My dad recently finished resurfacing our crumbling concrete porch! There’s still work to do, but the worst of the project is finally behind us.
Before
Our porch was cracked and crumbling. Luckily the damage was concentrated in one area: along the edge and near the steps.
As I noted in my previous post about replacing the porch steps, my dad did all of the work, so I don’t have a super amount of detail about the process of working with concrete, but I will do my best to describe what you see here.
After temporarily removing the railing, my dad chipped all of the loose concrete off the surface and off the front face of the porch.
He removed the aged vinyl patch that ran the length of this crack. After cleaning it up, he sealed it with a self-leveling concrete caulk. This particular crack was responsible for a small leak in our basement every time it rained and I am pleased to say that I haven’t seen any water since it was repaired, despite some heavy storms.
Then it was time to fix the main surface. He shimmied out the steps a bit and built a simple form out of wood around the front, corner and side of the porch surface.
This corner shows how much of the surface was actually missing.
Then it was time to pour the concrete. I’m not sure exactly what type of concrete he used, but I know he mixed it with a special bonding product because concrete doesn’t stick to concrete without some sort of help.
He removed the form a couple of days later after the concrete was hard and dry.
The front surface had to be troweled on separately after the rest of the concrete because it was underneath the form. It’s not perfect, but I’m happy with the results. And it’s no longer a tripping hazard!
The new concrete and old concrete are different in color and texture, so I’m hoping some paint will help unify the repair and make it less noticeable.
I’m thinking of a color in the gray-green family. The middle shade (Valspar’s Mossy Aura) is my current choice, though I was considering the dark one for a while. I have to wait 60 days for the concrete to cure before I can paint. Here’s to hoping the temperature lets up sometime in late August or I’ll have to wait until fall.
Update: See the painted porch! >>
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Previous posts in the porch process
Replacing our crumbling concrete porch steps
Porch progress?
My crumbling concrete porch
