Concrete Resurfacing

Concrete resurfacing materials can be used to restore damaged or aging concrete and make it look new again. There are several factors that can cause a concrete surface to scale or chip away. The most common factor is improper installation. Maybe there was too much water in the mix or the contractor added water to the surface to aid in finishing. Or it could be that the concrete was rained on before it was finished. Whatever the reason, concrete resurfacing can fix most of these problems instead of ripping it out and replacing it.

Resurfacing will not fix structural problems with concrete, especially exterior concrete. These problems should be addressed and repaired beforehand. Cracks can be treated and filled, but there's never any guarantee that they won't transfer through the overlay.

Concrete resurfacing is becomming more common due to the improvement of materials over the years. Contractors are gaining more confidence in the durability of overlays. Most of them were usually skeptical due to failures in the past, especially in harsher climates.

Concrete resurfacing might sound easy, but it's anything but that. There's much more to it then just slapping some cement down and smoothing it out. The key to a successful project and usually the most difficult part is the prep work. The concrete needs to completely clean and free of any coatings, paints, sealers, and mastics. The best methods of surface prep are grinding and shotblasting. Mechanical prep will ensure that any of those bond breakers are removed. If you know the concrete has never had those applied, then acid etching and neutralizing may be sufficient.

Resurfacing products come in different grades, smooth and rough. Smooth grade has very fine aggregates and can only be applied super thin. Rough grade has bigger aggregates and can be applied with some thickness, but usually no more than 1 inch per layer.

There are many application techniques to create different results. You can simply trowel on a new coat just to make the surface new again. You can add texture by broom finishing or use one of the several trowel techniques. It can be sprayed on which provides a nice, slip resistant texture. It can also be stamped to look like slate, brick, tile, stone, etc.

Before tearing out concrete or covering it with carpet, consider concrete resurfacing. When properly installed, it will last as long as the concrete it sits on.