concrete striping  Q. How long do you need to wait to paint fire lane strips on parking lot concrete?

A. Normally you should wait at least thirty days before applying ...

Used patio too soon...how to fix  Q. I had a concrete patio put in my backyard and a roommate decided it was fine to walk on when it was still way too early. Then, tried to wash off ...

Crack repair for laying tile floor.  Q. We are remodeling our kitchen, which required us to move one wall. When we removed the framing there is a crack in the slab that runs the length ...

Concrete Spalling  Q. I live in Atlanta, Ga. and had a new driveway and sidewalk poured on 2/11/2010. We did experience 4 inches of snow the next evening.
I was told that ...

Can you place v cuts in dried concrete slabs?  Q. We recently poured a patio slab and the guys finishing it failed to place the relief cuts before it was set. Can the v cuts still be placed in the ...

sealing older concrete driveway  Q. Concrete driveway was poured about seven years ago. Can it be sealed now to prevent further deterioration?

A. Yes, concrete can be sealed anytime....

Concrete step   Q. I love your site and find it very useful and a wealth of information.
I have a set of steps that are about 7 steps high, the first step is directly ...

Protect concrete from freeze and thaw damage  Q. What is the best protection against thaw and freeze damage?

A. The best protection is to use a proper mix with proper installation and finishing ...

shower bed poured with sandqrete mix  Q. How long before you can walk on a shower bed made with sandqrete mix, it is approx. 2" thick and sloped to the drain? It is a 4' by 5' shower bed....

Concrete Shower Base Finishing  Q. I have a concrete shower base that I would like to refinish. The previous paint was peeling and has been removed. What type of finish would be best?...

mystery concrete sealer resists snow build-up and promotes ice melting.  Q. My, slightly eccentric, next door neighbor applied some kind of sealer to his driveway, that resists snow build up and dries faster after being shoveled....

Concrete Driveway raises during the winter?  Q. What causes a concrete driveway to raise during the winter?

A. Standing water underneath the concrete freezes and expands causing the concrete ...

Radiant floor heat over an existing concrete pad.  Q. I want to put down 1/2" pex over an existing pad for radiant heat and pour concrete over it. In your answer to a similar question you indicated a ...

Concrete Slab  Q. I have recently had to take out some concrete in my master bathroom to reapir a drainage pipe. Now that I have replaced the pipe i need to backfill ...

pouring in the cold  Q. How do you pour concrete with temps in high 30s and low 40s.

A. Concrete is poured and finished in cold temperatures the same way it's done in ...

Removing concrete driveway forms  Q. How long should I wait before I can remove the forms from the driveway just poured?

A. You can remove the forms from a driveway the day after ...

Lowest temperature allowable for pouring concrete  Q. What is the lowest the outside temperature should be to pour a 12 foot by 26 foot by 4 inch think pad?

A. There is no set temperature because ...

time limit on concrete  Q. How long can a concrete slab last until building house step by step?

A. Depending on how fast the concrete sets, it's possible to start building ...

exterior concrete foundation  Q. We dug out 48" deep around one side of the house for a new addition that will now not take place till the spring. I have noticed that the corners ...

Hand seed face of exposed aggregate concrete steps  Q. How do you hand seed(1" to 2" stones) into the face of concrete steps???

A. The only way to do this is to seed it as you pour it. When a step ...

How much patio weighs?   Q. How much does a patio slab weigh that's 16 x 16 x 1?

A. At 4" thick, concrete weighs approximately 50 lbs per square ft. A typical 4" patio with ...

Cantilevered Concrete Pad  Q. I have a pad that is about 5.5" * 8 feet wide. It will sit on a block wall and have a cantilevered end about 1' * 5.5 ' in length.
All rebar I ...

Quality Standards  Q. Who controls the quality standards for concrete?

A. Government sets minimum requirements for strength and performance of concrete in building ...

Concrete on concrete for floor heat.  Q. I live in Ga. and have a porch that was enclosed that has a 4"Concrete slab.
I want to heat this floor with radiant heat (1/2"Pex). The floor has ...

White powder on concrete surface  Q. We had about 640 yards of concrete poured and once it was all down and bullfloating started in drizzle and then rained until the next day. So there ...

soft top layer of concrete  Q. Just recently (3-weeks ago)had a slab poured for a 300sf addition. Just noticed that the top layer is soft and comes off easily. Basically, you ...

What does my concrete slab weigh?  Q. I have to get an existing slab that my central unit sits on moved. I need an estimate of what it weighs so I know what kind of equipment I need to ...

