Exposed Aggregate Patio Problems

We have a beautiful exposed aggregate patio, actually it was part of the reason we bought our home. Well we were told it was a river rock patio, but were not told how to care for it and apparently the previous owners didn't keep up with sealing it. I tried water proofing it a couple of years ago but all of the rocks are coming off of it. I can sweep up piles of pebbles daily, it is pitted in many places, unpleasant to walk on barefoot, and if I step on one more pebble in the house I think I am going to scream.

I had a concrete person come take a look and was told that it's not a true aggregate but an epoxy with stones in it and they can't seal or skim coat it with an acrylic veneer because it won't stick.

Here is the estimate:

I. Preparation
a. Removal of existing epoxy/aggregate material from step, patio and 12” foundation wall
b. Mechanically chisel
c. Mechanically grind
d. Acid etch for all remaining materials

II. Acrylic Veneer 580 Square feet
a. Your choice of trowel-on stone, brick, tile etc. or Textured spray down
b. Skim coat, Main color, highlights
c. Two applications of sealer

III. Hardware
a. Up to 8 linear feet of iron rail
b. Powder coated
c. Installed on rounded step
d. (8) Anchor positions installed in rounded area on the side of the existing patio


Job Cost with tax: $7,761.22

I don't have that kind of $$ and if I did I would have a deck put in right over it.

Is there some kind of sealer i can put on it that would fill in the pitting and give me a surface that is pleasant to walk on without being slippery?
It needs to be weather resistant as we do get cold weather, snow and ice here.

I appreciate any advice and ideas on what I can do myself.

Lori

sounds as if the present coating's in the ' chattahoochee ' style of overlay which is graded river aggregate embedded in mortar coating,,, its currently being reinvented under other names & includes water-bas'd epoxies,,, unsatisfactory stuff imo.

your contractor's right - in order to fix it properly, its all gotta come off,,, we'd suggest the same method,,, for that amt of work, we'd bill $4,840 + railing cost & it'd take about 4 days here in atl, ga,,, not a fan of acrylic bas'd mtls but, in the hands of an experienced artisan, they'll be satisfactory.

sorry - there's no silver bullet for this work,,, wood deck sounding better, lori ? ? ?