Does concrete restoration last?

[ddel]

Has anyone had long-term experience with any concrete restoration system?

We have a 30 year old front "porch" on which the floor is one long pad of concrete, about 5' x 25', with no dividers. It's cracked in two places - no big surprise. It's also rather dirty and ugly.

A contractor who is working on many things, including replacing the porch pillars, says the only thing that will last is tearing it out and replacing, probably with stamped concrete. I hate to do that - not only the money, but also the tendency to send everything to the dump and start over. But we want something which will last the 10-20 years we hope to stay in the house (we're a lively 70ish).

Two questions:
1. Does any kind of concrete patch and surface restoration last? Contractor says it doesn't - but there's those wonderful ads about restoration products.

2. Would it be better to replace with well-laid concrete pavers or something?

Thanks - ddel

 

[gatorfan]

All concrete will crack, including a new slab if you had it poured. You can hide cracks in new slabs it with control cuts or stamping (sometimes). I've never had any experience with patches, so I can't speak to their durability.

How bad is the existing crack? Would something like Epoxy-Coat work in that location, decoratively? If it's foot traffic only, you could also tile or overlay paver facades to the existing slab.

Matt

 

[Bryanatkinson]

It depends.

The patch isn't the problem, if it's properly place it'll be there for a long time.

The real problem is the cause of crack. If your floor crack because impact from usage, the patch should OK until it gets another big impact.

However, if your floor crack because non-uniform subside, nothing (even build everything over again) will help.