OK so I’m getting closer to pouring my front walkway. I just talked to my neighbor who’s in commercial construction and he said there are guys that he works with who can come over after work and place/finish my walkway.
He did have some questions about my ideas on decorative concrete finishes.
All I want is to expose the sand a peagravel a bit to make it look old.
If I use sugar on it as a retarder, how much, and how soon after floating/troweling?
There is a White Cap near here that I can get a retarder from but if sugar works I’d rather use it. I want my finish to come out SWWEEEET!
His guys should be fine but they might not know didley about a sugar and exposed aggregate finish.
Thanks!
Replies
Why not have the guys coming over expose the agregate??
I've done it a couple of times w/ the pea gravel aggregate. It is very nice ... and easy ... so they make it look. I'd avoid doing it any way than the way it has been done for decades and I've never heard of using sugar.
If they don't know didley about exposed aggregate ... do it yourself. If they can't do what you want ... if necessary ... pay someone to do it for you. It can't be that much. Do the forms yourself and rebar if applicable ... then have a guy pour and finish the way you want it.
What happens if you screw up your finish? Then you're stuck.
I try to do everything myself if I can. I'd rather learn from someone who has mastered all of it but that's not going to happen. So I stretch myself and take on things that are within my reach.
If I can do it myself that's what I do. But concrete is another matter. All I need is a few people who have worked with concrete and have strong backs.
You'd be surprised how few people can really work. So finding people isn't that easy.
I'll have two wheel barrows so I need two guys for that. Ones that won't spill the concrete and can hustle.
I need someone on the other end of the rod that knows how to rod. Not some guy who will fight me.
It would be nice to have someone feeding concrete ahead of the rod so we can concentrate on rodding.
After it is placed I need one guy who knows how to finish. That's about it.
From what I've heard you put your retarder on and the next morning you expose the aggregate.
Yeah hard workers are hard to find ... I'd help if you were close by.
I've seen it exposed the same day if conditions are right and it's early. I think a lot has to do with temp, humidity, and the time of day. I think the two times I had it done, it was done the same day ... pour in the a.m. and expose in evening. Likely it was warm summer with warm, low humidity days. Don't quote me on that though.
I like your pics ... going to be nice! Love the sweeping curves.
I know it is like 95% of the trades ... it takes a little skill and simply knowing the trick of the trade. Unskilled, uneducated idiots do this stuff frequently for a living, so it often is not too hard ... just knowing the tricks.
I'd go on line and find out about the 'official' way to expose aggregate. I'll bet there is an official Concrete Masonry Association or some such that has a lot of basic how to kind of stuff out there.
If you want it to come out "sweet" go buy the commercial retarder designed for this.
Sugaring can be a pain to get an even distribution with.
If you are set on the sugar, about 1 lb./gal water. Spray on right after the bleed water has evaporated using a garden sprayer and a fine spray/mist. Cover the pour after spraying to help the cure.
Check out this link:
http://www.exposedaggregateconcrete.com/askexpert.htm
Very good Q&A on this subject.
Bit biased , but the do sell the stuff after all.
Good tips on doing the job though.
One other item , exposed aggregate is rough on anything, kids, furniture etc because it isn't smooth. Just a caution.
OK.
Very important to lay the mud flat the first time, DO NOT kneel on it or press anything into the slurry unless you want to see the shape of it in the exposed surface for the rest of the slabs life.
Screed it carefully , score it for the joints, float it evenly and flat but do not work up too much cream and do not push and pull the float to fill excessively low areas, if you do you will end up with cream showing instead of the pea rock in those spots you filled.
Start washing the surface carefully after the mud is set ( How long that is depends on a lot of variables ) , not too much water pressure or you will blow rocks off the surface, a very soft bristled broom can help push the slurry off . Wash again after you think it is clean.
Come back the next day and wash down with a solution of muriatic acid to clean off the cement residue from the stones etc., and then rinse. Let dry well then apply a sealer. (Check that the sealer is able to be applied over green concrete and that it is made for use with exposed aggregate.
Thanks Dovetail. I'm just about ready. I picked up a few hand floats today. One is aluminum and the other is rubber. Not sure which one to use.
I'm not doing exposed aggregate per se.
What I want to do is to expose some aggregate at the edges of a regular peagravel mix and expose some sand over the whole thing.
So I think the sugar should work fine on the edges.
The rest I can get with water, scrubbing a bit and maybe some muratic acid. I'll try water first, then scrubbing, and finally the acid.
I think the finish I saw ( a longggg time ago) was sand blasted within a few days to make it look like it was old concrete.
I just don't want it to look like a brand new pour. And maybe some character around the edges.
Edited 6/27/2008 5:53 pm ET by popawheelie
Nice clean prep work.
Looks good.
Thanks! Nice of you to notice and say so. When I can, I do things to the best of my ability.
This front yard is going to just shine.
Edited 6/23/2008 10:13 am ET by popawheelie
bump