Rained on concrete

[aw1320]

I am very happy to write my first post on TFP, but wish it was under better circumstances.
After a lot of saving and shoping, they broke ground on our pool/spa/driveway extension in January. It is 32x16 with a 8x8 spa in the pool and a 6x7 sunshelf. There have been many hiccups along the way. The latest issue we had was the decking sub did not cover the fresh concrete poured for a driveway extension before a very hard rain. It looks horrible. My options are they can grind it, they can overlay it with a brushed concrete look, or they will add about 350 sq ft of kool deck to my existing brushed concrete patio (seperate area, but worth about $2/sq ft per the contract) and $500 in addition to the extra topping. We are leaning towards the last option, as we felt we can probably learn to live with a rough driveway and even forget about it after enjoying a much needed $500 and extra cool deck over our old concrete. We paid roughly 2,200 for the driveway. extension so the value of the kool deck and 500 = half the cost of the driveway addition. My wife and I needed to decide by yesterday and am looking for prompt opinions. Thank you in advance, you guys rock!

 

[aw1320]

Please excuse the picture or my daughter. I didn't mean to post it and can't figure out how to remove it. I really appreciate your opinions!

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to the forum! I took care of the pic, and hope your project turns-out the way you hope. Thanks for using the forum.

 

[Jimrahbe]

1320,

I don't see a major issue with the concrete. I would go with option 3..

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[jtburf]

If it is your driveway, how will the cool deck hold up to tire traffic? I highly doubt an overlay will do anything except crack and pop up.

Personally I would not get worked up over the finish, you will soon forget about it when floating in the pool...

John

 

[Jimrahbe]

1320,

Just to be clear... Option 3 is for you to get extra cool-deck coating over some existing decking or concrete.. It is not for them to apply cool-deck to your driveway.. Correct??

I would never recommend cool-deck coating a driveway..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[aw1320]

Here is a better pic. It is very rough, and does bother the heck out of me. Definitely not brushed. I appreciate the input guys!

 

[aw1320]

1320,

Just to be clear... Option 3 is for you to get extra cool-deck coating over some existing decking or concrete.. It is not for them to apply cool-deck to your driveway.. Correct??

I would never recommend cool-deck coating a driveway..

Thanks,

Jim R.

Correct.

Option 3: they take the 350ish sq ft of concrete that was already in place and not on the driveway and put spray deck on it + take $500 off my bill

Option 2: they put brushed concrete overlay on the new concrete they poured on the driveway

Option 1: they grind it and if it comes out looking bad, they will chip out and redo; however I see this option being a fight and bigger headache than it is worth.

 

[wakerider017]

I'd say leave it or option 1. Don't like the idea of cool-deck or a skim-coat/parge on a driveway...

 

[jtpipkin]

I like the finish... but it's your driveway. I'd have them do whatever else it is that would make you happy and leave the driveway alone

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Well, I personally don't think it looks bad....for a driveway. I sort of expect driveways to be kinda...rough? As in "not all that pretty" <shrug>.

"I'll go for option 3 for $500, Alex"

Maddie

 

[bmoreswim]

I'm torn. I don't care much about the look, it seems to look fine. But if you can't walk on it in bare feet, that would be a problem for me. Some concrete is like little pins sticking up into your feet. If that's the case, I'd have to seriously consider the grinding. I tend to worry less about the pain in the butt aspect versus the end product. So long as there are not other things affected by such a decision. I don't think, even if they have to redo the driveway should the grinding go south, that it affects anything long term.

You can always do the top coat of the other patio surface yourself, albeit on your dime. But if it is reasonably walkable in bare feet, then I'd get the coating and $$.

 

[aw1320]

It

I'm torn. I don't care much about the look, it seems to look fine. But if you can't walk on it in bare feet, that would be a problem for me. Some concrete is like little pins sticking up into your feet. If that's the case, I'd have to seriously consider the grinding. I tend to worry less about the pain in the butt aspect versus the end product. So long as there are not other things affected by such a decision. I don't think, even if they have to redo the driveway should the grinding go south, that it affects anything long term.

You can always do the top coat of the other patio surface yourself, albeit on your dime. But if it is reasonably walkable in bare feet, then I'd get the coating and $$.

It was washed by the rain and the aggregate exposed absolutely hurts the feet. It isn't that I am bare foot up the driveway often, but when paying over 6 a sq ft for it I expect the job to be done right. Sadly, 15 minutes of laying down plastic would have avoided the splatter on my stucco. Another 15 minutes to cover it on a cloudy/rainy day. These concrete subcontractors were just lazy.

 

[Fuldo]

I'd be more concerned about potential maintenance headaches than most other factors. I don't know how your area is but our driveways and walks in Florida need cleaning at least once a year to keep them looking decent. That can be a chore and rough surfaces get dirtier much faster and are more difficult and time consuming to clean. Maybe this isn't a consideration at your location.

 

[jimmythegreek]

you can have them grind it slightly to make it smoother they just have to go easy you dont want to overlay it with anything it will just crack up down the road and sooner than later.
if you can live with it I would add to your patio if thats the bigger benefit. I could live with that driveway no problem