Some Important DIY Concrete Repair and Resurfacing Tips
Posted on: 9 June 2016
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If your home's driveway, garage floor, or concrete patio is starting to show its age and needs some minor repair and resurfacing work, you may not need to call a concrete professional to do this for you. Very often you can use some rented equipment and filler materials to cover over cracks and other minor chips, and make the surface look like new again. Before you do, however, note a few important DIY tips to ensure you get the job done right.
Use a ready-mix concrete filler
Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand, gravel, and other such materials. Trying to mix up raw concrete on your own can be very difficult if you were to get each of these materials individually. Instead, make it easier on yourself by investing in a good polymer-based ready-mix concrete filler. A polymer is a substance that doesn't come apart easily so it will keep your new concrete mix strong, and a ready-mix filler will mean not having to guess at the ratio of each raw material needed to patch up your concrete surface. These fillers can usually be mixed in a wheelbarrow and simply shoveled into large cracks and pits of your concrete surface.
Try grinding for small cracks and chips
If the concrete surface has a large number of small nicks, chips, and scratches, you might simply try grinding the surface and then refinishing it. A concrete grinder can usually be rented at a home improvement store, and it works like sanding wood to remove the uppermost layer of the material. You can then use a buffer to make it smooth and ready for a coat of concrete paint, or even a new layer of concrete to strengthen the surface. Grinding makes quicker work of removing all those cracks and chips than if you tried to address them all individually, and gives your driveway or patio a surface that looks brand new.
Make sure you seal the new patch or concrete
It can be easy to overlook the need for sealant over a concrete patch; your contractor or home builder may have added sealant over your driveway or patio when it was built, so you may not even realize that concrete needs sealant. It's good to seal your old concrete as recommended by your concreter or as needed for your area, considering weather conditions and traffic on the concrete. However, after adding concrete filler or patching material, it's especially important to add a coat of sealant to keep it protected and ensure it doesn't start to crack or flake itself.