JJMiller wrote:
I assume the product you have is similar to top-n-bond?

I'll look up that name.

The Quikrete product is what Home Depot sells. It's about $22 per 40 pound box and I estimate I need just under 4 boxes to cover my driveway 1/8"

It's self-leveling when it's wet, but it's only wet for about 4 minutes before it starts to set.

Broom-stroking is recommended at 5 minutes.

Edge trowel is allegedly workable before 20 minutes. After that, forget it. It's too hard.

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The RapidSet CementAll was damn fast too, but I was working small areas so I could easily mix smaller portions and keep up with it.

As I learned to apply, I got the best results by pouring soupy mixture into the cracks, followed with confident broad metal trowel strokes from the shoulder. The material changes minute-by-minute so you have to be ready with your bucket of water and sponge trowel to feather at exactly the right moment.

As I figured it out, that part was kind of fun.

JJMiller wrote:
There are driveway paints and concrete stains, but you'd probably want something textured if you want a uniform look at this point.

I should add that this is a rental property and my university student tenants will quickly trash anything I do anyway. I'm looking for a basic C+ cosmetic cleanup.

My main purpose for starting was to grind the cracks level to remove the liability of tripping hazards, then to fill the cracks to keep water from expanding and contracting the clay soil underneath. That part is done.

The Point: I have latitude to play and learn. Anything will be better than it was.

I like learning to do these things myself. Amongst the posters here is a wealth of information and talent.

If I was going to spend any serious amount of money, then I would probably just have the entire driveway jack-hammered out and replaced. Then my tenants can park their leaky cars on a beautiful new slab.

JJMiller wrote:
I added a video link ^

Yes, I have watched that video carefully. That is a promotional sales video by Quikrete to sell that product.

They make it look so easy.

I called the technical assistance number today and got a kid with scripted answers reading off their PDF data sheet. I doubt he's ever worked with concrete or cement products himself, LOL.

I'll try calling again tomorrow morning to see if I can get an old contractor who knows his product.

Lohkee wrote:
http://www.todayshomeowner.com/video/ho … te/#tabs-1

Yes, I like this one better because it's an independent source. Maybe. 

"Getting a nice even coat without lap mark can take a bit of practice."

Hence, the launching of this thread.

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If I can figure it out and practice on my rental property, then I might clean up my own patio's and walkways at home.

For my own home, I would like anything I do to shine of experience and craftsmanship

Smaller areas will be much easier to work, especially walkways. My small patio has expansion joints at easy intervals.

Leo Howard wrote:
I have painted over concrete driveways in the past using thinned down cement & fine sand mix, it actually does a couple of things, 1) it evens out the color and 2) it adds a gripping surface so it becomes a little non slip type surface, the more sand in the mix, the more rough the texture, you may have to play with the mixture to get it just right.

In contrast to all the new polymer based concrete products now, this is the kind of Old School first hand advice I was looking for.

Portland cement is an excellent bonding agent. Brick layers often use portland/water "paint" on both surfaces before they slap their mortar in place.

Portland cement is relatively water resistant as well. I've heard of the paint+sand mixture for waterproofing porous walls.

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On the other hand, there have been lots of advances in construction materials.

When I was a kid, I remember people trying to feather new cement into old cement with cement glue. It never worked and quickly cracked up in the thin places. I think those days are long gone. New materials have remarkable adhesion, durability and flexibility.

Jeffrey M Fletcher wrote:
Split it in half? Leaves a line down the middle but at least it looks neat.

A possible option.

Maybe I could lay down a 1/8" strip of paneling, then trim it at the board with a V-trowel for making grooves.

Figuring out how to partition the driveway in quarters would make the work areas easier to handle, and not so far to try to reach with the broom.

Leo Howard wrote:
I have painted over concrete driveways in the past using thinned down cement & fine sand mix, it actually does a couple of things, 1) it evens out the color and 2) it adds a gripping surface so it becomes a little non slip type surface, the more sand in the mix, the more rough the texture, you may have to play with the mixture to get it just right.

You can get really fine graded sand for the purpose. 80 grit, a screened graded sand, is used in the tile trade and is readily available, bagged. Mix that with ordinary Portland cement. To improve new to old bonding you might also use a liquid latex in the mixing water. Also readily available and used by the tile trade.

