Smoothing/Sanding concrete on patio.

[Bill.Molmer]

Last week, I had a contractor pour concrete in our backyard for a backyard patio. The contractor came in one day with his crew, got concrete mixing trucks, poured the concrete and left.

Now the patio looks good, but I see that he "broomed" it at the end, so the patio is not "smooth". I had not expected this and I guess I was hoping for a smooth finish (as in a garage floor). I assumed (I guess naively) that the contractor would make it a smooth finish. Why do I like a smooth finish? Well, I'm thinking since it is a patio, sometimes we may want to wander on it barefoot :-) In the future, I also want to stain it, and I'm thinking a smoother finish will look better when it is stained.

He is going to come back next week... I have to pay him yet.

Is there anything I can ask him to make it smoother? Is it possible at all? Is it very expensive? The concrete patio is about 16x30 sq.ft.

Thank you all.

Bill

[Mike Paulsen]

Sideswalks, driveways, and patios are normally broomed. Smooth cement can get really slippery when wet. It would most likely be a building code violation and a huge liability risk for the contractor to leave it smooth.

[Ivan Vegvary]

I've had very good results smoothing concrete with a rental floor sander. Yes, you will probably use up two to three belts, but it goes fast and is very doable.

Ivan Vegvary

[trader4]

If it's a code violation there must be one hell of a lot of places that are in violation. Like my stamped concrete patio, which is smooth. Concrete in applications like this can be finished so that it's not ultra smooth, without creating a broom look effect. I wouldn't want a broom roughed up surface on my patio either. This shows the importance of being around when work like this is done and of spelling out everything in a written contract. You can probably smooth it with a floor sander.

[Goedjn]

It's possible, and probably not too expensive, since it should involve only a few hours work with a concrete planer, but I don't think it's a good idea. It shouldn't be so rough that walking on it barefoot is uncomfortable. At least, not after it wears a bit, and too smooth a surface can be slippery.

[jerry_maple]

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, you may get it.

My first house here in AZ had a smooooooth finish on the patio. Combine that smooth finish with a little rain or water from the pool and some sandals with a fairly smooth sole, and you're going skating! Fell on my butt more than once.

Just something to consider, your mileage may vary.

Jerry

[hallerb]

yeah too smooth major slip hazard.........

you should ALWAYS BE ON SITE SUPERVISING ANY JOB LIKE THIS AT YOUR HOME!!

[hallerb]

if you sand it and there wasnt enough cream on the top you might cause early failure...

[Goedjn]

It rains in Arizona?

8-)

[Robert Allison]

That reminds me of something I heard a salesman tell a lady at the landscaping supply store. She bought some cacti and was asking about how often she should water them. He gave her a bunch of details about cactus and how it needs very little water, etc. which she was just not understanding. He finally told her this: "Order a subscription to the Phoenix Sun Times. Whenever it says it rained, water the cactus."

[Bill.Molmer]

Thank you all. I've come to the conclusion that the way it is now is probably for the best. It does look very nice as it is. I may do some sanding (very lightly) in the future if some areas are still rough after usage.

On a slightly tangential note - I'm hoping to stain this slab (in a tile fashion) in the future and looking forward to the tiled look. (I see some very amazing and inspiring concrete stain photos on the web!) The other option I have is to put in outdoor tile (Again, I'm new to all this, so I have to do some research); Having a less smooth slab seems to be better for tiling. I hope I get a good color/texture selection of outdoor tile; time for more research.

Regards,

Bill

[charlie]

it will be very hard to get crisp lines on non-smooth concrete. the tape won't fit down in the pores and you'll get bleeding. you might want to rethink the tile stained look and go with a more random-ness.

regards, charlie cave creek, az

[charlie]

there hasn't ever been a phoenix sun times newspaper.

regards, charlie cave creek, az

[jerry_maple]

When I first moved here in 1980, an Arizona native explained to me how they measure rainfall.

When you hear somebody say "We got 6 inches of rain", that means that the raindrops are falling 6 inches apart on the sidewalk.

Jerry

[Oren]

Get It?

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

[Robert Allison]

Really? Ok, if it bothers you, change it to Phoenix newspaper. I have no idea what the paper is called out there and neither did the salesman, apparently.

[charlie]

the weatherpeople usually measure down to the 2nd decimal place. it just sounds odd when they announce it rained .03".

cactus need SOME water to live. our average rainfall is around 6"/year. i have lots of dead cactus on my property to attest that we're deep into a multi-year drought.

regards, charlie cave creek, az

[Oren]

Just enough for dirt on my truck.

Las Vegas gets less rain then! A drought here is more than a decade, plus some..

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..