Last week, I had a contractor pour concrete in our backyard for a
backyard patio. The contractor came in one day with his crew, got
concrete mixing trucks, poured the concrete and left.

Now the patio looks good, but I see that he "broomed" it at the end,
so the patio is not "smooth". I had not expected this and I guess I
was hoping for a smooth finish (as in a garage floor). I assumed (I
guess naively) that the contractor would make it a smooth finish. Why
do I like a smooth finish? Well, I'm thinking since it is a patio,
sometimes we may want to wander on it barefoot :-) In the future, I
also want to stain it, and I'm thinking a smoother finish will look
better when it is stained.

He is going to come back next week... I have to pay him yet.

Is there anything I can ask him to make it smoother? Is it possible at
all? Is it very expensive? The concrete patio is about 16x30 sq.ft.

Thank you all.

Bill

wrote:

Now the patio looks good, but I see that he "broomed" it at the end,
so the patio is not "smooth". I had not expected this and I guess I
was hoping for a smooth finish (as in a garage floor).

Sideswalks, driveways, and patios are normally broomed. Smooth cement
can get really slippery when wet. It would most likely be a building
code violation and a huge liability risk for the contractor to leave it
smooth.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Last week, I had a contractor pour concrete in our backyard for a
backyard patio. The contractor came in one day with his crew, got
concrete mixing trucks, poured the concrete and left.

Now the patio looks good, but I see that he "broomed" it at the end,
so the patio is not "smooth". I had not expected this and I guess I
was hoping for a smooth finish (as in a garage floor). I assumed (I
guess naively) that the contractor would make it a smooth finish. Why
do I like a smooth finish? Well, I'm thinking since it is a patio,
sometimes we may want to wander on it barefoot :-) In the future, I
also want to stain it, and I'm thinking a smoother finish will look
better when it is stained.

He is going to come back next week... I have to pay him yet.

Is there anything I can ask him to make it smoother? Is it possible at
all? Is it very expensive? The concrete patio is about 16x30 sq.ft.

Thank you all.

Bill

I've had very good results smoothing concrete with a rental floor sander.
Yes, you will probably use up two to three belts, but it goes fast and is
very doable.

Ivan Vegvary

On May 29, 12:18 am, Mike Paulsen wrote:
wrote:
Now the patio looks good, but I see that he "broomed" it at the end,
so the patio is not "smooth". I had not expected this and I guess I
was hoping for a smooth finish (as in a garage floor).

Sideswalks, driveways, and patios are normally broomed. Smooth cement
can get really slippery when wet. It would most likely be a building
code violation and a huge liability risk for the contractor to leave it
smooth.

If it's a code violation there must be one hell of a lot of places
that are in violation. Like my stamped concrete patio, which is
smooth. Concrete in applications like this can be finished so that
it's not ultra smooth, without creating a broom look effect. I
wouldn't want a broom roughed up surface on my patio either. This
shows the importance of being around when work like this is done and
of spelling out everything in a written contract. You can probably
smooth it with a floor sander.

On 28 May 2007 21:06:45 -0700, wrote:

Last week, I had a contractor pour concrete in our backyard for a
backyard patio. The contractor came in one day with his crew, got
concrete mixing trucks, poured the concrete and left.

Now the patio looks good, but I see that he "broomed" it at the end,
so the patio is not "smooth". I had not expected this and I guess I
was hoping for a smooth finish (as in a garage floor). I assumed (I
guess naively) that the contractor would make it a smooth finish. Why
do I like a smooth finish? Well, I'm thinking since it is a patio,
sometimes we may want to wander on it barefoot :-) In the future, I
also want to stain it, and I'm thinking a smoother finish will look
better when it is stained.

He is going to come back next week... I have to pay him yet.

Is there anything I can ask him to make it smoother? Is it possible at
all? Is it very expensive? The concrete patio is about 16x30 sq.ft.


It's possible, and probably not too expensive, since it should involve
only a few hours work with a concrete planer, but I don't think
it's a good idea. It shouldn't be so rough that walking on it
barefoot is uncomfortable. At least, not after it wears a bit,
and too smooth a surface can be slippery.

On May 28, 9:06 pm, wrote:


Is there anything I can ask him to make it smoother? Is it possible at
all? Is it very expensive? The concrete patio is about 16x30 sq.ft.

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, you may get it.

