Patio Resurfacing

Patio resurfacing can revive your outdoor living area. If you want a new patio but your existing patio is structurally sound, then consider resurfacing it instead of spending the money to rip it out and replace it.

Polymer modified concrete toppings are becoming more common for residential use. These toppings can have the strength and durability of regular concrete and can withstand the harshest climates. In the past, most contractors were a bit leery about resurfacing because of the many failures. But the availability of better products has made resurfacing promising alternative for fixing ugly or damaged patios.

Resurfacing can fix patios that have surface damage including scaling and spalling but are not and should not be used just to cover up cracks. There are steps that can be taken to limit the chances of cracks transferring through an overlay, but there is never any guarantee. It’s usually just a matter of time before the cracks in the existing patio show up in the overlay.

Patio overlays can be applied as thin as 1/8 inch. The thickness depends on circumstances such as the condition of the existing surface or the desired finish of the new overlay.

Overlays can have a regular broom finish or trowel finish. They can be colored either with integral coloring or staining. They can also be stamped to give the appearance of brick, stone, slate, tile, etc. There are just about as many options with overlays as there are with regular concrete.

This is not recommended as a do-it-yourself project unless you have experience with concrete. Laying concrete is work, but finishing concrete is an art. You want it to look nice and last. Once the material is mixed with water, there’s only a small window of time to work with it so you better know what you’re doing or you could end up with a big mess.

For those who want to do it themselves, remember that surface preparation is the key to an overlay that lasts. The surface must be clean and roughened for optimum adhesion. An existing broom finish is ideal as long as any stains or previous coatings have been removed. For smoother surfaces, grinding, scarifying, and acid etching will roughen the concrete.

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Patio Resurfacing