Questions about sealing the concrete deck.....

[lorngraves]

We had our pool finished in Sept of 07. We swam in it until late Oct then closed it with a solid safety cover. We are planning to open it late March and seal the concrete. We have a 28x43x18 True L with radius corners. We added lots of extra concrete. There is 12 feet of concrete along the short L side, the 28 ft part, 4 feet of concrete down the back along the 43 ft part, and 10 along the 18 ft part with the diving board, but then we filled the whole "L" part in so it is a rectangular concrete pad with radius corners also. I don't even know how much we have on that side, I am guessing 20 feet or so.

We thought to use the sealer you get a Lowes. Is that acceptable? Will it be slick after we do it when it gets wet? With 6 kids it will be wet and I don't want any cracked heads!! What is the easiest way to get it down? We thought about using paint rollers. Will that work? Does it go a long ways or am I looking at getting gallons upon gallons of this stuff?

I will try at attach a picture so you can see what I am talking about. I am not sure I explained it very well.

 

[duraleigh]

If it's a "broom" finish, they typically aren't sealed. You could do so but it would take tons of sealer and the results are usually not very good......difficult to keep it from being "blotchy"

Consult your PB to see what finish it is if you don't recognize it as a "broom" finish (like a sidewalk).

 

[lorngraves]

It is a broom finish. So is it not necessary to seal it? I was under the impression that we did need to. Are those kinds not normally sealed? Thanks so much for the help. We moved to AL from Morrisville, NC 4 years ago. We still miss the Raleigh area but man, oh man was it expensive there!!

 

[duraleigh]

Yeah, Raleigh is pricey for the South. The economy has been good here for 50 years with very little letup. You wouldn't recognize Morrisville if you haven't seen it for four years.....shopping centers and office buildings everywhere.

Broom finished concrete is done that way for the "grip" you get when it's wet. It would take a ton of sealer to fill in those grooves and the results would be mixed. In addition to reducing the traction you get, most concrete I have seen sealed like that gets real blotchy looking......I can't explain why. You might talk to a concrete finisher.....I'm sure there are some things you can do to dress it up but, functionally, it's fine left unfinished..

 

[lorngraves]

I talked with the pool builder and he said it was such a "light brush finish" that it should be fine to seal. he did advise if we sealed it we would have to redo it about every 3 years. He referred me to the local concrete place that has all the tints, additives like sand for traction and such. I forgot to call them today. I am just worried about our pad ruining if not sealed. How ling will the concrete typically last without being sealed? Will it get "old" looking and cracks and such? It is in full sun almost all day long. No shade trees around. We just had so much extra concrete poured I want to do what is best for it in the long run.

We went back to Raleigh in October of 06 for a friends wedding and it was so different. Hubby used to work along Davis Drive in RTP and we went from Morrisville to there and it was unreal. They had already 4 laned it through Cary, and that was only 2 years since we had left! We do miss the area but we have so much more house and land than we could ever afford there. Not to mention you have to go a good ways out to get any land and then fight all that traffic. We just laugh now when they talk about "traffic" around here. Obviously there have not had to regularly sit in a 6 lane parking lot. LOL!!