Outdoor, Renovations, Restoring
How to Rescue Your Worn-Out Patio
Is your outdoor patio starting to look old and worn out? No worries! There are a few do-it-yourself projects that you can do to renovate it and give it a completely fresh look within a reasonable budget.
As the weather warms up with summer on the horizon, you’re likely starting to plan out all of the outdoor activities that you will be partaking in soon. As you think about grilling outside, having company over and soaking up the sun, you may notice that your patio looks like that it has had better days. The thought of throwing a bunch of money down for a new patio can be unsettling for a lot of people. Instead, why not just do it yourself? This way you don’t have to be self-conscious about your patio when you have company over, and you get to save money on having a professional come and tell you that you need to redo the whole thing. Here are a couple techniques that can help give your patio a new look that wows all of your guests this summer:
1.) Cover up cracks with the right concrete repair products.
If your patio has accumulated cracks over the years, you can cover them up with concrete repair products. All you need to do is find a respected Re-Cap Concrete Resurfacer product at your local hardware store. This product will smooth out the cracks and make your patio look like it’s brand new! The best part? It will likely take you less than an hour to finish the whole patio. After as little as eight hours, the patio will be dry and ready for use.
You must make sure that you properly clean your patio before applying your re-cap concrete resurfacing product. It is recommended that you use a pressure washer to remove all of the loose concrete before filling in the cracks with the re-cap resurfacing product mixed with water. Once you have finished patching the repairs, rinse the patio with water and then remove the water. Next, use a trowel to spread the re-cap surfacer over the patio to make an even surface. Lastly, use a broom over the new surface to apply a broomed texture (this way people won’t slip from it being too smooth when it is dry).
2.) Overlay your patio with pavers.
Another method that you can do to revitalize your patio is overlaying it with pavers. Why deal with all the cracks when you can just cover them up and make it look as good as new? In order to do this, you can get “remodeling pavers” that are designed to go right over the top of your concrete patio. Before doing this, it is recommended that you use a joint sand product to fill in all of the cracks and create an even surface for the pavers. Simply lay the pavers on top of the joint sand and tap them into place with a rubber mallet. Make sure that you glue the outermost row with a construction adhesive (this prevents the pavers on the inside row from shifting). When you are finished, simply sprinkle more joint sand over the surface until it is evenly distributed in the spaces between the pavers.
That is all there is to it! We wish you the best of luck on making your patio fresh and presentable this summer.
Source: Bob Vila
