorative concrete finish in residential projects. You can view some of our commercial work here.
If you’re thinking about what’s possible for your driveway or pathways, talk to one of our friendly staff at Panorama Concrete Paving on (08) 8297 9611 or visit our showroom at 1 Maple Avenue, Forestville where you will see samples of our decorative concrete styles.