Where do you live? In California they are guaranteed to crack.

Saw cutting just means that they pour the concrete then use a saw to cut lines in the new concrete to try and prevent cracks. If you are doing a stamped look, I think that the saw cutting will just add to it (if the stamp is done properly, that is.) :)

Concrete everywhere cracks eventually. Some places faster than others. The sawed areas are designed to help manage where the cracks occur. I am more of a paver person with weed control provided by a geotextile under the pavers and polymeric sand between them.

We have a stained and stamped patio. It is about 20x15 and is 12 years old. We live in north Texas and it has not cracked.
A professional patio company and concrete company did the work. They started with a well laid foundation. Stain was mixed in the cement truck so the color goes throughout (chips are therefore not obvious). The concrete was poured and allowed to set for awhile. Then the crew used stamps to create the pattern. They also cut in a seam.
A couple days later they put a varnish/sealant on it. It looked nice but was slippery when wet, so we have not reapplied it since then.
Other than the color not being what we ordered, we have been happy with the patio and get many compliments on it.

Sootsprite - I love your patio! Thanks for the photo. I will show it to the companies who are bidding the job. I like the pattern and the texture. Smit2380 that worries me! Does the geotextile stuff completely control weeds? Makes me wonder if we should rethink what we use. Our biggest needs are that it be as maintenance free as possible and last 30 years. That's why we got rid of the deck. Tired of the powerwashing and staining.

We live in Kansas City so very hot in the summer and can get very dry. We water the foundation in the summer so it doesn't crack. But it's also guaranteed to get below zero for several days each winter too

Does anyone use 'rebar' to help control the cracking? I hope I spelled it correctly. The saw cuts are a minimum but my contractor also used a lot if rebar.

smit2380 Thanks for that suggestion. I've never seen pavers used for a deck --gorgeous! I'm going to show it to my husband. It is really beautiful but I bet he'll be worried about the weight, the cost and possibly even wood rot in the framing system underneath over the long haul. But I like to know all the options! Thank you!

we're about to redo our pool deck, its concrete that has cracked over time. we are 99% decided on cambridge pavers because they arent slippery, don't crack, and won't have weeds come from underneath.

http://www.cambridgepavers.com/

Valerie: We are in Tulsa, Oklahoma, so we also have to water the foundation. It feels so silly to do, but a necessity. Just to be clear, I do advocate rebar and would not do a concrete patio without it. Unfortunately, it does not fix everything. Although we have 1,500 square feet of paver patio, we still have stamped concrete as our pool deck. Although it has expansion joints and rebar, it has begun having some minor cracking. Like nnigrt, we are looking to replace with pavers. (We have used Belgard because Cambridge is not widely available in our area.)

Our patio has rebar too. You cannot skimp on the foundation.

All concrete cracks. That's why control joints should be planned. Rebar and mesh won't prevent cracks. It adds strength to the concrete assembly only.