How much does a bag of concrete weigh after drying.  Q. I am trying to figure how many bags of concrete to purchase to acheive a weight of 500 lbs. I know the bags are 80 lbs bags but what is the final ...

Pouring Concrete Driveway/Seasons  Q. I live in Atlanta, GA- It's November, should I not do a driveway job now because of the potential frost in the morning and higher temps. during the ...

Garage floor on a hill  Q. We are building a 30 x 36 garage on a hill where one end is level and the other end drops 42 inches. The garage builder wants us to build a wooden ...

"New" concrete prep for winter  Q. I had a new concrete driveway poured Spring of 2009. It looks great and has held up well. I have not put anything on it per the instructions of the ...

Efflorescence  Q. We have efflorescence that covers over 70% of our basement floor. We had to have the carpeting removed because of the efflorescence and the mold spores ...

Lower price per sq.ft.> 900 sq. ft.  Q. I am having a colored, concrete, broom-finished pool deck poured in NC,in Nov. I've read that concrete contractors will lower the price per sq. ft....

insulation for garage floor  Q. Do I put insulation under my grade beam in a heated garage or just on the outside and under the floor.

A. You only need to put insulation around ...

Vertical concrete patch  Q./b> On my home's foundation wall (near the soil line), the concrete's aggregate (the rocks) is showing. The foundation is 36 years old but still in ...

Laying concrete in the winter  Q. Is it a problem to excavate and lay cement during the winter months?
The construction will be done inside a garage?

A. The only problem with ...

Best concrete for freeze and thaw  Q. Which concrete would be best to protect against freeze and thaw damage.

A. You should be using concrete with at least 4000 psi strength. If you ...

rebar, cold weather and chloride  Q. I'm concerned about re-bar corrosion and slab integrity with my contractors concrete cold weather precautions. My contractor mixed 1% CaChloride,hot ...

Concrete dusting and water seepage  Q. We recently had a sunroom put on our existing patio that is 3 years old. The concrete people dug under the edges from the sides to pour 32 inch footers....

Fill concrete seams on basketball court  Q. I have a basketball court that has 10x10 concrete sections. The seams are so deep and wide that the ball won't bounce regularly. Can I fill these ...

Concrete slab drift sealing  Q. I have a poured concrete slab that butts up against my home and foundation. It has drifted about 3/4" away from the house (perhaps caused by shrinkage ...

Concrete raising durring winter freeze  Q. I have a concrete driveway, and patio in the back. Inevitably, every winter, water will get underneath, freeze, and raise the concrete up a few inches ...

Adding Slip Resistance to Pool Deck  Q. A contractor repaired our pool deck this year including sealing cracks, adding relief saw cuts, and applying a colored texture to the entire surface....

Thin layer of concrete over existing concrete  Q. My driveway which is about 20 years old is scaling badly in area, mainly from water runoff which is corrected now. There are no major visible cracks....

Concrete Patio Is Slippery When Wet  Q. My concrete patio is very slippery when wet. The finish on the patio is smooth (no broom finish) - like an interior slab. How can I treat the concrete ...

Measuring for concrete  Q. Is there a magic formula to measure how many cubic yards of concrete I will need.

A. Click here to get your answer.

Concrete slab vs. Decorative Concrete  Q. In general, for a 15 foot x 15 foot block, how much more does decorative conrete cost compared to a plain concrete slab?

A. You can usually count ...

garage drain  Q. I poured a concrete garage slab with drain, but when the concrete dried the drain lifted. Now what do I do to fix this problem? The water doesn't ...

concrete patio around above ground pool  Q. Is there a way to make a concrete patio/deck around an above ground pool. The back of my home has a concrete patio. Behind that, the ground slopes ...

How to fix porous cement garage floor  Q. The sealant was completely worn of a large portion of our cement garage floor (this was a brand new floor poured in 1993). Sealants we purchased ...

Pool deck settling  Q. I had a pool built 3 yrs ago. I pour the concrete in 2 pours. I formed around the perimeter of the pool 2'. I poured the entire pad in 1 pour and ...

spots in concrete  Q. I poured my own patio, bullfloated it, fresnoed it, then put a broom finish on it. I looked at it the next day and it looks like water spots in concrete....

badly pitted original 40 yr old slab - how to replace  Q. We have a double garage floor (23' x 21') that is clearly the original slab poured when the house was built in 1960. It was badly pitted when we ...

