Concrete Paths and Walkways in Kent, WA
Guiding Your Steps with Style and Durability
We create pathways at Kent Concrete Masters that help define the layout of your landscape while providing the safest possible route through your exterior space. Our designs can be as simple as a pathway from your garage to your front door or as elaborate as a garden pathway. Regardless, our focus is to create paths that will last through the many weather patterns that Kent has to offer, while enhancing your property’s aesthetic appeal.
We create walkways that have a solid sub-base and sufficient thickness to prevent them from shifting or cracking. This means that whether you need a simple utility path or an ornate, curved garden walkway, we’ll provide you with a path that is both durable and visually pleasing. Investing in one of our pathways provides you with a long-lasting addition to your home that is low maintenance and adds significant curb appeal.
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Why Choose Concrete for Your Paths and Walkways?
Concrete paths offer unmatched durability, versatility, and low maintenance. They’re ideal for our climate, resisting our frequent rains and occasional freezes without cracking or heaving. A well-designed concrete path not only guides foot traffic but also adds visual appeal to your property, making it a superior choice over gravel or wood.
- Durability and Longevity: Unlike wooden walkways that rot and gravel walkways that are washed away by our heavy rainfall, concrete walkways are designed to be durable and long-lasting. Our walkways can handle high volumes of foot traffic for years to come and will not crack or heave due to the freezing temperatures we occasionally experience in our area.
- Low Maintenance: We believe that once a walkway is installed, it should be easy to maintain and require minimal upkeep. Sweeping or washing a walkway on occasion is all it takes to have it look brand new again. Additionally, because pavers allow weeds to grow up through the paver joints, they are difficult to maintain compared to the solid surface of concrete.
- Safety and Traction: A level, even surface created by a professional installer of walkways minimizes the likelihood of a person tripping and falling. Concrete provides good traction and is important in providing a safe walking environment throughout our wetter months.
- Enhanced Curb Appeal: Installing a walkway professionally enhances the curb appeal of a home and provides a clean and organized appearance for the home’s landscaping. Additionally, a walkway provides a clear invitation for guests and family members alike to enter the home.
Our Concrete Path and Walkway Options
We believe that every walkway should be a reflection of your home’s character. Our team offers a variety of finishes to ensure your paths are as beautiful as they are functional, providing a safe and stylish journey through your property:
- Classic Broom Finish: Classic, low-maintenance walkways are the best solution when safety is the top concern in high-traffic areas. The smooth but textured finish of the classic broom finish will provide superior traction on those slippery winter days, yet remain a clean, modern-looking architectural finish for all architectural styles.
- Stamped Concrete: Stamped concrete offers the opportunity to create a beautiful, upscale look similar to natural stone, brick, or tile, at significantly less than the cost of individual pavers. Stamped concrete creates a solid, seamless surface that eliminates weeds from growing in between the joints as well as maintains a classic, time-honored look of masonry.
- Exposed Aggregates: Exposed aggregate walkways offer a great way to tie your walkway into your landscaping with exposed aggregate finishing. The rough-textured finish of an exposed aggregate walkway is inherently slip-resistant and extremely durable; it’s a popular choice for pathways through the garden and heavy traffic entryways.
- Custom Colored Concrete: Our walkways can be customized to color-match or accentuate your home’s exterior color scheme. Do you want to blend your walkway into your garden with earth tones, or do you want to make a statement with charcoal contrasting against your home’s siding? We can achieve the perfect color for your project!
- Decorative Border Options: Adding a decorative border to your walkway can add visual interest and define the path. A decorative border can be created using contrasting colors or stamp patterns along the edge of your walkway to give your walkway a sophisticated, custom design.
Our Walkway Installation Process
We follow a systematic and professional approach to ensure every path we build is perfectly aligned, level, and durable. Our process is designed to minimize disruption to your landscaping while delivering a high-quality finish:
- Initial Consultation: We begin this process by talking about what you want in terms of functionality and appearance for your pathways. Do you want an easy-to-follow path leading directly to your front door, or would you prefer a winding path as part of your overall landscaping experience? At this stage, we are simply looking to understand your goals so we can create a custom solution that fits your needs.
