# Patio, Driveway and Sidewalk stained



## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

*that is why anitque look patio is such a good choice...*

not trying to offer you a solution... but I think the color choice of a patio has a big important impact on this one...

if "antique" look is chosen, stain may not be as visible and even visible can be consider part of the "antique look"....


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## CocDiezel (Sep 4, 2008)

Here is a picture of what Im looking at... yes this is how the builder left it (my house is new)...

Does this help?


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

*may be...*

if you really want to tackle this, a nice thin layer of good motar mud on top of the whole thing will solve it... I saw my neighbour hire someone who mud a thin layer of don't know what type of moter on their front yard patio... and after that... it looks nice....

I am sure there are someone here know what type of motar is such... they are for cosemetic purposes.... but then you may need to pay for some professional to do it... it shouldn't be costly, because that 2 guys done the whole patio for my neighbour in less than an hour I said with very minium of materials...


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## CocDiezel (Sep 4, 2008)

Whats your opinion of the quality done here by the builder? Dont be afriad to be honest.. wont hurt my feelings... Bear in mind this is a 500k home just built.


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

Putting a layer of concrete over the existing concrete is not a viable repair for discoloration, and will more than likely have issues with durability and freeze-thaw cycles. :no:

You might do a search for concrete cleaning. A solution of water and muriatic acid (ratio???) will essentially etch the concrete, and might allow you to scrub the stains out of or off the concrete. This is a common preparation method prior to applying a stained finish. You must wash off the acid to neutralize it.


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## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

That looks terrible. Was the concrete like this at the final walk through? I'd go through the entire house, call the builder and set up a meeting. Before the meeting I'd send a letter to the builder with pictures showing all of your problem areas. I'd point out all of the problems, but do not nit pick. Get the major ones corrected (like the concrete) and let the smaller ones slide. 

As for the concrete, you may get most of the color back to a uniform color by an acid etch and a power wash cleaning. Do not let him paint the concrete, this will give you maintence issues down the road.

Document everything and good luck.

added: Like KC said first, he types faster


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

but honest, my neighbour front porch (concrete)... got mud over with some sort of motor whereas mine I just painted it with HD concrete paint, after 3 years, his porch is still beatiful and sound.... mine those paint got all tear off bit and pieces here or there.... I need to rent a Power Washer to remove them in the future and thinking put in those called epoxy in the future..... may be Concretemasory can come out and explain what the hed my neigbour has done on his porch... it makes the original porch concrete which is very rough smooth and nice....


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## CocDiezel (Sep 4, 2008)

47_47 said:


> That looks terrible. Was the concrete like this at the final walk through? I'd go through the entire house, call the builder and set up a meeting. Before the meeting I'd send a letter to the builder with pictures showing all of your problem areas. I'd point out all of the problems, but do not nit pick. Get the major ones corrected (like the concrete) and let the smaller ones slide.
> 
> As for the concrete, you may get most of the color back to a uniform color by an acid etch and a power wash cleaning. Do not let him paint the concrete, this will give you maintence issues down the road.
> 
> ...


 
WOW, Its so funny you said all that. Believe me I have tried. I addressed it at walkthrough along with lots of other issues... (warped ceilings, leaking sap, etc, etc...). They said they would fix it. Our back patio looked the same and after many many threats they fixed it... at least in their eyes they consider it fixed... look at the picture... PAINTED IT!

They will not work with me on anything. I have had to file a Contractors Board Complaint and am looking to get my attorney involved. This has really taken the fun out of our dream house.


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## downunder (Jun 13, 2008)

Don't intend to minimize the good points mentioned already but:
Muriatic acid is for etching. Etching is not cleaning.

Rent a good power washer, or better yet, check into having a cleaning contractor do the cleaning. Then look into a concrete stain. Do not paint. As has already been mentioned, you will have to re-paint every couple of years. You might try a post in the painting forum for more information between the two.

PS The contractor that built my house was actually banned from the county because of so many complaints and not paying taxes. I figured if I tried to sue him to finish the job properly, I'd have to get in line behind the local county government.


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## yesitsconcrete (May 11, 2008)

you may not like the looks but its new,,, just wait a bit til the conc's dirty & aged,,, those spots'll be more difficult to notice.

far's a coating of 'mud' over it, correct mtl's generically call'd polymer-modified cement OR, in other words, CONCRETE,,, our mtl of choice has white cement, several sizes/shapes of silica aggregate, polymers, & water we add as required,,, we can also add uv-resistant color,,, thickness is nominally 1/16" w/compressive strength of 4,500psi,,, we charge $3.50sf incl prep here in atl.

if you etch w/muriatic, there'll still be color variations,,, you could acid-stain it ( i wouldn't ) but there's no paint worth a **** for conc.


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