smoothing weathered concrete
 

The concrete path at the front of my house is weathered, so the surface is very rough from the
pebbles etc. - makes it painful to walk on without shoes, and milkbottles tend to fall over.

Is there anything I can lay on the surface to smooth it off - I would imagine that just putting a
layer of fine cement down would just break up quickly, and adhesion would be a problem.
Doing it properly - i.e. breaking up and re-pouring would be way more trouble than it's worth

Any suggestions..?

smoothing weathered concrete
 

Mike Harrison wrote:
The concrete path at the front of my house is weathered, so the surface is very rough from the
pebbles etc. - makes it painful to walk on without shoes, and milkbottles tend to fall over.

Is there anything I can lay on the surface to smooth it off - I would imagine that just putting a
layer of fine cement down would just break up quickly, and adhesion would be a problem.
Doing it properly - i.e. breaking up and re-pouring would be way more trouble than it's worth

Any suggestions..?

Decking?
Would an inch or two of concrete be out of place?

smoothing weathered concrete
 

On 22 Jun 2004 17:29:48 GMT, Ian Stirling wrote:

Mike Harrison wrote:
The concrete path at the front of my house is weathered, so the surface is very rough from the
pebbles etc. - makes it painful to walk on without shoes, and milkbottles tend to fall over.

Is there anything I can lay on the surface to smooth it off - I would imagine that just putting a
layer of fine cement down would just break up quickly, and adhesion would be a problem.
Doing it properly - i.e. breaking up and re-pouring would be way more trouble than it's worth

Any suggestions..?

Decking?
Would an inch or two of concrete be out of place?

A concrete overcoat (?) of an inch or two may be viable, but how do you get it to bond well and not
crack - might a layer of reinforcing mesh do the trick ?

smoothing weathered concrete
 

Mike Harrison wrote in message ...
The concrete path at the front of my house is weathered, so the surface
is very rough from the
pebbles etc. - makes it painful to walk on without shoes, and milkbottles
tend to fall over.

Is there anything I can lay on the surface to smooth it off - I would
imagine that just putting a
layer of fine cement down would just break up quickly, and adhesion would
be a problem.
Doing it properly - i.e. breaking up and re-pouring would be way more
trouble than it's worth

Any suggestions..?

Wear shoes and buy one of those mini crate things for the milk bottles.
Otherwise I reckon it needs a proper job.
Lay some slabs on a mortar bed perhaps?

Bob

smoothing weathered concrete
 

Mike Harrison wrote:
The concrete path at the front of my house is weathered, so the surface
is very rough from the
pebbles etc. - makes it painful to walk on without shoes, and milkbottles
tend to fall over.
Is there anything I can lay on the surface to smooth it off - I would
imagine that just putting a
layer of fine cement down would just break up quickly, and adhesion would
be a problem.
Doing it properly - i.e. breaking up and re-pouring would be way more
trouble than it's worth

Any suggestions..?


There are products intended for repairing floors in industrial environments
that need to be laid in thin layes and take load a short time after laying.

Most are based on a fine agregate (sand) bonded with a polyester or epoxy
resin, and some will even bond to moist surfaces - price tends to be rather
high though. Polyester resin and sand are both available relatively cheaply
so maybe a few DIY experiments would be in order.

Andrew Mawson

smoothing weathered concrete
 

Mike Harrison wrote:
The concrete path at the front of my house is weathered,
so the surface is very rough from the pebbles etc.
Is there anything I can lay on the surface to smooth it
[ 8 ]
A concrete overcoat (?) of an inch or two may be viable, but
how do you get it to bond well and not crack - might a layer
of reinforcing mesh do the trick ?

Pressure wash the path. Clean with brick acid and wash again.
Prime with PVA/water 1:4, and while the PVA is still wet apply
a cement/sharp sand 1:4 coating made with 1:4 PVA/water as the
gauging liquid. An inch should be OK. Do not over trowel. Do
not use mesh, wire, etc. If your path has cracks in it, it is
very likely that the skim will crack too, but it should adhere
strongly!


J.B.