- Property Assessment: The location on your property will determine where the optimal paths should be placed to take into consideration the current slope, drainage, and plant locations to prevent erosion and to maintain the integrity of your yard.
- Custom Design: The design of your pathway(s) will be based on your property’s dimensions, whether it will include curves and/or bends, and what type of finish and color scheme you desire. Our goal is to have your new pathway feel like a natural addition to your property.
- Grading and Preparation: Grading and preparing the base of the pathway(s) is one of the most important parts of the construction process to prevent cracking over time. We will remove any debris and then lay down a solid layer of compacted gravel (base material) for your new pathway(s).
- Construction: Once the base is prepared, we will pour and finish your new pathway using high-quality materials and equipment to produce a uniform thickness and smooth finish.
- Sealing/Curing: Protecting your new pathway(s) from stains and damage from moisture and other contaminants, such as oil and salt, is the last step in our process. After the concrete cures, we will seal it with a high-grade commercial product to protect it for years to come.
- Final Inspection: Before we leave your property, we will inspect all aspects of your new pathway(s) with you to ensure they meet our standards and that your property is restored to its original condition.
Applications for Concrete Paths and Walkways
Front Entrance Paths
Paths lead people to your front entrance. Professional finishing of your front walk way creates a positive impression at first glance and allows safe passage of your guests to your entrance. The path also serves as a solid, clean connection between your entrance and your driveway, or the street.
Garden Pathways
Your garden is a beautiful place to walk in during all seasons. We can help create pathways for walking through your garden while protecting your grass and plants. The pathways will be designed with organic curves, blending into your gardens natural layout, so you can continue to enjoy your flowers and other outdoor features throughout the year.
Side Yard Access
The area on the sides of your house can become very congested due to the amount of foot traffic. This area is often used by service providers, landscaping professionals and homeowners alike, to access utility meters, trash cans and lawn mowers. To reduce the amount of mud and uneven ground in this high traffic area, we recommend creating paths to direct the flow of traffic.
Pool Surrounds
When it comes to safety, no matter what type of pool you have (lap pool, dive pool, etc.) or where you live (hot and humid climates), having a slip resistant finish is essential for any pool surround or splash zone. At our company, we use textured finishes such as exposed aggregate or broom finishes to ensure our customers have a safe and enjoyable time at their pools, even when they’re wet.
Connecting Outdoor Spaces
Outdoor living spaces don’t need to be separate. Using matching or complimentary finishes, we can create seamless transitions between different outdoor living spaces to make your entire backyard feel like one large room. For example, we can connect your main patio to a fire pit, detached garage or outdoor kitchen.
Why Choose Kent Concrete Masters for Your Paths?
A walkway is more than just a functional necessity; it is an investment in your property’s safety and curb appeal. We bring the same level of precision to a simple garden path as we do to a major foundation project. Here is why homeowners trust us for their walkway needs:
- Expert Regional Knowledge: We know the soil types and regional weather factors (rainfall, etc.) that affect the longevity of a pathway, and therefore, properly prepare our pathways’ foundation base for extreme weather (heavy rain), so they do not sink or shift due to the poor bearing strength of local clay/silt soils.
- Customized Designs: Each path is custom-built for you; we do not have a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, we utilize the existing terrain of your property to develop an aesthetically pleasing walkway that offers you maximum access and function.
- High-Quality Materials: Our paths are built using high-strength cement products that will outlast those made from low-cost materials. By using the highest quality aggregate and additive products, we can guarantee your pathways will resist scaling/cracking caused by the repeated freeze/thaw cycles typical in the PNW.
- Skilled Craftsmanship: All of our crew members are experienced in their trade and take pride in delivering a perfect finished product from the beginning of the job to the end. Each member of our team takes pride in what they do and is focused on creating a clean, professional-looking product.
- Efficient Scheduling: We respect your time and will make sure that your project is completed promptly. We schedule our teams to work efficiently so that your new walkway is available for use by foot traffic as soon as possible, thus minimizing the disruption to your normal routine.
