If you are going to install a concrete driveway you have to make sure that you put in expansion joints. These are necessary because concrete expands and contracts depending on the temperature. If your driveway was one big slab it would crack, the expansion joints prevent this from happening by giving the concrete room to expand. Installing expansion joints is fairly easy if you know what you are doing and have the right tools.
The first thing that you have to do in order to install expansion joints in your concrete driveway is to determine where they are needed.
As a general rule you are going to want to limit each section of concrete to being no bigger than a 4 foot by six foot slab. This however requires a lot of expansion joints and most people think that it destroys the look of the driveway. You can get around this problem by using steel grids to strengthen the concrete which means that you can have bigger sections. If you do this your best bet is to put one expansion joint down the center and then have them going horizontally every six to eight feet.
It is also important to realize that how closely you need to space your expansion joints will depend on the concrete that you are using.
High quality concrete is much stronger than low quality concrete and it does not need as many expansion joints. It is therefore a good idea to ask your concrete supplier how many expansion joints they recommend for their product.
When it comes time to actually install the expansion joints there are basically two options that you can use. The first is to put wooden slats in between each section of concrete. These slats will then need to be removed once the concrete is hard enough that it will not flow in and fill the slats.
In order to make sure that you can get the slats out you will need to spray them with a releasing agent that keeps the concrete from sticking to them. This approach makes it easier to ensure that your expansion joints are straight but it does take more time because of all the prep work that is involved. It also offers the disadvantage of requiring quite a bit of wood which adds to the expense of your driveway.
The other option that you have for putting in expansion joints is to simply use your trowel while you are smoothing the surface.
To do this as soon as you have poured the concrete and smoothed the surface you will want to take your trowel and make the joints. The big issue that you will have here is making sure that they are straight, it is usually best to run a piece of string from on side of the driveway to the other attached to wooden spikes along the edge of the driveway that you can follow to stay in a straight line. The other big thing is to make sure that you get your joints to the right depth, they should be a quarter of the thickness of the slab. So if you have a four inch slab you need your expansion joints to go down 1 inch.
Showing posts with label resurface concrete driveway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resurface concrete driveway. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Resurfacing a Concrete Driveway
Over time you are going to find that your concrete driveway develops cracks in it, this is largely the result of the weather and the wear and tear of driving on it. In the past once you got cracks in your driveway the only way to repair them was to rip it up and pour a new surface. This is not necessary any more as the cracks can be filled and the driveway resurfaced quite easily. It is a job that you should be able to do on your own which will help to the keep the cost down. 
The first thing that you are going to want to do in order to resurface your driveway is to make sure that you clean it. The driveway needs to be clean in order for the resurfacing to be effective. Using a pressure washer is the best way to make sure that you get it clean. If you have any oil stains on your driveway you will need to use a degreasing agent
to get them off. It is also important that you clean out the cracks that you plan to fill. Scrape them out as best you can and then pour a small amount of bleach into the crack. After about ten minutes take your pressure washer and spray the cracks out.
In order to fill the cracks you are going to want to use a concrete dressing. For small cracks you can use a putty knife to force the dressing down into the crack, for larger ones you will find that a caulking gun works better. In either case once the cracks have been filled use a putty knife to smooth out the dressing.
Once the cracks are filled you are going to have to cover the expansion joints. These are the lines that divide the concrete of your driveway into sections. They are there so that the concrete can expand and contract as the weather changes. You need to make sure that these expansion joints remain in place so you will want to cover them with duct tape.
The next step is to mix the concrete dressing; you will want to follow the instructions on the bag for that. You are going to need somebody to help you unless you are doing just a very small area. The concrete needs to be mixed in small batches and applied quickly. For a driveway you will need to have one person applying the concrete dressing while the other is mixing the next batch. You want to get the entire driveway covered before the dressing starts to dry.
In order to spread the concrete dressing you will want to pour it onto the slab and then spread it out. If you are doing just a small area the best way to do it is with a trowel, for large areas a long handled squeegee is the best bet. In either case make sure that you push down hard so that you can get the concrete dressing into all of the crevices, this will make sure that you have a nice smooth surface.
When you are resurfacing a driveway you don’t want the concrete to be smooth, your driveway should have texture to it. The way that you do this is to take a bristle push broom and pull it across the concrete dressing while it is still wet. This will make sure that you get a textured surface that will be slip resistant.
The last thing that you will need to do is to remove the duct tape that you had covering the expansion joints. You are going to want to stay off of the driveway for the next six hours while the dressing dries. After twenty four hours you will need to be put a sealant on your driveway to protect it.
Resurfacing a concrete driveway is not a particularly difficult to task but you do have to work quickly. You will need somebody to help you but it is a good project for a homeowner to do themselves. The cost to resurface a concrete driveway is now quite low and it can really improve the look of your house.
The first thing that you are going to want to do in order to resurface your driveway is to make sure that you clean it. The driveway needs to be clean in order for the resurfacing to be effective. Using a pressure washer is the best way to make sure that you get it clean. If you have any oil stains on your driveway you will need to use a degreasing agent
to get them off. It is also important that you clean out the cracks that you plan to fill. Scrape them out as best you can and then pour a small amount of bleach into the crack. After about ten minutes take your pressure washer and spray the cracks out.In order to fill the cracks you are going to want to use a concrete dressing. For small cracks you can use a putty knife to force the dressing down into the crack, for larger ones you will find that a caulking gun works better. In either case once the cracks have been filled use a putty knife to smooth out the dressing.
Once the cracks are filled you are going to have to cover the expansion joints. These are the lines that divide the concrete of your driveway into sections. They are there so that the concrete can expand and contract as the weather changes. You need to make sure that these expansion joints remain in place so you will want to cover them with duct tape.
The next step is to mix the concrete dressing; you will want to follow the instructions on the bag for that. You are going to need somebody to help you unless you are doing just a very small area. The concrete needs to be mixed in small batches and applied quickly. For a driveway you will need to have one person applying the concrete dressing while the other is mixing the next batch. You want to get the entire driveway covered before the dressing starts to dry.
In order to spread the concrete dressing you will want to pour it onto the slab and then spread it out. If you are doing just a small area the best way to do it is with a trowel, for large areas a long handled squeegee is the best bet. In either case make sure that you push down hard so that you can get the concrete dressing into all of the crevices, this will make sure that you have a nice smooth surface.
When you are resurfacing a driveway you don’t want the concrete to be smooth, your driveway should have texture to it. The way that you do this is to take a bristle push broom and pull it across the concrete dressing while it is still wet. This will make sure that you get a textured surface that will be slip resistant.
The last thing that you will need to do is to remove the duct tape that you had covering the expansion joints. You are going to want to stay off of the driveway for the next six hours while the dressing dries. After twenty four hours you will need to be put a sealant on your driveway to protect it.
Resurfacing a concrete driveway is not a particularly difficult to task but you do have to work quickly. You will need somebody to help you but it is a good project for a homeowner to do themselves. The cost to resurface a concrete driveway is now quite low and it can really improve the look of your house.
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