I need some advice please. I have a 9 x 9 painted outdoor cement patio in ill repair. I’m not schooled in this type of thing, but it looks to me like the patio was not properly sealed when the painters originally painted it. The paint has bubbled up and fallen away in a couple of places.
So far, I have been told that one solution is to have it professionally pressure washed, then use a product that will take the paint down to the cement, then treat it with a bond of some sort, then paint it and seal it. Or I could rent a grinder and take it down to the bare cement that way, then do the bond, paint and seal thing.
That sounds like a lot of work and money.
So I’m throwing it out there to you guys. Is there anything else I could do? I don’t think a jackhammer is a good option, unfortunately.
So you want to keep the patio and not replace it, and you want to make it look good in a way that will last? Are you thinking you shouldn’t need to remove the old paint? I don’t think that’s going to work. I’m no expert, but I have explored doing things with outdoor concrete in the past, and every solution requires the concrete to be clean and dry (and cracks filled etc. as needed). It is a lot of time and work; the amount of money depends on how much of the work you are willing and able to do yourself.
One thing you might consider, possibly depending on your climate*, is tile. I believe you would still have to clean off the old paint, but tiling a 9x9 space would probably last longer than any new painted covering. You have to be careful to choose outdoor (and non-slip) tile, and preparation and mortar and grout choices are also affected by the site being outdoors. But on the whole, it should last basically forever.
*If you are in a climate that freezes in the winter, I doubt that tile would be advisable. But as I said, I’m not an expert. Where I live it doesn’t freeze, so it didn’t come up.
I have the same problem as you only much worse. My driveway is stamped concrete that was painted, not stained, and sealed 15 years ago. Fast forward to today and it looks terrible. The concrete is chipped and cracked in many places, and the paint has worn off in other places. I bought the house two years ago and have been looking for a way to fix it without tearing it up and starting over. I’ve gotten the same advice as you. Pressure wash it (which we tried and it didn’t really work) or sandblast it which would be costly and very messy (the neighbors would be pissed). The only cheap and easy solution is to power wash it as best we can, repaint it, and reseal it. Will it look great? Not a chance. Will it look better? I hope so. That’s my Spring 2022 project.
Yes dolphinboy, it sounds like we have a similar problem, but at least I’m only dealing with a 9 x 9 slab.
I have looked at the rubber pavers and even tile, but it does look like I would have a drainage issue. The area has open sides and so it gets pretty wet on windy rainy days so I don’t think the carpet will work well. A deck might be really cool, but that’s probably too costly.
I may have to look for a handy man and just get him to do all the work. Ugh, I was hoping my sister and I could do it, but it sounds too difficult for us.
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Bwuh? Jackhammers are AWESOME. The downside is you still have a gob of rubble to do something with. What about a sand blaster? That’s like pressure washing except with, you know, sand. I think you may even be able to sweep up and reuse the sand.
You could put a deck over the whole megillah (more like putting down a large pallet); doesn’t have to be that far off the ground, either. Expense? Ya got me.
I had the same problem in a previous house. Bigger area, but same deal. Paint eventually dies no matter what. I stripped the paint. It was awful. Paint stripper and high pressure water cleaner.
But I tiled it. The surface doesn’t need to be pristine for tiling. I actually acid etched it and did a final pressure clean to yield an pretty good surface for tile cement. I did terracotta tiles in a diagonal layout and it looked very spiffing. But it was a lot of work. I hired a tile saw which wasn’t all that expensive.
Overall I was very happy with the result. But it really depends how much your time is worth, or how much you are willing to pay someone else.
You do need to take a lot of care in doing the tiling. Ensure that the tiles are properly bedded and the grouting is good. Tiles provide a fully waterproof layer.
Putting a wooden deck over it would be an afternoon job. Buy 2x2 pressure treated sleepers or rip 2x4 PT in half. Lay them on 16" centers oriented so water can drain. Screw decking of your choice (I recommend Fiberon) to them. Literally a 5 hour job.
I do really like the deck idea. I’m not sure if I can bribe my son in law for help or not, but I can try.
The epoxy looks cool, but it looks like it needs the same prep work as paint. I think I neglected to look into how the rubber pavers get attached. I’ll go research that a bit more.
That sounds fairly inexpensive and not_what_you_d_expect could snazz it up (railings, benches, etc) at his leisure and as his pocketbook dictates. Plus, he could build the deck larger than the 9X9 patio.
Unfortunately, I’m a fairly petite 65 year old female with back problems and no construction experience, so I can’t do the work, which makes the price go up quite a bit, I imagine. But I do favor the idea over any others.