My first house here in AZ had a smooooooth finish on the patio.
Combine that smooth finish with a little rain or water from the pool
and some sandals with a fairly smooth sole, and you're going skating!
Fell on my butt more than once.

Just something to consider, your mileage may vary.

Jerry

On May 29, 3:33�pm, Goedjn wrote:
On 28 May 2007 21:06:45 -0700, wrote:





Last week, I had a contractor pour concrete in our backyard for a
backyard patio. *The contractor came in one day with his crew, got
concrete mixing trucks, poured the concrete and left.

Now the patio looks good, but I see that he "broomed" it at the end,
so the patio is not "smooth". *I had not expected this and I guess I
was hoping for a smooth finish (as in a garage floor). *I assumed (I
guess naively) that the contractor would make it a smooth finish. *Why
do I like a smooth finish? Well, I'm thinking since it is a patio,
sometimes we may want to wander on it barefoot :-) *In the future, I
also want to stain it, and I'm thinking a smoother finish will look
better when it is stained.

He is going to come back next week... I have to pay him yet.

Is there anything I can ask him to make it smoother? Is it possible at
all? *Is it very expensive? The concrete patio is about 16x30 sq.ft.

It's possible, and probably not too expensive, since it should involve
only a few hours work with a concrete planer, but I don't think
it's a good idea. *It shouldn't be so rough that walking on it
barefoot is uncomfortable. *At least, not after it wears a bit,
and too smooth a surface can be slippery.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

yeah too smooth major slip hazard.........

you should ALWAYS BE ON SITE SUPERVISING ANY JOB LIKE THIS AT YOUR
HOME!!

if you sand it and there wasnt enough cream on the top you might cause
early failure...

On 29 May 2007 12:48:22 -0700, "
wrote:

On May 28, 9:06 pm, wrote:


Is there anything I can ask him to make it smoother? Is it possible at
all? Is it very expensive? The concrete patio is about 16x30 sq.ft.

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, you may get it.

My first house here in AZ had a smooooooth finish on the patio.
Combine that smooth finish with a little rain or water from the pool
and some sandals with a fairly smooth sole, and you're going skating!
Fell on my butt more than once.

Just something to consider, your mileage may vary.


It rains in Arizona?

8-)

Goedjn wrote:

On 29 May 2007 12:48:22 -0700, "
wrote:


On May 28, 9:06 pm, wrote:


Is there anything I can ask him to make it smoother? Is it possible at
all? Is it very expensive? The concrete patio is about 16x30 sq.ft.

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, you may get it.

My first house here in AZ had a smooooooth finish on the patio.
Combine that smooth finish with a little rain or water from the pool
and some sandals with a fairly smooth sole, and you're going skating!
Fell on my butt more than once.

Just something to consider, your mileage may vary.



It rains in Arizona?

8-)

That reminds me of something I heard a salesman tell a lady at
the landscaping supply store. She bought some cacti and was
asking about how often she should water them. He gave her a
bunch of details about cactus and how it needs very little
water, etc. which she was just not understanding. He finally
told her this: "Order a subscription to the Phoenix Sun
Times. Whenever it says it rained, water the cactus."


--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

On May 29, 1:18 am, Mike Paulsen wrote:
wrote:
Now the patio looks good, but I see that he "broomed" it at the end,
so the patio is not "smooth". I had not expected this and I guess I
was hoping for a smooth finish (as in a garage floor).

Sideswalks, driveways, and patios are normally broomed. Smooth cement
can get really slippery when wet. It would most likely be a building
code violation and a huge liability risk for the contractor to leave it
smooth.

Thank you all. I've come to the conclusion that the way it is now is
probably for the best. It does look very nice as it is. I may do some
sanding (very lightly) in the future if some areas are still rough
after usage.

On a slightly tangential note - I'm hoping to stain this slab (in a
tile fashion) in the future and looking forward to the tiled look. (I
see some very amazing and inspiring concrete stain photos on the
web!) The other option I have is to put in outdoor tile (Again, I'm
new to all this, so I have to do some research); Having a less smooth
slab seems to be better for tiling. I hope I get a good color/texture
selection of outdoor tile; time for more research.

Regards,

Bill

wrote in message
ups.com...
On May 29, 1:18 am, Mike Paulsen wrote:
wrote:
Now the patio looks good, but I see that he "broomed" it at the end,
so the patio is not "smooth". I had not expected this and I guess I
was hoping for a smooth finish (as in a garage floor).