- Fair Pricing: We charge competitive prices for the quality of workmanship we deliver. We provide clear, detailed estimates that accurately represent the true cost/value of a professionally installed, durable concrete surface, allowing you to receive the best return on investment for your home improvements.
Enhancing Your Concrete Paths
A walkway doesn’t have to be a straight line from point A to point B. By incorporating thoughtful design elements, we can transform a standard path into a sophisticated landscape feature that adds significant value and character to your home:
- Safety Lighting: Create an atmosphere where you and your guests will be able to safely make their way through your property at night. The addition of recessed LED lighting or side-mounted lighting during the construction process will provide the necessary illumination for your walkways at night while providing a beautiful evening glow throughout your property.
- Organic Curves: Create visual interest by using soft, flowing curves that match the natural flow of your property. Unlike the linear paths created by rigid, straight paths, curved walkways create a softer appearance and draw the viewer’s attention towards the best aspects of your home and/or a hidden garden feature.
- Smooth Step Transitions: Integrate smooth transition areas from one level to another with elevation changes on sloping properties. These transitions are designed and poured as part of the path system, allowing for even step heights and depths for maximum safety and a consistent look.
- Softening Edges with Planters: Soften the edges of your hardscape with your landscaping by designing pathways that include built-in planters or specialized landscape edging. This provides you the opportunity to add seasonal color with flowering plants or low-maintenance shrubs to blend your pathway with its surrounding environment.
- Enhancing Drainage: Reduce stormwater runoff with permeable concrete options that allow water to pass through the surface and into the ground. Permeable options are ideal for addressing drainage issues associated with heavy rainfall and can satisfy local regulations and/or drainage requirements.
Maintaining Your Concrete Paths
To ensure your walkways remain a safe and beautiful part of your landscape for decades, a small amount of preventative care goes a long way. Proper maintenance protects the surface from the elements and preserves the structural integrity of the concrete:
- Routine Cleaning: A simple routine maintenance will go along with regular cleaning of your pathways. Use a broom and, now and then, use a high-pressure washer to clean your pathways to get rid of all the dirt, moss, and other organic debris. Regular cleaning of your pathways will help you to prevent a slippery layer of mildew from building up on your pathways during the rainy months and keep your concrete looking new and shiny.
- Apply a Professional Grade Sealer Every 2-3 Years: A good quality sealer applied to your pathways will protect them from stains and moisture. It creates a protective shield over your pathway’s surface that protects it from moisture that could penetrate the concrete itself. This is crucial in helping to stop cracking when temperatures fluctuate.
- Fill Surface Cracks Promptly: Don’t let the small problems become large ones by addressing the small cracks in your pathway’s surface as soon as possible. If you do address the small cracks in your pathway’s surface promptly, you’ll be able to keep the water from getting to the sub-base, and therefore you’ll be able to prevent the slab from shifting or heaving.
- Use Sand for Traction: When there is ice on your pathways, and you need traction, instead of using salt or harsh chemical de-icers, use sand to create traction. Salt and harsh chemical de-icers can etch the surface of the concrete (this is known as scaling) and can be particularly damaging to the surface of the concrete for the first several years after the pathway has been installed.
- Maintain Nearby Landscaping: Keep the areas around your pathways free from debris and root intrusion by trimming nearby bushes and trees. Roots growing under your pathway can apply pressure to the edges of your concrete and, if not managed, can make the edge of your pathway unstable.
Ready to Enhance Your Outdoor Space?
Let Kent Concrete Masters help you design and build the perfect concrete paths and walkways for your property. Whether you need a practical solution for high-traffic areas or want to create a winding garden path, we have the skills and experience to bring your vision to life.
Contact us today for a free consultation and estimate. Discover how we can transform your outdoor space with beautiful, durable concrete paths tailored to your Kent home.
Call: (253) 867-8835
Email: service@kentconcretemasters.com
Kent Concrete Masters – Paving the way to a more beautiful, functional outdoor space. Let’s create your perfect path together!