Can concrete be re-surfaced?

We have a concrete patio on the west side of the house. In the morning its cool and damp from the dew, at noon it gets heated up by the sun, but by mid-afternoon it is in the shade from the woods. Its got problems with moss growing on the concrete and the concrete surface, perhaps a 1/4" of the surface, is cracking up. Not deep cracks but just the surface layer is breaking off. I don't know if it is bad concrete mix or if its the conditions.

My question is, is there a way to repair it, or is there a coating (epoxy) that can be applied to re-surface it?

Basically its structurally sound but butt ugly!

Perhaps something like the garage floor coverings will work. I believe most of it is epoxy based but not real sure.

As for the moss I suggest you mix some Clorox with water and spray it on. It works to keep moss and algae from growing on our concrete and metal doors.

We have almost 2 acres of concrete drive ways that we need some serious repair work on just can't get anyone to come out and give us an estimate. Been trying to get it done for 2 years. We have the money for the job set aside if and when we can find someone qualified to do it.

3 options - in order of price and likely long term effectiveness
first, textured & tinted 2 part epoxy floor covering to smooth out the surface and seal it from the elements.
second, etch the existing surface with muriatic acid, rinse & neutralize, then coat it with latex bonder (available at Lowes) and add a cap of fresh concrete.
third - hire someone to tear it out and pour a new slab of 4000 psi concrete.

It sounds like the concrete was originally poured on either a hot, sunny day with too much water added so it would flow better - or a day with high temps below 40 & lows below 30 - and was not allowed to cure properly. (should have been covered with visqueen or hay and soaked down morning and evening for 3-5 days if hot, should have been insulated if trying to cure it below 45 degrees according to a buddy of mine who's a chemical engineer with LOTS of experience designing concrete mixes)

best of luck!

Erik said:

3 options - in order of price and likely long term effectiveness
first, textured & tinted 2 part epoxy floor covering to smooth out the surface and seal it from the elements.
second, etch the existing surface with muriatic acid, rinse & neutralize, then coat it with latex bonder (available at Lowes) and add a cap of fresh concrete.
third - hire someone to tear it out and pour a new slab of 4000 psi concrete.

It sounds like the concrete was originally poured on either a hot, sunny day with too much water added so it would flow better - or a day with high temps below 40 & lows below 30 - and was not allowed to cure properly. (should have been covered with visqueen or hay and soaked down morning and evening for 3-5 days if hot, should have been insulated if trying to cure it below 45 degrees according to a buddy of mine who's a chemical engineer with LOTS of experience designing concrete mixes)

best of luck!

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Damn Erik, great input!!!

BobThere are epoxy repairs out there that will work good the repair is finnised rustoliun has a 2 stage epoxy system you can put down it's a primer sealer and a top coat you actualy trawl it on and is normaly used in shops and hangers the cool thing is it dry's glossy yet if you try to go skidding accrosss the top in wet shoes your feet will stick and you will plant your face in the ground.

There are ways to top, and even stamp a new finish on your concrete.

As mentioned though, it sounds like a bad pour originally. The patch will probably have issues; it is only as good as what you put it on.

This is what I,ve allways used http://www.quikrete.com/AtHome/ConcreteResurfacer.asp

If you have no elevation difficulties I'd opt for a new cap. I wouldn't use a latex bonder though- have seen people have problems. Water is still the best as far as I know.

I may be a little late on this, but heres a product I used with pretty good results.

Heres a picture of my Grandson being a badass-the surface he's standing on around our pool is a product called "Kolorstone", which is basically white portland with a binder added, and you spray it on over the existing concrete with a hopper gun. You can add color to it, lay out any pattern you like, and at one time they even offered templates with designs on them (I just layed out the pattern you see there with 3/8" strapping tape and regular masking paper).

It drys quick on a hot day - a good thing if your working with more than one color-and all thats required for upkeep is a couple of coats of a sealer every year.( I've also used it successfully indoors as well) I had some cracks in the sidewalk beforehand, and I just filled them with a self-leveling caulk, and while it was fine for awhile, after 8 years, I'm getting some cracking in those spots. Keep in mind though, that where its located it gets a lot of water on it, and it gets no shade so its been exposed to the full wrath of the elements. I think I had about 600$ plus my time in it when it was all said and done.

You can find out more about it here;

http://www.readymixedbuildingmaterials.com/component/virtuemart/?page=shop.browse

I'm having a problem in one out of 456 storage spaces at the moment. It isn't leaking from the top but a heavy rain and water appears in the center of the 10x20 ft space in the middle up to 1/4" deep. Now there are no visible cracks in the floor and drainage is excellent over all on the property. This problem is in only one space and we know for fact it is coming up through the concrete and not through the roof (new roof also). This is an over $100 a month space I'm need as it is highly requested. I will have an expert in over the next week to give me a clue as to what is going on with it and report back.

Holy smokes Joe-1/4" coming out of the concrete? Seems like a lot! I put an epoxy coating on the floor of our 3 season porch, and there is one area where its starting to peel due to moisture coming up out of the slab, but not nearly that much and only on these extremely humid days.

I imagine there is a sealer of some kind out there designed for this type of problem, but with that much coming out of the floor, I'm guessing theres something else going on.

We had a new roof put on this building thinking it was coming in from there. It was only one space though and neither space on either the right or left side of it have a problem nor even the one behind it. We have marked the space as unrentable at the moment until I can see where it is coming from. It only happens with very heavy rains though not light stuff or normal down fall. Other than that we have no other problems like this.

Joe, possibly you have a water rise under that location. A plug or some sort of sealant might work.

I hope so Lobo as that is what our concrete guy also said it might be. We are now simply waiting to see when it does it again. I've had to move 3 different tenants from that space over the past 2 years do to it costing me a months free rent. Luckily I've had another 10 x 20 ft space available at the time is was reported to me. The first time we replaced the roof, second time we though it was due to melting ice outside running under the door but this time was just last week after some really heavy rains and no signs of roof or running under the door. All water was in the center of the space only which is also weird as that rarely happens. Luckily the last ones used pallets to set their stuff up off the floor so no damage other than moving them 3 doors down.