Concrete Overlays

Hi we did concrete overlay on our kitchen counter tops and it turned out beautiful, the problem is the sealer now looks dull, (our son used mop and glo) and it took a lot of working to get the wax off, what can be used to shine the sealer back to it's orginal glossy texture? we've tried alot of differrent things with no sucess,thanks

Bryan and Mary,
Go find my past column about wet-look sealers for slate flooring.

Hi, I live in a Condo and the front walkway is concrete but when it rains the start of the walkway always floods. We have tried to build it up with asphalt but it never works, then we tried rocks on the sides for drainage but that did not work do you have any ideas. Thanks Pam

Pam,
Well, you can install a small Linear French Drain to capture the water and redirect it to a low spot. You can also do an overlay making sure the sidewalk is now higher than the soil around it. Read many of the columns in my Drainage category so you discover how to do a Linear French Drain.

I have an old conctrete pad or patio ( 16'x16') that is about 4" thick and is broken or cracked in a couple of places, My question is could a 2-4" overlay be put over this and be stable

Walt,
If you installed steel in a 4-inch overlay, then you would be safe. Read ALL of my past Concrete columns to discover how to make this job turn out perfectly.

We recently had an inspection done for a potential buyer and an issue raised was that the foundation immediately surrounding the area where the water main enters the basement has begun to wear away. It is an older home (60+ years) and the inspector thought it was from condensation from the main over time. About a 1/4 inch of the foundation has worn away in some places but it is not a very large area. Would an application like you have described here work aesthetically and for structure?

Chris,
Yes. Please go read all of my Stucco columns for some sweet tips on how to do this.

Hello,
I need to do a concrete overlay on an existing concreate patio to create a level pad for a portable spa. The existing patio is about 3" thick and it has a fall of about 4" in 7.5' (4.4%). Therefore, the overlay will taper from 0 inches on the high side and 4" on the low side. I want to make sure there is a good bond between the two surfaces and that it is level for the spa. Your recommendations?
Thank you.

Mark,
I tell you how to create a permanent bond in the column above.

Hi, I have a front set of steps that were originally covered with ceramic tile. The tiles cracked over the winter and when I removed them, I wanted to simply clean up the cement under the tiles. I found an unfinished slab cement with major gaps of 1/2 an inch in area. A concrete overlay appears to be the only solution,when I prepare the step as you indicate, can you suggest a way to pour the riser part of the step so the concrete can stick to the back of the original cement and level it off?

Mike,
You are just going to apply stucco on the risers and treads.... You may have to do two coats on the risers to get 1/2-inch thickness.

Last year I had a garage built and the contractor who did the concrete pad and part of driveway left black streak marks, parts of the driveway has sunk in, and part of the pad had holes like chicken pox. Now, when the concrete was wet, it looked great but when it dried it looked terrible. What can be done without using a paint epoxy because I don't want do it again in 5 years. concrete is more maintenance free than epoxy. and can I use a concrete overlay of some sort. thanks

do you have any articles on how to do concrete overlays on kitchen coutertops? if not is there a specific type of mixture to use? can you put it over 3/4 inch plywood? also what kind of dye is used to make it look like granite? if you know of any other articles that would be helpful that would be great. thanks

I have a 5 year old house this a concrete front porch about 5' high from ground level and dimensions of 5' x 25'. The back fill was not tamped throughly and the porch is sinking 2" on one side and level on the other with bricks around the outside. Will concrete overlay adhere to the current concrete? I was considering giving it a try and building up the outside brick 1/4" with concret pavers all the way around.

Thanks

Hello. I recently had a concrete slab poured onto the side of my house for a room addition. The guy I hired did some very shoddy work. From what I can tell, everthing was done right up until the actual pour. The surface of the pour has a lot of peaks and valleys. The forms are still in place, and I was thinking about adding a 1/2" to 1" thick piece of wood to the tops of the forms and add a concrete overlay to the top to even it out. Will what you explained above work for what I am trying to do? My main concern is cracking or crumbling since it is going to support the 1 story structure I build on it. Any advice and help you can give me is much appreciated.
Thank you,
Brad

Brad,
An overlay will work! Read all of my columns about this. There are several. If you do it my way, there is no danger of crumbling.

Concerning overlays. I am new at this, but should one hire someone that knows how to do this type of work, or are there supplies out there that are pretty much for the do it yourselfers. The overlay, that I need to do, is between 1/4" to maybe 1".

Hi,
We have patio that is about 30x16 taht needs some work. It hs two cracks and has setled in one area. We have talked to a contractor who wants to apply an overlay for 1750.00. The patio supports a dec so the over lay would be less than 1" thick. After reading some on your sight, I am somewhat nervous about this. What is your opinion?
Thanks

can overlays be done on a patio that has been sealed or do i have to remove the sealer.

Can I do a concrete overlay in my basement? I'm a part time mason/landscaper, never did a overlay, does it work below grade, in basements?

I am needing to raise my patio due to the yard being higher than my patio, resulting in flooding when it rains.
Two contractors said they would lay an inch thick of sand over the old concrete and then pour a new 4" thick concrete over that.
I have searched on the internet to see if this is legitimate. I have been unable to find any sites that suggest this practice. Can you tell me if this is legitimate and does it sound like it would work.
I just thought that the original cement would make a sturdy base ine lieu of going to the expense to tear it out. I need it to be elevated about 5 inches total.
Thank you for help.