Recommendations needed for my concrete walkway repair

[D J]

Folks,

I have about 40 years old house and I believe my walkway is not that old, but significantly old.

It has deteriorated so such an extent that the gravels can be felt while walking bare foot on it. No cracks though.

I want to get this repaired and I want to do it myself.

Any suggestions?

- Replace it? It is about 40 feet by 3 feet curved walkway.

- Re surface it? How?

Any suggestions, please? I am sure there are folks, who had gone through this before.

Thanks..

[Steve]

D J wrote on 30 Sep 2007 in group alt.home.repair:

You can certainly replace it, but that's the hardest solution, and probably the most expensive.

If'n it were me, I'd look into the epoxy/gravel surfaces. They're pretty, last a long time, and you don't have to do the work. You wind up with a finish that looks like exposed aggregate concrete with a gloss sealer. I suppose you can do it yourself if you want, but it's messy. The pros mix epoxy glue with pea gravel in a mixer, then trowel it on. My wife used to manage an apartment complex, and she had repaired some concrete stairs that were starting to rust out. That was 25 years ago, and they're still there, as far as I know.

There are many types of surfaces you can put on, so go wild looking on the Web. Come back here for free advice on what is good. (Disclaimer: Free advice is worth what you pay for it.)

[DanG]

Where are you? Is the walk subject to freeze/thaw? Is the top surface eaten off?, perhaps from salt? There are epoxy and other topping cements. They are expensive and depend on the existing concrete being sound. They work better where they do not have to survive freeze/thaw.

The best answer is to remove and replace. 120 SF of new concrete

4" thick is about 1 1/2 CY. Can you get a concrete truck to it or is it a wheelbarrow job? Realize that a yard of concrete is over 2 tons. When it is wet, it is even more. The finishing labor is extensive if you have no experience.

[** Frank **]

How do you feel the gravel under the concrete especially if there are no cracks?

Anyway I'm replacing one (sidewalk) in the next few weeks. I'm in the Bay Area so we don't have the ice heaving problem.

This is what I do on my sidewalk. Jack hammer and saw cut and resue old concrete for another project - dump fees are ridicules here. Level base to

4" below grade, reuse existing gravel and add as needed. Compact with plate compactor - they say 98% compaction but I just run the compactor over a few more times to make sure. Lay two #3 rebar sections 2' apart in the long run and 2' on center on the short run and stand the grid off 2" about the base and 2" away from the either side of the pour. Wire tie all rebar crossovers. I buy a bundle of wire ties and use that little tool with a hook to twist the wires together. For this time I buy pre mixed bags using two electric concrete mixers. I also use a concrete vibrator and a 2x4 to screed off the concrete. Start early in the morning and hopefully finish early enough to see Property Ladder. I had one pour in a cold day where I was still doing the finishing by 2 am.

I do premix (the most expensive way to do it) since I'm doing it myself without help. Another way to go is to have the mix delivered and you buy the cement and mix it yourself. Best and fastest way and perhaps cheapest, if you have help, is bring in a concrete truck. Regardless what you do everything is pretty straight forward with the exception of finishing. Each pour is different, temperature will dictate how fast you must work as once its set, there is no easy way or redoing it. Good luck.