Make sure your construction business is ready for the busy season with these tips. How to Prevent, Treat and Remove White Discoloration from Concrete. During the last few decades of significant progress for concrete, today’s most widely used compressive strength standard emerged: the cylinder concrete break tests. Decorative concrete expert Chris Sullivan addresses common problems relating to pool decks. Mix the fine powder with water until you have a puddy. It may seem counter-intuitive to the process, but using a ball-peen hammer to get rid of those annoying little cracks. You are then left with a stamped slab that has round, discolored spots. Discoloration of concrete pool decks can be due to a number of causes including weathering, sun exposure, improper color application, and attack by pool chemicals. Copyright 1999-2021 ConcreteNetwork.com - None of this site may be reproduced without written permission, Discover the best methods for repairing the concrete around your swimming pool, Contact us and view our privacy policy, terms & conditions, and press room, Resurface Existing Concrete with Pool Deck Coatings. The holes are patched using a concrete mixture. 200 copies pressed. APA-trademarked panels can be used repeatedly with proper care. Question: We have an issue with efflorescence on a stamped concrete pool deck and need your advice. They can be easily peeled off if removed within six months. How to Wash a New Stamped Concrete Patio Grosse Construction Services Posted on September 5, 2013 by Super-User July 15, 2020 One of the most important steps in providing a beautiful stamped patio is knowing when to, and how to, properly wash and scrub the surface in preparation of sealing your new stamped concrete patio. However, if the job requires you to do a full resurface, or use materials that need to be leveled, a professional contractor will be the best choice for your project. Less is more, and this is especially true when sealing decks around pools and hot tubs. The opposite holds true for light textures with smoother surfaces and non-aggressive patterns. Cortec’s MCI-2020 Gel is designed to work when proper surface preparation cannot be achieved or is economically undesirable. Poly Fix is a high strength, two-component ultra-low viscosity hybrid polyurethane concrete repair binder. The other benefit of sandblasting is that it opens up the pores on the surface of the concrete just enough to let the new coat of sealer bond even better. Cintec first started work on the west block in 1994 when Cintec reinforcement anchors were installed in the south west tower by Public Works based at Plouffe Park Ottawa. Because the existing concrete deck had extensive cracking and settlement, the overlay was poured at a 1 ½-inch thickness and reinforced to prevent failure. It's easy to pour and build a backyard patio made of concrete in this How To article. To confirm this diagnosis, do a sealer-adhesion scratch test or just lightly scratch the sealer with a key or some other hard blunt-end object. Options range from a simple color enhancement to total resurfacing. Expect the price to go up for stamped concrete cost, since this required more labor and equipment to complete. As with most decorative concrete issues, it could be a combination of both of these things, with a little efflorescence thrown in for good measure. Sealers are responsible for color development, wetting out and highlighting the antiquing release, and providing the “wet look” associated with most stamped concrete. This does a great job of removing the existing sealer in a fairly short amount of time without damaging the texture. Don't Ignore Cracks and Joints Underneath Decorative Overlays, 5 Tips to Optimize Concrete Forming Panel Performance, 2021 Update to Concrete Assessment, Repair and Rehab Guide. Remember to dilute your muriatic acid with water. If you are concerned that the cracks around your swimming pool are more serious, have a concrete contractor out to assess the damage. Answer: Unfortunately, you have a slab of decorative concrete that's in bad shape and beyond easy repair. If no one is there to meet you, call the Naval Station CDO at 011-34-187-270-203. Tip: Some coating manufacturers sell patch kits, so check with them first. Question: I have a pool deck in which the sealer seems to be flaking off and coming up in some areas. In the time that I’ve been involved with decorative concrete, we have experienced tremendous growth in the industry. In some instances, it is even more durable than regular, plain concrete surfaces, especially if a dry-shake color hardener has been used. Be sure to get the patch to look as close to the concrete as possible. Reviewing some of the common problems with stamped concrete and a few techniques you can try the next time you are faced with a decorative repair and restore challenge. If your concrete surface is sinking, a contractor can use a technique called slabjacking to fix the problem. With most stamped concrete projects, the secondary color should make up only 10% to 20% of the visible color, whether the color is from a release powder or, as in this case, a liquid tint. We will be dealing with a larger area to repair and just wiping the excess off with a rag is not going to look very good. A contractor is more likely to complete the job on time, without error, and with a finished look you’ll enjoy for years to come. No matter what the cause, the repair will involve some sort of re-coloring. Since then, the West Block has been fully restored and modernized. The challenge here is in the color. Case Study: Effectiveness of MCI Surface Protection System in Bridge Preservation Project. Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi. The cleaner will release the dirt that gets trapped in the valleys and crevices of the stamped concrete. A xylene bath (lightly soaking the problem area with a xylene solvent and back rolling) is the first step. A cast-in-place concrete overlay, stamped with a fieldstone pattern and a decorative medallion, completely restored this deteriorating concrete pool deck without the need for replacement. No matter whether you use release powder, stains, washes or tints, you are filling the surface pores of the concrete with solid material. This should remove the large sand. On a small scale, concrete is fairly easy to work with, but installing an entire patio can be a challenge. Take a small amount of the same color hardener (if you used one) for your base color and run it through a bucket sifter. If you used a color hardener for your base color, then simply take a small amount of that same color hardener and run it through a bucket sifter to get rid of the large sand. The first is overapplication of the secondary accent color. Question: I hope you can give me some idea about what's going on with my concrete pool deck. Another coat of sealer is applied and the concrete looks great…for a few months. Once the stripping is complete, you can remove any residual secondary color, give the surface a good cleaning, and then allow it to dry before resealing. The contractor tells the owner that it just needs to be resealed. Using the ball end of the hammer, start to tap on and around the cracks in a motion that would close up the crack. ChemMasters, Inc. has introduced SpeedPatch XL, a single component cementitious repair mortar for a wide variety of horizontal, vertical and overhead repairs to concrete substrates. With small patches, using your hand or a small trowel will smooth out the spot. Adding stain to stamped concrete is a way to bring out the stamped design even further, emphasizing the details of the design while coloring the concrete to accent the surrounding landscape. For more information on choosing and applying concrete stains, read these Stained Concrete FAQs. Just take a hand full of the same color hardener you used for the pour and follow the sifting and mixing instructions we went over in fixing surface cracks. This phenomenon, where the sealer is no longer adhered to the concrete, looks a lot like efflorescence from a distance, but on closer inspection is actually more gray or cloudy. A microtopping enhanced by decorative brick-patterned borders and stenciled designs gave this dysfunctional pool deck new life. Even if the two slabs were poured the same day, one might still look different than the other. These highlights make the concrete look like stone, tile or whatever natural material the installer is trying to mimic. Cortec’s MCI 2020 surface applied corrosion inhibitor was selected to treat salt damage on a Croatian bridge before the repair process. What was mostly dark brown with hints of tan is now mostly tan with hints of dark brown. The solution was to resurface it with a durable and attractive acrylic topping and add a brick-patterned border to define the edge of the pool and improve the visibility. Using something cementitious to patch these little guys up is the only real way to fix them. Or if the wrong type of sealer was used, just cleaning and resealing will actually add to the problem. For minor variations, you might be able to hide it with some antiquing agent. Proper cleaning and prep work, using the right sealer, and application techniques are all essential for long-term success when resealing stamped concrete. The Roadware Easy Injection System can make effective structural repairs into 24 inches of concrete or more without pumps or ports. The CRACKBOND Concrete Repair and Restoration Product Line - Updated, Testing Concrete With the Maturity Method. Texturing the patch may be required for larger repairs. Patching makes the most sense when there are only a few small areas of spalling. The consumer demand, as well as the skill and craftsmanship of those who install it, are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were just 15 years ago. Once sealed, the work looks great, the applicator gets paid and everyone is happy. Pool decks are wet to start, so the combination can be especially bad. If a majority of the surface is affected, resurfacing is the best solution. Despite that, when I wasn't home the contractor went ahead and applied a sealer