How to fix a bad seal job?  Q. I hired a landscape contractor who subcontracted a stamped concrete walk. The concrete was colored and a lighter top coat was applied for highlights....

Concrete set up time  Q. How long should new concrete set before driving on it?

A. The answer depends on the outside temperatures and what kind of mix is used. Obviously,...

elevated slab over existing wooden deck  Q. Can one pour a slab over an existing wooden deck? I would assume that the slab would have to be a minimum 4" thickness? Perhaps a thick vapor barrier ...

does water add weight to concrete?  Q. If I mix a 50 lb. bag of concrete with 20 lbs. of water, allow to dry, will the concrete weight more then 50 lbs.?

A. Yes the concrete will weigh ...

Divots in concrete driveway  Q. I had a driveway put in two years ago and since then it has developed little divots about a 1/8 to 14 inch and were everyone is there is a small black ...

Slab on a Slab 
Q. I am planning to extend the kitchen pantry into garage.The floor in the garage is 3 inches lower.I would like to pour more concrete on top of the ...

Blinding Removal in Top Down Construction  Q. We are constructing a cut and cover concrete structure. In order to cast the top slab we will need to excavate to level, place blinding, fix the rebar ...

Painting and Striping a basketball court on a "indoor" concrete Floor  Q. We have just finished a new building for our church that will have a basketball court. We are getting ready to paint the stripes on the court, but ...

Wax for concrete floors  Q. What is the best method to put wax on a stained interior concrete floor? Should you mop it on or use a buffing machine with brushes? Which works ...

garage floor relevel  Q. My garage has a floor drain, however it is not in the lowest spot. Is there any way to regrade the slab to get proper drainage?

A. Applying an ...

Sharp Edges in Hand Seeded Deck  Q. I just recently had a had seeded deck layed around my pool. The deck contractor used a 3000 psi concrete (foundation) and hand seeded rainbow aggregate ...

Concrete Dusting  Q. We recently had some concrete poured in one corner of our unfinished basement. Now it has a powdery finish -- the more I sweep the more dust appears....

mpa  Q. What does mpa stand for.

A. Mpa stands for megapascals. Pascals are units of measurement used to define pressure. Pascals are used in the metric ...

Concrete Forms  Q. Do stops in a form stay or are they removed?

If I am pouring a driveway that is to receive two different stamp patterns to frame sections of the ...

Deicing  Q. What is the best way to remove snow and ice from a concrete sidewalk? We just had it poured on 10/29/08 and live in IN where it could snow any day....

Garage Floor wearing Off  Q. The concrete on my garage floor is wearing off, mainly where the vehicles tires sit. The pores of the concrete are now visable. The 3rd bay and the ...

Too cold for concrete?  Q. When is it too cold to pour concrete?

A. There is no cut and dry answer to this question. There are many factors to consider. Is the concrete ...

Timeline for concrete sidewalks  Q. We live in Michigan , 30 miles east of Flint. How late in the season can we pour a concrete sidewalk?

A. You can pour in temperatures as low ...

Wet floors  Q. I just bought a house that has a brand new detached garage/shop (1500sq ft). Unfortunately during construction of the shop,they did not lay a vapor ...

Concrete sealer that turns white  Q. We have a flagstone deck and just had it sealed by a contractor. They first painted the sealant on the mortar, which left all of the edges of the ...

Concrete over existing concrete  Q. My patio is lower than my yard which results in flooding. Two contractors have said they could raise my patio about 5" (1 inch of sand over the old,...

Sealer for stained outdoor concrete  Q. My backyard concrete has been stained w/ Behr concrete siliconized acrylic stain and I was wondering whether it is necessary to seal it w/ Behr concrete ...

concrete slab relevel  Q. Can a 100 sf concrete slab be releveled using a surface
vibrator? Prep work would include diging a 2 foot trench
on two sides to allow soil to drift....

Re-sealing a concrete driveway.  Q. A colored seal was applied to our driveway last year. The contractor only applied one coat and the sealer is fading in areas where the driveway is ...

2nd floor underlayment:  Q. I'm laying stone on an elevated wood patio and don't want water to seep through. I have a 2X6 butted floor on 16" centered joists and plan to cover ...

Stamped concrete release agent in pool  Q. I just had a stamped concrete patio installed near by above ground pool which has one end buried in the ground (on sloping hill). I took great pains ...

Concrete over asphalt over concrete !  Q. I have an interesting dilemma, perhaps someone could offer guidance on. My driveway, originally constructed in 1948ish, was poured concrete, about ...

