Found a trick for stamping patterns on sloped driveways at a job in Phoenix

Had this house on a hill where the concrete was sloping like crazy. Tried my normal stamping sequence and the pattern kept slipping and smudging. After three messed up sections I grabbed some scrap plywood and cut it into a few flat platforms to stand on. Used those as stable spots to work from and it kept my weight even. Finished the whole job without a single blowout. Has anyone else found a weird fix for slopes that doesn't involve full reshoring?

3 comments

3 Comments

torres.blair13d ago

Did you brace those plywood platforms against anything to keep them from sliding downhill?

wright.leo12d ago

Maybe I'm overthinking it but is it really that big of a deal if a plywood sheet slides a few inches while you're working? You're just standing on it, not driving a truck across it. I've seen guys use nothing but their own weight on loose gravel slopes and they were fine. Seems like a lot of hassle to drill stakes or anchor things just to keep a board from moving a couple inches. If your concrete is wet enough that the plywood wants to drag and mess up the pattern, you've probably got bigger problems with your mix anyway.

emma_baker6113d ago

Nah, I wouldn't brace them. That seems like it would just transfer the sliding force into the concrete and mess up your pattern anyway. Letting them drift a tiny bit as you work is fine because you're just shifting your weight side to side. If you lock them in place you're basically creating a sled that wants to take the whole slab with it. The trick is to use rough plywood with some grip tape or just keep your knees bent and stay low. Braces add more work than they save on a slope like that.