Hello,
I am looking for ways to repair the surface of my concrete walkway.
Back, last fall when the weather was getting cold in our section of Massahusetts, I placed concrete blankets ontop of the poured concrete to keep from freezing up.
Everything went well , except the blankets left a checker board mark on the surface. Tried to power wash this out BUT no luck. Is there anything I can do to fix this? This is only a surface mark.
Some say that the only way to fix this is to remove and start over again. I definitely would not want to do this BUT if this the only solution, then I will have to.
Replies
Hmm, maybe the answer is to use a different finish surface, like tile, or flags, or the like. Which would seem to be a lot easier than grinding out patterns in set concrete.
The stone covering would be a good idea, but 1200 S.F. of surface area to cover will brake our budget.
If I stone cover only the damaged area, it would not look good.
There are decorative concrete toppings that can be brushed on, rolled, sprayed, knocked down, stamped, troweled, etc. They can be colored and bind quite well.
If the underlying structure is solid, visit this site and check out some options.
What your have now is the artist's canvas to work with. Come up with something that really compliments your house and landscape.
http://www.miracote.com
Will this keep up with New England weather?
I believe so. Although you will want to focus on the question of snow shovel scrapings. I'm here in Denver and we get some good swings in conditions. My vet has the stuff sprayed on his walks (looks like the guys used a hopper type texture sprayer, but did not do the knowndown) like an orange peel texture. I see no damage to his walks at all even after several years.
The topping you use will need to be sealed. I believe some sealants will harden up the surface in your favor. Don't forget slip resistance.
These Miracote people have a technical service department that can steer you towards the right product - and they gots lots of them for all types of applications.
The cementatious toppings work better than epoxies in your case due to the resistance to moisture and UV. But some can be soft and are easily etched. Your pattern should allow for wear or scratches without becoming noticable.
Grinding will give a terrazzo appearance of the concrete stone particles and will be quite smooth. Start in one spot, you'll have to do it all to maintain the look. That's true with decorative toppings as well.
Edited 3/17/2006 2:11 pm ET by peteshlagor
peteshlagor,
Thank u !
I will look into this even further and let you know how I make out.
Paolo
Maybe if you didn't rush through the job and didn't have a hack working with you this wouldn't have happened :)
If I had to do it again, I would of put the concrete cure seal ontop of concrete pour and walk away instead of the concrete blankets.
Isn't that what I said to do?
Hindsight is 20-20. No point in telling him how he should have done it. Time for damage control.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Go to HD or Lowes or a construction rental yard and rent a concrete grinder. Looks kinda like a floor buffer with either carbide or stone pads. You can easily take off 1/16" to 1/8".
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I will give the grinding idea a try and get back to you on how I make out.
Thank you!