Product knowledge: resurfacing old concrete

Concrete is one of most durable, widely used man-made construction products on the planet. However, in time it will eventually deteriorate. This process may take a few years or a few decades depending upon a whole host of things. When the concrete does begin to show signs of age, you have two choices. You can rip it out and replace it. Or, you can go with the usually more economical alternative, which is to repair it.

A few keys in the resurfacing process:

• Ensure the Slab is Structurally Sound

To make the best decision on whether consumers should start over or repair the concrete, they need to ask a few questions. The first and most important is whether the slab is structurally sound. If you don’t have a good solid foundation you are wasting your time trying to make repairs. A slag with multiple cracks running deep in the concrete can only be fixed with a jackhammer. Ditto for a slab that has basically turned into a pile of stones and sand. Most other problems are correctable.

• Determine the Cause of Failure

The second question to ask is whether the original cause of the failure is still present. If you have a sidewalk that has separated at a control joint such that one part of the slab is fine but the other is a few inches higher or lower, you can easily repair this with a product like Sakrete Top'n Bond. However if the slab moved because a tree root forced it up and the tree is still there, chances are that a crack will develop right where you made the repair.

• Chose the Right Repair Product

Some concrete surface issues lend themselves well to repair products such as Sakrete Top'n Bond or Sakrete Flo-Coat. A slab that is structurally sound but has a powdery surface, is beginning to flake off, or has lots of hair line cracks can easily be fixed. Smaller surfaces are best repaired with Top'n Bond. Fairly flat surfaces can be fixed more readily with Flo-Coat.