Grinding driveway, other questions

[earl84]

I have (hopefully) attached a few photos of my approximately 30 x 20 driveway in a house we recently bought. The entire driveway is exactly like this. I believe this to be delamination from poor finishing. Anyway, I want to rent an Edco grinder and grind it all off, get down to solid aggregate layer and put some kind of product on it to prevent further deterioration. This will probably not happen for several months. I plan to do it myself.
So, questions:
1. Do I have to chip away all the loose top layer prior to grinding? Or just sweep up loose stuff and grind away?
2. The grinder is a single head with 3 cutting stones. Is there a better option?
What product should I use after grinding? I don’t want to put a coating on it other than clear.

This is a driveway, and that is it’s main use. I will use jacks and jack stands on it. Park my old Chevy truck on it, and it likes to Mark it’s territory with oil. We are in Colorado at 7000 feet, do get winter weather, I don’t think they use salt on the roads, not sure as we’re new to this area.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[readhead]

Yes, CDOT does use salt in Colorado. I'm not sure you have a realistic understanding of how long it will take to grind that concrete.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

It's gonna be a dusty proposition but can be done.
Sweep off whatever is loose and get to the gettn.

 

[earl84]

Yes, CDOT does use salt in Colorado. I'm not sure you have a realistic understanding of how long it will take to grind that concrete.

Well, I have NO idea of how long it will take to grind that concrete, never done it before. But I’m almost certainly going to do it myself, so any CONSTRUCTIVE input from anyone is appreciated.

Not (really) trying to bust your balls, readhead, I know from lots of reading on GJ that you’re a good guy. And we’re almost neighbors.

 

[readhead]

That was CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. If you are renting a machine find out how much the stones will cost and how long they can be expected to last. Depending on the machine it may be a multi pass process with different grits to achieve the finish you want.

You have inherited a difficult situation. You may want to consult with some of the coating suppliers here on the GJ to consider other options.

What part of the state are you in?

 

[bigjon]

We honed and sealed our driveway and all exterior concrete with a single phase 240v, triple disc grinder. It was slow going! We did it wet which worked well but it created a nice mess to clean up. The bigger the machine the easier it will be!

 

[earl84]

OK, so I need to find the largest grinder that I can and find out how long the stones will last and their cost. The rental counter guy said it came with the stones in the rental price of $220 for a 24 hour rental but I didn’t ask and he didn’t say how long they could be expected to last and how much they would cover. Also, adjust expected time frame to a long time.
I live between Ridgway and Montrose. We love it, so much better than the crowded Denver area we left.

 

[alexb2000]

I wouldn't use a grinder on this, I would rent a scarifier and be ready to overlay in one day (MUCH easier). After scarifying the remaining areas down to aggregate, I would pressure wash it, let it dry, and then prior to top coating roll on a bonding agent. I would want to take the rest of the slab down to course aggregate before I put on a self leveling overlay to be sure that it wouldn't continue to fail and to give me a consistent new surface with my overlay vs. a patchy looking slab with old and new showing. You can get a self-leveling overlay that can be stamped and/or stained if you want to get fancy.

 

[earl84]

That might be really great advice, alexb2000. Scarifying machine wold seem to be faster for sure. Any suggestions on a good product for overlaying? I’ve seen lots of concrete patches that fail and look even worse over time. Granted, patching is different than doing the whole driveway. Just want to do this once and do it right so it lasts and looks decent.

 

[SteveCh]

Many areas of Colorado use magnesium chloride on icy roads. Don't know about your particular area, call the county road dept. And I don't know what, if anything, mag chloride does to concrete. It definitely kills the trees alongside the highways.

Check with your locals and then with the experts here to find out about this. If I remember enough about high school chem', mag chlor. is a salt, chemically.

 

[alexb2000]

That might be really great advice, alexb2000. Scarifying machine wold seem to be faster for sure. Any suggestions on a good product for overlaying? I’ve seen lots of concrete patches that fail and look even worse over time. Granted, patching is different than doing the whole driveway. Just want to do this once and do it right so it lasts and looks decent.

I use mostly Rapidset overlay from Home Depot or Lowes. It is a simple cheap product that is easy to work with and I've gotten great results every time. If you want salt/chemical protection you might look at the more exotic urethane or epoxy based overlays, but I don't have any direct experience with them.

 

[readhead]

Sounds like you are near Colona. Are you on the river?

 

[earl84]

About a mile west of Colona, as the crow flies. Just far enough so we can’t hear Highway 550 noise, but easy access to Montrose.

Thanks for input Alex, anyone else have ideas or suggestions?