The concrete stands alone - Superior Durability Beats All Else

I've been playing with the idea of outside stones, pavers, as they are known. The idea of a rock you can walk on is attractive to me as compared to the results I have had with printing on cement and then coating it with epoxy. The epoxy is too slippery and the acrylic paints are subject to discoloration due to weathering. The final conclusion is that a relief will proved a surface that will inhibit slipping while also providing a visual decoration.

To make these pavers interesting I have started to convert images using photoshop to large scale bitmap graphics that I can create a decent relief from. The question was how large of a bitmap halftone could I make and capture the detail with cement. The molds I started using are 13" by 16" which is not much larger than a 12" X 12" standard sized paver. To make the cement durable I have to cast it at approximately 1.5-2" thick. The cement I have been using proved that I could transfer some detail and these pavers may provide a photographic effect without have to coat the cement with a slippery or material that may not weather well.