Serving Seneca, Lake Keowee, & Upstate South Carolina

Curbing Care

How to care and maintain your new stamped concrete curbing.

How Do I Take Care of My New Curbing?

The First 48 Hours (2 days)

Do not perform any activity around the curb for 48 hours after installation. The curb may look and feel hard, but it can still be scratched or crumble under heavy pressure.

Rakes, shovels, hoes, and other tools can easily damage fresh curbing. Keep children and pets from walking on it.

When we leave your property, we walk the job to make sure everything looks right. Once we drive away, any damage that occurs is not our responsibility. This type of product cannot be patched after the fact.

The First 5 Days

Keep your sprinklers off for at least 5 days after installation. Running water on fresh concrete too soon can cause surface damage and interfere with the curing process.

The First 28 Days

It takes approximately 28 days for your curbing to fully cure. During this time, do not run a mower or weed eater along the side of the curb.

The concrete is still hardening and is more vulnerable to scratches and chips during this period. After 28 days, your curbing will be at full strength.

Drainage & Sprinklers

Your Responsibility as a Homeowner

The most important thing to understand about curbing is drainage. A 4-inch concrete curb acts as a dam and will hold water. You need to make sure water can drain away from your house.

Follow our advice here and you won't have issues.

Drainage Cuts

Our crew places small “V” cuts in the curb at strategic locations to allow water to drain away from your home. These drainage cuts are designed to handle direct rainwater only.

All water from your roof must be directed outside the curb. Extend your downspouts over the top of the curb, or use black pipe to channel water away.

Even with drainage cuts in place, the curb may not be able to handle all the water from your roof before it pools against the house. Every callback we’ve had about water issues was because downspouts weren’t extended over the curb.

It is your responsibility to protect your home from water damage. We are not responsible for any damage caused by homeowner or landscaper negligence with drainage.

Long, flowing curves help with drainage because water naturally settles at the bottom of a curve, making it easy to place drains in those low points.

Sprinklers

When curb is installed on an existing property, your sprinkler heads may end up inside the curb line and may need adjustment. Most sprinklers shoot over the curb without any issues, but occasionally a minor adjustment is needed.

Sprinkler adjustments are the homeowner’s responsibility. We are curbers, not sprinkler technicians.

Please mark all sprinkler heads with flags or paint before installation day. When we cut the sod, we use a bed edger with a rotating blade that can damage unmarked sprinklers.

We are not responsible for damage to sprinklers that are not properly marked.

Sealing & Maintenance

Gray Curb

If you chose standard gray concrete curbing, no maintenance is needed. Gray curb does not get sealed.

Colored Curb

If you chose colored curbing, it has been sealed with a high-gloss solvent-based acrylic sealer and will need periodic resealing to keep the colors looking fresh.

Over time, UV exposure causes acrylic sealers to lose their luster. The color itself doesn’t fade. The sealer breaks down and needs to be re-emulsified. Another coat will darken your colors back to their original look.

How often you reseal depends on your preference for glossiness and color intensity. Some homeowners reseal annually. Others go longer.

When you're ready to reseal, use a spray-on solvent-based sealer only. Water-based sealers do not work well on curbing and should never be used.

You can reseal it yourself or contact us for professional cleaning and resealing at an additional charge.

If a company tells you they have a 10-year sealer, be skeptical. If that existed, every concrete company in the country would be using it.

Mowing, Edging & General Use

Mowers & Weed Eaters

Landscape curbing is durable and long-lasting, but it does not have the same PSI or tensile strength as concrete from a batch plant.

The aggregates in this product are similar to a mortar mix, which uses fine sands rather than rock for strength.

Push mowers and riding lawn mowers can go over curbing without problems. Issues come up when mower decks are set too low or care isn’t taken when passing over the top.

Concrete can be scratched by metal, the same way a screwdriver would scratch a sidewalk. Weed eaters are fine unless you're using a metal blade.

Vehicles & Heavy Equipment

Do not drive large tractors, vehicles, or heavy equipment over your curbing.

It’s not just the curb that’s at risk. The ground underneath can compress and sink, taking the curb with it. If your vehicle would leave ruts in the grass, it will damage the curb.

This includes skid steers, utility vehicles, and anything heavier than a riding mower.

De-flashing

Our process is based upon a single visit installation. Our continuous pour methods allow us to create many shapes and designs. However, part of that process may leave behind occasional “flashing” or excess concrete along the edges from our machine. While the curb is still wet we will score the “flash” to make separation and clean up easier. De-flashing is typically done by the customer the day after installation. This is also a good time to replace rocks and or groundcover. We recommend you do this as soon as possible after the curb has cured for 24 hrs. Cleanup before 24 hrs may damage the curb. Best results are produced using a flat edging spade to separate the flash and placing flash in a bucket or trash can; a small hand spade also works well. Any gaps between an existing lawn and the new curb can be sanded to allow the grass to grow back quickly.

Common Sense

Everything above has come up as a warranty claim at some point. None of it is a warranty issue. It’s a care and common sense issue.

Treat your curbing with reasonable caution and it will look great for years. Landscape curbing is designed for your landscape, not for vehicle traffic or heavy equipment.

Curbing Care Timeline

48 hours:
No activity around the curb. No foot traffic. Keep children and pets away.

5 days:
Keep sprinklers off.

28 days:
Full cure. No mowing or edging near the curb until this point.

Ongoing:
Reseal colored curbing as needed with solvent-based sealer.
Keep downspouts extended over the curb.
Use caution with mowers and tools near the curb.