Alternatively, another tile trade product consisting of both a cement and fine sand mix with a built in bonding additive is "self levelling compound." Mix with water only, pour out and spread with a squeegee. It will settle to a relatively ridge free surface with no need to trowel it down [hence the name "self levelling"]. The cracks likely would need some detailed treatment beforehand by pouring this mix into them to fill them, striking the top off with a trowel flush with the surrounding concrete, before the whole top coat was applied, but, overall it should work to result in a new relatively smooth new surface with, say, a 1/4" to 3/8" thickness maybe a bit thicker with a stiffer mix. You could even put this mix down over fibreglass roving for reinforcement. But, of course, there is a cost factor in doing so.

Nothing you do, however, will resist the ultimate forces of nature - subsidence, or freezing/thawing, or earthquakes. Not even a new 6" reinforced slab.

Studio36

Fifty One Imaging wrote:
Not to be a spoiler....but,

There are 2 types of Concrete, Concrete that is cracked and Concrete that is going to crack.

Cracks form when the supporting ground underneath erodes, shifts, moves over time.

The driveway looks old and large, the lack of any expansion joints in the slab only compound the matter.

Good luck with the project but I think it's fruitless, any cracking repaired will only reappear at this point.

Yes, it's a patch.

This is a rental property.

First order of importance was to grind the cracks flat to avoid liability from tripping on uneven edges. If a property owner does not do this, it is considered negligent. Especially for a rental.

Second purpose was to fill the cracks to keep water from exacerbating the expansion/contraction of clay soil underneath.

Lastly, to try a little cosmetic cleanup as a finish.


It took this driveway 62 years to get in that condition. Grinding, filling and feathering makes it functional again. There are no tree roots nearby.


We'll see what happens next. As long as the driveway stays relatively smooth, I don't care so much.

Replacing a concrete driveway used to be cheap and easy. Now it costs many thousands of dollars, plus dealing with permits, city fees, various utility company sign-offs, and inspectors. One neighbor on another street replaced his small driveway for $9000. It boggles my mind that prices get that high for something like this. It's only concrete. It's only a driveway. Welcome to urban life in California.

Replacing the driveway will not make my rent go up. Not replacing the driveway will not make that house any more difficult to rent. It's a charming old house from 1952. Students like it because they can afford the rent and because it's within walking distance to the university. The rest of the house is neat and tidy, so it's a desirable place to live. Many other driveways on that street are cracked and neglected, so this one fits the neighborhood.

Click Hamilton wrote:
Gesso has piqued my interest in the past as an interesting material to explore for non-canvas applications.

It's like a flexible plaster-based product, right?

Gesso is mainly a binder - consistency... think more along the line of Tom Sawyer era whitewash that is a milky beige in colour.

Fifty One Imaging wrote:
Not to be a spoiler....but,

There are 2 types of Concrete, Concrete that is cracked and Concrete that is going to crack.

Cracks form when the supporting ground underneath erodes, shifts, moves over time.

The driveway looks old and large, the lack of any expansion joints in the slab only compound the matter.

Good luck with the project but I think it's fruitless, any cracking repaired will only reappear at this point.

Click is in San Diego so there's not going to be any freeze/thaw but there are going to be minor tremors.

I thought about Click's driveway trying to come up with a solution that would fit the Click we all know

He's not going to stop the cracks from reappearing unless he does some major (and expensive) underpinning of the driveway.

So why not work with the cracks?
Come up with an artistic design that would take advantage of the cracks and that would compliment the neighbourhood.

Being the sick and demented artist I am my thoughts wandered off to something that might befit Click (another somewhat sick and demented soul )... maybe something like this (with a light colour background)

or some other sillyness from the R. Crumb-esk era

I'd do that in my neighbourhood just to piss off all the people that wear beige Dockers in their profession

JoJo wrote:
I thought about Click's driveway trying to come up with a solution that would fit the Click we all know

We could start out with alluring naked models laid out and composed along the crack lines. Then give them trowels and globs of mud as props. Then maybe turn the driveway into a giant finger-painting canvas, using their naked bodies rather than their fingers to make art. In the process, cracks would be filled

JoJo wrote:
He's not going to stop the cracks from reappearing unless he does some major (and expensive) underpinning of the driveway.

So why not work with the cracks?
Come up with an artistic design that would take advantage of the cracks and that would compliment the neighbourhood.

I've seen clever things done with hard boiled eggs and soy sauce

JoJo wrote:
Being the sick and demented artist I am my thoughts wandered off to something that might befit Click (another somewhat sick and demented soul )... maybe something like this (with a light colour background)

or some other sillyness from the R. Crumb-esk era

I'd do that in my neighbourhood just to piss off all the people that wear beige Dockers in their profession

I like sick and demented artists!

R. Crumb was a favorite hero of mine during my formative years. I just got my boots re-soled yesterday. I wish the new soles were available in blue.


PS - I still have half a can of Devil Girl candy in my drawer