Long time lurker, really enjoy all the professionalism found here. Anyone know how to put a sand finish on concrete? The retarder I found locally (norcal) said it went down 1/4″. I don’t really want to bring in a sandblaster. I have seen pictures and read that it is done, but can’t figure out how to do it. Thanks
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Greetings Zeek,
This post, in response to your question, will bump the thread through the 'recent discussion' listing again which will increase it's viewing.
Perhaps it will catch someone's attention that can help you with advice.
Cheers
sugar
Is that just for aggragate or does it work for sand also?
sugar retares the mortar setup
Good question. I'm about to do a pour and want to expose the sand also. Can you just not expose as much by not sweeping as hard?
From the pics and description I've seen/read two guys will go at the exposing of the rock. One has a bush broom and the other a hose. They just work their way across the slab sweeping washing off the creme and exposing the rock.
Instead of using a pushbroom, couldn't you use a big sponge? Like the ones you use for tile work. Just sponge off some creme to expose the rock.
Another thing I've read is that the exposed concrete is a different mix so that there is a larger amount of rock in it. you want a pretty solid amount of rock just under the creme. Also, you aren't supposed to float it to much because it pushes the rock down to far.
So maybe you want to get a regular batch of concrete ( I'm using peagravel) and float it heavily to push down the gravel. When you wash the slab just expose the sand.
Dovetail gave me this link but they didn't answer my questions http://www.exposedaggregateconcrete.com/askexpert.htm
Edited 6/28/2008 7:10 pm ET by popawheelie
I tried it. Floated it with a mag then sprinkled sand floated, sprinkled sand floated etc. Brown sugared half of it. The sand without the sugar came out like sand, sorta like really old concrete. The sugar dried normal looking and then top blew right off with a hose. It worked great for exposed aggragate. Although I would be careful what kind of aggragate you put in to make sure you get what you want. Thanks for the replies all.
How long did you wait to blow off the sugar side? Was it consistant or patchy where the sugar was?
One more thing. What kind of sand? I "think" I would like some floated in that was muti colored and fairly large. But still sand that is crushed or not round like a small pebble.
Edited 6/30/2008 1:01 pm ET by popawheelie