pigmented with a dark brown stain. This will make the concrete look darker or lighter in those areas. For concrete with minor cracking or discoloration, you can completely disguise the flaws by engraving or cutting a pattern in the surface. We used a 30%-solids solvent-based acrylic sealer. It may seem counter-intuitive to the process, but using a ball-peen hammer to get rid of those annoying little cracks.Deco-Crete Supply. There are many patching and filling products available that make fixing small cracks easy for a homeowner to do themselves. Before resealing, we cleaned the deck with a mild acid wash, neutralized, and then allowed the sealer to dry. If you arrive at an off-base location and your sponsor is not there, contact the naval station CDO for assistance. The best way we have found to accomplish this is by sandblasting. Imprinted concrete looks pretty bland and unrealistic without highlights or antiquing, which give the pattern definition and color variation. Water seeks low spots. This is really an easy fix and it's a better problem to deal with than if the slab was oversealed. Maximize concrete form lifetime—and your budget—with these five tips. There might not be anything you can do to control the weather, but you can learn how to fix some things after the fact. A good rule to work by is that secondary color should make up 5% to 30% of the final color. When efflorescence appears, it can be an unsightly problem for your concrete project. Stamped steel deck shell: Mower deck material: Steel, 12 gauge 0.105 in. © 2021 AC Business Media, LLC. In order to fill a crack, follow these steps: Patching is primarily used for fixing spalling or larger cracks. This can also happen when you make mutual pours on the same project. If this does not work, you will probably need to strip off some or all of the sealer. There might even be times that you will need the buffer and acid to get rid of the variations in the color. In my opinion, the problem is not caused by the contractor's coloring methods. Hot off the Press: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla admits Israel is the ‘world’s lab.’ Tap News / Weaver Gilad Atzmon – gilad.co.uk Feb 27, 2021 If Israelis are confused by the fact that their government treats them like laboratory pets, if they wonder why their freedom to travel, to socialise or even earn a … The repair is fairly simple in theory, but more difficult in practice. Answer: From the picture, it appears that efflorescence may not be the problem. ChemMasters Barracuda Triple Action Lubricant. The small air gap that now exists between the sealer and concrete causes the light to diffuse and create the grayish-white cloudy look. The installers return to acid-etch the project in areas where the release and color hardener did not wash off completely. Take a small amount of the same color hardener (if you used one) for your base color and run it through a bucket sifter. REPAIR SPALLED CONCRETE low-speed floor buffer with a scrubbing pad works great for pulling off more release. Use it to hide surface imperfections or to allow metal and wood fixtures to blend in with surrounding masonry and concrete. Once the top surface has been breached, it's just a matter of time before the entire top will break apart. Let the slurry completely dry before antiquing or sealing. This option can prevent you having to remove your pool deck altogether. A grout mixture is pumped under the slab, lifting it to the desired height. you will need to experiment with the dosage to get the best color match. The slabjacking process follows these steps: Some concrete repairs can be done as a DIY, but it is highly recommended to hire a contractor for more complicated tasks. This step creates a seal on the surface and penetrates into the porous concrete so it can resist water. Follow the same process described in the blowouts and chips section. Disclaimer: While all the effort has been made to make this service as helpful as possible, this is free service and the author makes no warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness to any information on this website.. See examples of concrete engraving. Lower solids also reduce the risk of slipping accidents. When this happens, you have two options: resurface the entire pool deck or patch the problematic spots. Those solids are filling the voids that the sealer needs to fill in order to "bite" or adhere to the concrete. The FX-70-6FS fast-set epoxy bottom seal is a three-component, moisture-tolerant epoxy grout designed as part of the FX-70 structural repair and protection system to facilitate same-day filling of underwater fiberglass pile jackets. What makes things worse is that the contractor is refusing to take any responsibility and will not get involved to help figure out what happened. Resurfacing products are only as good as the subsurface. I told the contractor that the color was unacceptable and needed to be fixed before the sealing. Stamped concrete, like all concrete, will need to be maintained and mother nature will take its toll over the years.