Concrete Repair and Maintenance Ideas and Strategies

Concrete is one of the most useful materials in construction. It can be used for so many different purposes. Whether you are laying a new patio or simply doing some repair work at home, there are plenty of factors you have to keep to the forefront of your mind. The last thing you want to do is have a finish that looks poor and rushed. It is not as simple as just pouring the concrete and waiting for it to set. You need to act quickly and effectively to ensure that the finish is smooth and attractive. Here are some tips to doing just that.

Pouring the concrete

Once you have mixed the concrete and everything is cleared out of the way, you are ready to pour it. Pour it in a smooth and steady manner throughout the area of focus. You should be careful not to get any concrete on areas that are not supposed to be touched. This will decrease the amount of clean-up work you will have to do after. You only need to compress the concrete if it says so on the bag of concrete or else the slab may be weakened. Most of the modern mixes do not need to be compressed before finishing. If you do need to compress it, simply press the concrete down by using any suitable tool at your disposal.

Smoothing the concrete

You should now get a few straight pieces of wood and lay them across the width of the poured concrete. This is known as a screed board and the pieces should extend about a foot past the edge on either side. You will now use this piece to smooth out and remove excess concrete. Use a motion similar to sawing a piece of wood, moving up and down the area. This prevents you from piercing the actual concrete. Tilt the edge that is closest to you away from the direction you are going and keep a short line of concrete close by in case there are any holes to fill. When you reach the end, push any concrete that is excess onto a temporary surface which you can later clean.

Finishing

Use a bull float to apply the final finish. A bull float is a simple tool that is flat, long handled and is used to completely smooth out the concrete, giving it the appearance of cream. Move the float in a perpendicular fashion to the way you initially smoothed the concrete. You can then use a small tool in order to finish the sides and cut grooves into the concrete if required.

For more information, contact a company like Liquid Rock Constructions Pty Ltd.