Concrete stamping

[C1gmlm]

I am thinking of doing a patio slab and stamping it. What are the do's and don'ts of this project?

[Rich]

Do a good job, don't do a bad one! Simple as that...sorry couldn't resist!

[wegge]

[DanG]

If you are talking about performing the work yourself, I think you should reconsider.

The learning curve and the cost of the stamps would be prohibitive for one pour.

There is a good source of information that can answer many of your questions here:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]

the do's and

[Chet Hayes]

This is one job I'd leave to a professional. Without experience and a crew, how good do you expect your first job to be? And this is something that is time critical, you get one shot, and once you start you can't take a few days to fools around with it

[Earl]

We had a concrete stamping done in our sunroom - my advice, is do a two tone grey color. All concrete cracks at some point. With the grey, the cracks blend in and look like part of the design. In our case, we got one crack a year or two after installation down the middle of the room. For the most part, it follows the simulated grout/mortar lines and you can't see it at all. In a couple spots, it crosses the middle of a simulated block - ...you really can't tell unless it's pointed out to you. With a light colored tint (brown, tan, etc) I think the crack would really stick out and be noticeable. Certainly have it sealed and don't take shortcuts on the pad itself (rebar, mesh, good footer below frost line, etc).

In the end - I love the stamped concrete - maintenance free, looks great, and tough as concrete (haha). God bless, Earl

[Charles Bishop]

The stove is 220 volts. Can I run #12 wire from the #10 wire in the box to a separate box for the microwave? I thought I had seen this done elsewhere, but then wondered what would trip the 30A breaker if there was a problem with the microwave.

charles

[HA HA Budys Here]

No you can not. Ideally, a built-in microwave should be on it's own 20a circuit. You can share that 20a circuit with one of your 2 20a countertop appliance circuits, but using the microwave along with a toaster and coffee pot would overload the circuit.

[Charles Bishop]

Thanks, that's what I suspected. Too bad the mfg can't put it on a separate circuit inside the unit, but then there wouldn't be enough power for the stove, if they were used at the same time.

charles

[SQLit]

Fixed appliances need their own circuit. Dishwasher, disposal, microwave, refrigerator. The counter top recpts are for general use. If you decide to ignore the NEC just remember if you have the microwave on and plug something into the outlet with a good load the breaker might trip.

[jeff]

Hi,

A copy:

*Microwave - 110 - 120 volt, 60 hertz, properly grounded circuit protected by a 15/20 amp circuit breaker or fuse. #14 gauge house wire minimum for 15 amp protection, #12 gauge is a must for 20 amp protection. A separate (--dedicated--) circuit serving this appliance is recommended.*

The microwave should not be wired in the with the range. The microwave

-may- be plugged into the kettle plug on the range.

jeff. Appliance Repair Aid

[Rich]

Do these thing go bad over time? I have one in mu masterbath room that is constantly tripping. It doens't trip when its in use it trips sometime during the night or during the day when no one is around?

Thanks, Rich

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

I had one in my bathroom that would trip every now and then for no apparent reason and then be very difficult to reset. When I went to replace it, I found it had been wired incorrectly to start with. Works great now...

Go ahead and replace it.

[Charles Spitzer]

they can.

[Charles Bishop]

[snip anouther answer]

I checked this morning and the general outlet I'm going to use is on the same circuit with the dining room outlets, not the rest of the kitchen outlets. I'm relative sure (it's 20A) that she won't have anything else plugged in that will be enough to trip the breaker if the uwave is on.

It turns out that the reason she thought it was possible was that someone else did it in a unit down the hall.

charles, thanks for the help

[David Alexander]

Don't try to do it yourself. Do hire a professional who has the tools and the expertise to do it right.