I want to cover our old, cracked, uneven concrete patio with something else - can I add more concrete?

Question

We have a long area of old concrete, probably 30 x15 ft. It is uneven, cracked and UGLY. I want to cover it with something - would it work to lay down a thin layer of new concrete, perhaps with stones embedded in it? Is there a way to create an area that looks like sand, but is actually sand embedded in concrete? What are the options here, short of removing the old concrete (which my husband refuses to do)? All answers and ideas welcomed!

Answer 1

Contact the concrete company they gave me information on how to make concrete stones and what material to use.
I resurfaced my front steps and added some of the latex additive to reinforce. worked good.
http://www.quickcrete.com/
Email address link below
http://www.quickcrete.com/contactus.html

Answer 2

Cover Concrete Patio

Answer 3

Your best best would be to rip out the concrete and install something new. Its very difficult to just add concrete onto something that already exists and not have problems in the future. If the current concrete is cracked and uneven then there is a reason for that. It means that the base soil was not able to hold the concrete load evenly. If you install concrete over it... it will do the same thing.

Try getting stamped concrete. You can get a large variety of designs that don't even look like regular concrete. Its reasonably priced and it looks fantastic! Whatever you decided to do... make sure that they put the proper base material down before they pour and tell your husband they will rip out the old material too!

Answer 4

Broken Concrete Patio

Answer 5

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RE:
I want to cover our old, cracked, uneven concrete patio with something else - can I add more concrete?
We have a long area of old concrete, probably 30 x15 ft. It is uneven, cracked and UGLY. I want to cover it with something - would it work to lay down a thin layer of new concrete, perhaps with stones embedded in it? Is there a way to create an area that looks like sand, but is actually sand...

Answer 6

well, the correct way is to remove the old concrete and start with a new form and tamp down the base you are going to pour on. The Idea of a sandy look you are wanting. You can pour the concrete and wait a week remove the forms and HIGH PRESSURE spray your patio with a 5% water muratic acid wash. This is called acid washing, then rinse well for a few minutes with clear water. If you would like rock to show as well, you need a retarder to spray on top and let sit overnight and high pressure wash in the morning.

Answer 7

It would be a mistake to do anything but remove the old concrete. If you tried to concrete over it or mortar stones to the surface it will most likely crack the same way. Sometimes an acid wash will make the cracks less visible depending how big they are. I agree that acid washing could also give you the look you want.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

I've seen enough home improvement shows to know that they would remove the old concrete first.

You can add stones and color to concrete. I think it is called mortar color and sold at home centers.

You might do well to add a layer of gravel 2-3" before you poured more concrete over it, but I haven't heard of a thin layer of concrete made to pour over existing concrete. Who knows, though?

Answer 10

to cover with a lawn you will need a minimum of 1 foot of good soil and that may not be enough to prevent the sun from drying out that area first thus having a dead area to look at
only other option it sounds like u have is a good somewhat level base for a wooden patio