Sideswalks, driveways, and patios are normally broomed. Smooth cement
can get really slippery when wet. It would most likely be a building
code violation and a huge liability risk for the contractor to leave it
smooth.

Thank you all. I've come to the conclusion that the way it is now is
probably for the best. It does look very nice as it is. I may do some
sanding (very lightly) in the future if some areas are still rough
after usage.

On a slightly tangential note - I'm hoping to stain this slab (in a
tile fashion) in the future and looking forward to the tiled look. (I
see some very amazing and inspiring concrete stain photos on the
web!) The other option I have is to put in outdoor tile (Again, I'm
new to all this, so I have to do some research); Having a less smooth
slab seems to be better for tiling. I hope I get a good color/texture
selection of outdoor tile; time for more research.

Regards,

Bill

it will be very hard to get crisp lines on non-smooth concrete. the tape
won't fit down in the pores and you'll get bleeding. you might want to
rethink the tile stained look and go with a more random-ness.

regards,
charlie
cave creek, az

"Robert Allison" wrote in message
news:UN47i.23322$NM.13759@trnddc02...
Goedjn wrote:

On 29 May 2007 12:48:22 -0700, "
wrote:


On May 28, 9:06 pm, wrote:


Is there anything I can ask him to make it smoother? Is it possible at
all? Is it very expensive? The concrete patio is about 16x30 sq.ft.

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, you may get it.

My first house here in AZ had a smooooooth finish on the patio.
Combine that smooth finish with a little rain or water from the pool
and some sandals with a fairly smooth sole, and you're going skating!
Fell on my butt more than once.

Just something to consider, your mileage may vary.



It rains in Arizona?

8-)

That reminds me of something I heard a salesman tell a lady at the
landscaping supply store. She bought some cacti and was asking about how
often she should water them. He gave her a bunch of details about cactus
and how it needs very little water, etc. which she was just not
understanding. He finally told her this: "Order a subscription to the
Phoenix Sun Times. Whenever it says it rained, water the cactus."

there hasn't ever been a phoenix sun times newspaper.


--
Robert Allison Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

regards,
charlie
cave creek, az

On May 29, 1:27 pm, Goedjn wrote:

It rains in Arizona?


When I first moved here in 1980, an Arizona native explained to me how
they measure rainfall.

When you hear somebody say "We got 6 inches of rain", that means that
the raindrops are falling 6 inches apart on the sidewalk.

Jerry

On Wed, 30 May 2007 10:18:27 -0700, "charlie"
wrote:

He finally told her this: "Order a subscription to the
Phoenix Sun Times. Whenever it says it rained, water the cactus."

there hasn't ever been a phoenix sun times newspaper.

Get It?

--
Oren

...through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

charlie wrote:
"Robert Allison" wrote in message

That reminds me of something I heard a salesman tell a lady at the
landscaping supply store. She bought some cacti and was asking about how
often she should water them. He gave her a bunch of details about cactus
and how it needs very little water, etc. which she was just not
understanding. He finally told her this: "Order a subscription to the
Phoenix Sun Times. Whenever it says it rained, water the cactus."


there hasn't ever been a phoenix sun times newspaper.

regards,
charlie
cave creek, az

Really? Ok, if it bothers you, change it to Phoenix
newspaper. I have no idea what the paper is called out there
and neither did the salesman, apparently.


--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

"Oren" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 30 May 2007 10:18:27 -0700, "charlie"
wrote:

He finally told her this: "Order a subscription to the
Phoenix Sun Times. Whenever it says it rained, water the cactus."

there hasn't ever been a phoenix sun times newspaper.

Get It?


the weatherpeople usually measure down to the 2nd decimal place. it just
sounds odd when they announce it rained .03".

cactus need SOME water to live. our average rainfall is around 6"/year. i
have lots of dead cactus on my property to attest that we're deep into a
multi-year drought.

--
Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in
the photo..

regards,
charlie
cave creek, az

On Wed, 30 May 2007 13:47:14 -0700, "charlie"
wrote:

the weatherpeople usually measure down to the 2nd decimal place. it just
sounds odd when they announce it rained .03".

Just enough for dirt on my truck.

cactus need SOME water to live. our average rainfall is around 6"/year. i
have lots of dead cactus on my property to attest that we're deep into a
multi-year drought.

Las Vegas gets less rain then! A drought here is more than a decade,
plus some..


--
Oren

...through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..