If your patio or walk looks plain and worn, we can pour a new slab with color and a pressed pattern that suits your house.
Stamped concrete services in Tiburon mean we pour a new slab, color it, press rubber stamp mats into it while it's still soft, then seal it, so your patio, walk or driveway reads as stone, brick, wood plank or tile.
Most calls about stamped concrete start with a patio, walk or driveway that's cracked, sinking or just plain gray, and an owner who wants something that looks like it belongs with the house. Under the pattern it's the same kind of slab as any plain patio or drive, so the ground work matters just as much, and I'll explain below why I spend the most time there.
The price mostly comes down to the size of the area, how much old concrete and dirt has to come out, and how detailed a pattern and how many colors you pick. The schedule turns on the permit, if your job needs one, and the weather, since a pour in midday heat can leave a weak, dusty top. Your written estimate spells out what's included for your job.
The pattern is what you'll look at every day, but these three things decide whether the slab stays flat and keeps its looks. They're also where most problems with older slabs start.
Our crew digs out and packs the subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, instead of just raking it level, then pours the right thickness with rebar, steel bars that keep cracks from pulling apart. If the budget's tight, I'd trim the pattern before the base, because nobody sees the base until it settles.
Before we set forms, I look at where the water runs off your roof and yard, so the finished slab falls away from the house instead of toward it. Water pooling against a foundation or sitting on a patio is a common reason older slabs sink and stain.
Concrete shrinks as it dries, so we cut control joints, straight grooves that give a crack a place to happen where you'll barely notice it. We work them into the pattern lines and cut them on time, because late or skipped joints are how cracks end up running through the middle.
Here's how a stamped concrete job runs with us, from your first call to the day we walk the finished surface together.
Call (415) 429-4397 or use the contact form to tell us about the patio, walk or driveway you have in mind. We'll get back to you and find a time for me to come out.
I come out, look at the ground and where the water runs, and ask how you plan to use the space. Then I write up an estimate in plain words that spells out what's included.
Once you're ready, we sort out what the city or county asks for and wait for any permit before starting. Then our crew digs out and packs the base, pours, colors, stamps, cuts the joints and seals.
When the work is done, we walk it with you so you can see the surface up close and ask anything. We'll go over when you can use it and what to watch for before resealing.
I go over color with you up front, before we settle anything else, because how the color goes in changes both the look and how it wears over the years. There are two main ways to do it, laid out below. I'll also ask how you use the space, since a patio where you sit is a different call than a drive you park on.
We also talk about grip on wet days. A sealer that forms a coat on top is the usual choice for stamped work because it brings out the color, but sealed surfaces may get slippery when they're wet, which matters on walks and near steps. Then we look at what resealing will mean for you down the road, which I cover in the questions below.
Stamped work often sits beside plain concrete, so we plan the two together. A new concrete sidewalk leading up to a stamped patio, or garage floor concrete where a stamped drive meets the garage, should line up at the same height with the water heading the same way, and that's far easier to get right in one plan.
The color is mixed into the concrete, so it runs the full depth and a chip or saw cut shows the same color. The trade-off is softer, more muted tones.
It's broadcast across the fresh surface and floated in, giving richer color and a harder top layer. It has to go on evenly or it looks blotchy, and deep damage shows gray underneath.
Send the rough size of the area, whether it's a patio, walkway or driveway, and any pattern or color ideas you have. We respond within 1 business day to set a time, then I come out, measure and give you a free written estimate. No pressure, no obligation.
(415) 429-4397Tiburon requires a building permit for a concrete patio or sidewalk, and design review plus a building permit for any new, widened or expanded driveway. Size matters too. Grading, digging or filling that moves more than 50 cubic yards adds design review and a grading permit, and any work past your lot onto public land needs an encroachment permit from the Department of Public Works.
The city says work done without a required permit faces substantial fines, and if you're not sure, you can ask the Planning Division or Building Division before work begins. We find out what your job needs, help you with the paperwork and wait for the permit to be in hand before we start.
We're based in Tiburon and work in cities across Marin and nearby, from Novato down to Sausalito and over to Richmond. I find out what each city or county asks for, whether the job is here or in Mill Valley or Sausalito. Most of the stamped work we're asked about around here is patios, front walks and entries.
I started Sterling Stone Tiburon Concrete in 2020 after teaching myself concrete on small jobs around my own place, then learning the rest beside people who'd been at it for years. That's six years now. I'm on site with our crew while the work gets done, and we're best known for explaining what we're doing and why before anything gets poured.
A job that needs a permit falls outside California's small-job exemption, which lets unlicensed workers take jobs up to $1,000 only when no permit is needed and they employ no one. We're fully licensed and insured. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. When you're ready, call (415) 429-4397 or send us a message and I'll come take a look.
If the path from the street to your door is cracked or uneven, a new plain walk can lead up to a stamped patio and keep water draining away.
When the slab inside your garage is chipping, sinking or pooling water, we can replace it so it meets a new driveway at the right height.
Here are the cities around Tiburon with their own page on our site. If your city isn't listed, give us a call anyway, since these aren't the only places we pour stamped patios, walks and drives.
Yes. Tiburon requires a building permit for a concrete patio, and design review plus a building permit for any new, widened or expanded driveway. Bigger grading or work past your lot line adds more, as in the permits section above.
Stamped concrete in San Francisco, the closest guide we have, usually costs about $15 to $30 per square foot. Where your job lands depends mostly on its size, how much old concrete comes out and the pattern and colors you pick. I'll measure on site and put your Tiburon price in a written estimate.
Color hardener is the usual pick for a driveway, because it builds a harder, denser top layer that stands up to traffic. The catch is that a deep gouge shows gray underneath, so I'll talk through both methods with you before we decide.
There's no set schedule. You reseal when the surface stops shedding water and stains or the color starts to look flat. Resealing every year just to keep a high gloss can cause problems, so we'll show you what to watch for when we walk the finished job.
Mostly clear the way. Move furniture, planters and grills off the area, make sure our crew and the concrete truck can reach it, and tell me at the estimate about any sprinkler lines or anything else buried there. Plan to keep kids, pets and cars off the fresh slab until we say it's ready.
I can't give a fair answer until I've seen the site, because it turns on the size of the area, how much old concrete comes out, the permit and the weather. Before we start, we'll tell you when you can walk on the new slab and when you can drive on it.
Our hours run into the evening every day, so call (415) 429-4397 once you've paced off the area and have a pattern or two in mind.
