Article in Concrete Refinishing on Patio, Garage Floor, Driveways, & Pool Decks

If your patio, garage floor, driveway, or the concrete around your pool is cracking, breaking or uneven, this does not necessarily mean you will have to tear up, remove and replace the entire thing. Concrete refinishing can be used in order to repair the cracks and other damage, and to re-level existing slabs. With concrete refinishing, you can also apply a decorative concrete surface in a wide variety of colors and patterns. You can save a great deal of money by using concrete refinishing techniques rather than completely replacing the area with plain, ordinary concrete.

Most concrete refinishing techniques and systems use a mix of Portland cement, an aggregate, and any additives, like acrylic resins, bonding agents and products for coloring which can be mixed special for any job. With the help of bonding agents, many concrete refinishing techniques can also be used to restore other solid surfaces.

You may wonder how surfaces are prepared for concrete refinishing treatments. First, the surface is pressure watched, and in some cases also acid etched. Cracks are repaired by using concrete and epoxy mixes, and troweling concrete in order to fill low areas and areas which are flaking.

Different designs are achieved with the help of stencils, or by hand-taping the designs onto the concrete. Straight lines in designs are accomplished with the use of special tapes, which the installer will put down prior to shooting the refinishing material, and pulled up just before the concrete begins to set.

Many concrete refinishing products are created to be much stronger than the original concrete, so you can expect for your newly refinished concrete surfaces to stand up to damaging weather like freezing cold and hard rain.

Although it often depends on the temperature and humidity among other conditions, you can generally use most newly refinished concrete areas within twenty four hours after the process is completed. However, you may want to wait a bit longer for areas that will be receiving vehicle traffic such as driveways and garage floors, just to ensure that the treatment has set and dried completely and that it is strong enough to handle the load. A typical job for a sidewalk, walkway or driveway can generally take between three and four days, but the actual timeline is dependent upon the weather, and oftentimes other factors as well.