Concrete Topping/Resurfacing

AJQS

AJQS

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Alan
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The concrete outside my house is awful, crumbling away and now looking quite manky. I plan on building a lean-to shed over the area but before I do I'd like to get it all level (as it puddles badly and I don;t want the shed sat in a lake!) and looking good again.

Can anyone recommend a suitable product for this that I can buy online or find in an actual shop? I can find plenty of indoor solutions for going under tiles etc but nothing so far for outside that will do the job. It's about 8m² in area and between 1 and 10mm filling needed.
 
never used it but Epoxy Set 105 claims to be the product you need, although when I had quotes for a builder to do a large patch at work it would have been cheaper to dig out and relay (drying time of the epoxy set is days faster mind).
 
Are you really going to solve the problem by putting what is generally an expensive product on crumbling concrete? Might be worth biting the bullet and replacing the concrete.
 
I’m not a builder but something on the lines of postcrete which is quick drying might do it
 
Best to break it up and dig it out, the resultant hard core could be used in the foundation layer.
if water is pooling it suggest the levels are not right and you probably need better drainage, so it might be best to look to improving it with more drainage pipe work back to the nearest man hole.
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
I do I'd like to get it all level (as it puddles badly and I don;t want the shed sat in a lake!)
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Level will cause puddling rather than cure it. A fall of around 1 in 80 (or steeper) should help it drain.

Like others above, I'd use the existing concrete as hardcore for a new "coat".
 
chris954 said:
it'll break up in a matter of days.
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Postcrete also starts to go off in about 10 minutes so there’s zero chance of getting it flat in the first place.

To the OP , I think you’ve only got a couple of options.

Use the existing concrete as a base and put paving slabs over the top. I don’t know if the raise in levels or how close it then comes to the damp proof course would allow it though.

Skim with self levelling cement (although I don’t think this would last very long).

As others have said, break up what’s already there and pour new concrete. I think this is the best option although obviously it’s a lot of work.
 
The only answer is to dig it up and re-lay it. If you skim it with anything, moisture will eventually get under it and when it freezes it will lift - that's why most of our roads are full of potholes.
 
As has been said one option if you have space for the extra height it to slab over the top of it on a bed of mortar. Alternatively I have a metal shed on a concrete slab and I a used cement based self levelling compound on the floor of that, being inside the shed it is not totally exposed to the elements but definitely gets below freezing at times and sometimes wet and the self-levelling compound has survived very well.
 
As said above I'd break up the concrete and use as hardcore. You'll need to hire a wacker plate but they are cheap. I'd then probably use 600mm slabs as they will look nicer than a slab of concrete.
 
I'd like to avoid digging it up really, it's not that bad and will be invisible beneath the shed. It's just the surface that seems to have been eroded away. It has taken over 15 years to do so mind. Any preparation is on hold at the moment though whilst I figure out the best course of action to damp proof and insulate the shed...which end up involving some digging!
 
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