Hi folks! There's a lot of great concrete info out here and I can't wait to read it. Did a search and didn't see anything on this topic. Background: We're first-time home owners and took on a flipped property that was built in 1976. Not everything was upgraded when flipped, Not everything that was upgraded was one well. Old and new concrete are not sealed, so that's what we're working on now (before winter...425 sq feet of it to be exact...larger than some apartments I've lived in). Some of the new concrete already needs repair (pits and remesh showing through). The fresh, pretty concrete we're just cleaning and sealing. Easy peasy. The fresh ugly concrete we're cleaning and painting. Easy, less peasy. I think I have the patching under control more or less.
My question is about some of the old concrete...It's the top of a retaining wall that's at grade in our backyard, so we look at it all day. I cleaned it with 30 sec cleaner and that worked well. But now I regret washing off the nice patina it had. It's too bright/clean if that makes sense. Rest of the stone wall still has 40 years of aging on it, but the top is shiny. Also, the repair patches stand out more b/c they're darker. I'll send a pic if I can.
So, how do we weather/distress/age the concrete in a way that won't break it down too much? Current plan (my wife's the smart one) is just to let it sit over winter or longer and see what happens. Are we looking at 1, 2, 5, 10 years for natural aging? Thought there might be some other ways to speed it up, but I worry about acid or anything that would break down the concrete more. It's not in bad shape, but it's old and doesn't seem very dense (lots of texture and big stones in the mix). The wall itself has some big voids and cracks (between stones) that I need to repair before winter anyway. So I suppose we just do that this year and wait to seal the top.
Thanks in advance folks! I look forward to your insights and expertise.
My question is about some of the old concrete...It's the top of a retaining wall that's at grade in our backyard, so we look at it all day. I cleaned it with 30 sec cleaner and that worked well. But now I regret washing off the nice patina it had. It's too bright/clean if that makes sense. Rest of the stone wall still has 40 years of aging on it, but the top is shiny. Also, the repair patches stand out more b/c they're darker. I'll send a pic if I can.
So, how do we weather/distress/age the concrete in a way that won't break it down too much? Current plan (my wife's the smart one) is just to let it sit over winter or longer and see what happens. Are we looking at 1, 2, 5, 10 years for natural aging? Thought there might be some other ways to speed it up, but I worry about acid or anything that would break down the concrete more. It's not in bad shape, but it's old and doesn't seem very dense (lots of texture and big stones in the mix). The wall itself has some big voids and cracks (between stones) that I need to repair before winter anyway. So I suppose we just do that this year and wait to seal the top.
Thanks in advance folks! I look forward to your insights and expertise.
