Cement Patio Help

[04 Navi]

Hey I know this is suppposed to be for garages only, but the patio does sit outside the garage and I need some help/ideas. When it was poured I had them put some large 3'x3' or so squares in the cement, with the intent of cutting in some smaller tiles by scoring with a cement blade in the skilsaw.

What I want to to though is to change the look of the cement to give it more character. So has anyone played with a ferrite fertilizer finish? In other words I would like to add a speckeld iron type stain to the cement. I would also possibly like to add a salt finish, but I have never heard of it being done after set up. Is any of this possible? BTW it has never been sealed.

In a nutshell the pour is/was so bad, that I want to make it look better with cluttering it up. Hopefully it makes some sense to somebody.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

Hi Navi,

I get it... As far as the salt thing goes... That has to be done before it sets up. What happens is that you sprinkle chunks of salt on the surface and then press them in to the wet concrete. Then, the sale dissolves over time and leaves that cratered look. So, the only way to do that now is to add a concrete overlay and do it in that. Of course, once you see what is possible with concrete overlays that might be as appealing anymore.

As far as the fertillizer goes.... This could work... you would want to seal it afterwards to lock the 'stains' in. Another option would be to just throw some iron (shavings or shot) out and let it rust and stain the patio. Then, seal it to lock in those stains.

On my last trip to California I say a pretty nice job on a driveway and patio. Basically, they coated the patio/drive with 100% acrylic in a tan. Then, they dropped drops of 100% acrylic in about 3 other colors (brown, black, and brick color. It's cheap... and it works... But, you'll have to conjure up your inner artist. Let me know what sounds interesting and I'll hook you up...

Eric