New concrete driveway apron scalling & holes  Q. I had an new concrete driveway installed in July. Now I see tiny round holes on the apron in some places and in other areas the concrete is coming ...

Wire mesh vs fiber reinforcement  Q. I'm wondering what is better having a drive way replaced using the synthetic fiber concrete or concrete and wire?

Also what questions should I ...

slip resistance  Q. My pool deck has a light broom finish, I sealed the deck with Behr concrete sealer and added a product called Shark Grip to the sealer during application....

crazy spider webs patterns on concrete surface  Q. How do I repair crazy spider web patterns on my concrete. These are visible after it rains. I'm concerned about water and freezing in the winter....

Slip resistant sealer for pool deck  Q. Is there a clear or semi-clear sealer that will give a brushed concrete pool deck a non-slip finish. I would like to stay away from knock-down, etc,...

Concrete and VOCs  Q. How can I neutralize/remove Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs, or off gases) that may have been absorbed into my concrete floor?

I have a concrete ...

Powdery concrete?  Q. Hi, our fraternity house's landlord had our backyard pool filled in and replaced with a large amount of concrete. Now, all but one section of the ...

previously stained concrete  Q. This is a great site but I couldn't find this answer anywhere. We previously stained out concrete patio with Behr stain. I can't remember if it was ...

concrete sealers  Q. When is the best time to apply the sealer - when the concrete is wet or dry?
What kind of sealer is best for a driveway to get that glazed look?...

white concrete  Q. Why do some new concrete driveways appear whiter than others?

A. There are a few reasons for this. The main reason is the different type of concrete ...

Fibermesh vs. wiremesh  Q. Is fibermesh as good as wiremesh? Should you use both?

A. It depends on who you ask. Some contractors say wire is better while other say fiber ...

cleaning concrete floors  Q. I just moved into my new house with acid stained concrete floors. Every single footprint leaves a white mark on the floor and will not come off. Do ...

Churting ?  Q. Last year we had a large concrete patio poured, when we returned from a six month trip there are divots in the concrete exposing "white". I called ...

concrete statue  Q. My friend bought a concrete statue that she wants me to paint- will artist quality oil paint last or chip?

A. If the statue stays inside it will ...

Concrete surface condition  Q. A concrete slab for garage was completed in November and the garage built soon after. There is Thermofoil insulation barrier under the slab laid according ...

rebars inserted into garage floor to connect new cement drive  Q. We live in a 3 year old home . Now we are ready to pave our driveway with concrete . The contractor wants to drill into our garage floor and insert ...

Drying Time for Concrete  Q. How long do you have to wait for concrete to dry before installing tile over it?

A. I assume you want the floor to be completely dry before installing ...

discolored spots on sealed concrete less than a year old  Q. I had a colored stamped concrete patio put in last spring. I was told it was sealed and to reseal every 2-3 years.

Problem #1. There are a number ...

Measuring concrete  Q. How do i figure out how many yards of concrete i will need for flatwork, is there some kind of mathematical formula?

A. You must find the volume ...

Sanding Concrete  Q. I have a concrete planter and pedestal that I plan to stain and seal. They have some rough edges at the seams. What can I use to "sand" them down?...

Faux Painting over Siliconized Acrylic Concrete Stain  Q. We have an indoor textured concrete patio floor that has a light color siliconized acrylic concrete stain on it (about 4 years old). We would like ...

concrete cracks  Q. I have an interior concrete slab that has cracked where my vinyl floor is to be installed, how can I prevent the crack from continuing after I membrane ...

Do deicers really cause spalling?  Q. I am finding all kinds of conflicting information about whether deicers can cause spalling on concrete driveways. What is the real answer? We have ...

Applying a second coat of sealer  Q. When my house was built (3 yrs ago) sealer was applied to the garage floor. It has not held up well and I would like to put another coat. What prep ...

price  Q. What is the ball park price for demo and haul away of an existing driveway and front walkway and then the ball park price for installing a new concrete ...

Oily residue on garage floor  Q. I had a concrete floor poured in my garage last august and now my floor always has an oily residue coming up through the floor. Makes the floor always ...

Garage floor constantly wet  Q. I have a garage with a concrete floor. During the winter months and into the spring the floor is constantly wet. Is there a product to seal moisture ...

Scoring Lines Against the Wall   Q. I have a slab I would like to score, but how do you get all the way to the walls with the cut?

A. Unfortunately you use a round blade to score lines ...