Top Coating To Smooth Rough Concrete?

[crguy]

I have a 20' x 20' concrete area with a rough exposed aggregate surface that I would like to smooth out.
What would be a good product to use for this - 1/4" +/- thick, and what cleaning & prep will be needed?
The area is divided into random shaped pieces with wood 1" x 4" strips. Concrete is dirty with some moss, but not oily.
This is in front of my carport, so it gets driven on.

 

[mikeceli]

BUMP. I also need to smooth my exposed, 20 year old, exposed aggregate patio. It has lots of tiny, sharp stone chips that hurt to walk on.

 

[skulldrinker]

maybe grind it

 

[Cyberbear]

There is a cement based product that carpet and floor tile installers use to smooth out and level concrete slabs prior to laying the carpet, etc. When my old bathroom floor needed such treatment, it came out looking like new. They simply mixed and poured the self leveling product and I was very happy with the results...that was 9 years ago and still no problems. I'd recommend a power washing before pouring.

 

[73RR]

Some, most?, of the topping compounds will not like freeze-thaw cycles at ¼" thick.

There are plenty of compounds on the market so do a search for 'concrete topping compounds' and read up.
I have used Dayton non-shrink grout as a topper and the most recent weathered the nasty winter we just had. Still looks very good.

 

[The Cobbler]

a shame to lose that exposed aggregate finish ( IMO) but I think grinding would be the best long term solution

 

[crguy]

maybe grind it

a shame to lose that exposed aggregate finish ( IMO) but I think grinding would be the best long term solution

The grinding idea has possibilities I think. If I could knock down say 75% of the roughage, it would be fine. Will look at renting a grinder tomorrow.

 

[ard]

Try a little angle grinder on a small 4" square and see how it works. With exposed aggregate,a large floor grinder MAY tear off some of the aggregate, leaving a mess- perhaps WAY worse than leaving alone.

And even if you are 'successful' you have a messy, ground surface.

There are not a lot of options to layer 1/4" over and have it survive outside, freeze, driving over. Maybe tile.

 

[eric_koski]

I have used this product on a set of cement stairs that were in bad shape 5 years ago and they have held up well https://www.quikrete.com/athome/vid...te-slabs.asp?gclid=CJjnsZu5tdMCFc5WDQodiAgDlw

 

[ard]

I have used this product on a set of cement stairs that were in bad shape 5 years ago and they have held up well https://www.quikrete.com/athome/vid...te-slabs.asp?gclid=CJjnsZu5tdMCFc5WDQodiAgDlw

That looks interesting...

Your stairs are outside, exposed to freeze/thaw?

 

[Fyrme]

I think grinding it all down smooth and then apply a clear epoxy over it, and it will look awesome. It will almost have a Terrazzo look to it.

 

[rsanter]

I think grinding it all down smooth and then apply a clear epoxy over it, and it will look awesome. It will almost have a Terrazzo look to it.

We did this at my work.
We ground the concrete with a large grinder and thenpolished it.
It looks a but like terrazzo which looks good.
It is very durable, we run fork lifts over it all the time plus heavy foot traffic.

Once you do this IMO there is no need for epoxy. Perhaps a sealant or clear and that is all.

We had an emulsifier applied and then buffed a wax coat.
Looks great and very little to maintain

Bob

 

[frontierhistorian]

I'm curious how this project turned out.

I've got exposed aggregate floor in my garage and thinking of grinding it using something like an EDCO single disc floor grinder, which I can rent. But I'm concerned about how long it will take, how many tool heads (and which grit size), and whether the process will pop some of the larger stones out. Also, I have no experience using such grinders.

Some attached photos of the situation.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I'm curious how this project turned out.

I've got exposed aggregate floor in my garage and thinking of grinding it using something like an EDCO single disc floor grinder, which I can rent. But I'm concerned about how long it will take, how many tool heads (and which grit size), and whether the process will pop some of the larger stones out. Also, I have no experience using such grinders.

Some attached photos of the situation.

Inside the garage you can use sika level 125 self leveling, the floor will look brand new. It was speced to repair a conc floor in an oil tank room, worked so good I did my garage floor with it, I was ready to demo & replace. It saved time & money, just clean the floor good, mix & apply you just kinda screed it into place & it levels out, amazing stuff. I had cracks & a very deteriorated surface, epoxied the cracks & resurfaced, 4 years later still looks good.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Here's a before and after pic

 

[nadogail]

Looks like a good new floor.

 

[ccogg]

That looks fantastic! How thick is the self leveling top coat?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Renegade1LI]

You can go 1/8"- 2 1/2" adding aggregate, I would keep it one inch or less, I used a curing compound than a clear sealer & it has held up great. For a comparison it is 133lbs per cubic ft & normal ready mix is about 150lbs per cu ft.The nice part is no grinding, just epoxy cracks & patch any big holes.
https://usa.sika.com/en/constructio...ation/surface-preparation/sika-level-125.html

 

[dcg9381]

My neighbors just paid quite a bit extra for their long driveway pour to get that color and texture, I think it looks great.

I (also) have concerns about a top coat that is relatively thin.. Unless it's impervious to water, it's likely to take some damage in a freeze - don't want it to end up looking worse, unless someone has experience with it working well outside for long periods of time.

 

[frontierhistorian]

This is impressive -- thanks!

 

[3onthetree]

@frontierhistorian
Note that other's successes is with smooth concrete, not exposed aggregrate finish. I have heard from other people trying to use a grinder on the exposed aggregrate eating up the discs really quick (the surface just varies too much). You may have better luck, as yours looks to have some larger aggregrate spaced apart, not the smaller <3/8" tight pea gravel. Sometimes the smaller size can be 3 or 4 stones deep depending on how the finisher has thrown and worked them into the cream.

Since most people pay extra and want the look of exposed aggregrate, you won't find much direction removing it. Try it out with the grinder and report back. But if you can't remove the pebbles or hone the surface, I don't think any traffic product will work outside that is less than 2" thick, and that's if you can get a good bond.

If the grinder doesn't work, try a scarifier to remove the pebbles. If that then doesn't work, try a scabbler.

 

[3onthetree]

* duplicate

 

[nadogail]

I have seen floor layers use "thin set" before laying down vinyl flooring. It has to be good because the slightest imperfections telegraph through thin flooring

 

[yeldogt]

This is an interesting discussion .... I'm a fan of exposed aggregate w/ cedar strips like the original poster (this is an old thread).

I did my new pool surround (to an old pool) and numerous steps ... driveways ..walks. IMO -- it's great looking .. non slip and makes for a "quiet" landscape. I dress it up with some brick surrounds.

I'm using it in my new build ...