pea gravel finish on side walk

I have a small sidewalk I am working on. The other sidewalks have the pea gravel & concrete look formed by washing off the concrete before it sets. How do I know and when is the right time to wash off the top layer of concrete to expose the mixed-in pea gravel? I was told to wait an hour afterwards. Use a garden hose and broad broom to lightly remove the concretre. Any other suggestions? Some have suggested a concrete retardent, but I could not find any at Home Depot! Some have suggested a concrete supplier, but said that they carry it in a 5 gal bucket. Others said that it is not necessary for a small patch. Any other things I should know??

Reply to
Deodiaus
Loading thread data ...

Or two. . . or 20 minutes. It depends on how wet you mix was, how humid the day is- and what the temp is. Just be forewarned. If this is your first try you might want to do a test batch and make some portable stepping stones. [I have a form I built that makes 3

12x12x2 'pavers'. I dump the leftover concrete from a 'real job' in these squares- sometimes 1, 2, or all 3] They come in handy sometimes, and make me feel like I'm not wasting anything.

Don't over wet it- it is an art.

I agree you don't need retardant.

Did you prepare the base well? Are you allowing for expansion? Cracking?

How big is 'small'? Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

What a really neat concept. I really like that!

I never seem to wind up with the exact amount.

Colbyt

Reply to
Colbyt

The term you're looking for is "exposed aggregate concrete". Search on that, and you'll find loads of help.

Reply to
SteveBell

I did some exposed aggregate a while ago. One thing you will want to do is to use the aggregate you want exposed, not what comes from the concrete plant. Around here concrete is mixed with crushed shell and I wanted pea gravel. I broadcast the gravel I wanted while the concrete was still wet and floated it in. When the concrete had hardened to the point that you couldn't deform it with your finger, almost hard enough to walk on, I sprayed it with a nozzle with a soft spray and lightly brushed it to expose the aggregate with a soft floor broom (not the hard garage floor type broom) I let that rest until it was a little harder and cleaned it up with a grout sponge. On a fairly hot Florida day this whole process was over in 4 hours. If you are up north that may be more like 6. The aggregate will tend to clean up more as time goes by so don't go crazy cleaning it and screw up the substrate. About a month later you can use a pressure washer to really clean it up.

Reply to
gfretwell

Yep, some people go to power wash their driveway and sidewalk, and after a few times they blast the fines right out of the top layer of their cement. It would probably look better if the aggregate was intended to be visible.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.