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Posted by Lila on December 10, 2006, 11:47 pm
Hi and Happy Holidays!
My husband and I are considering getting some work done to spruice up
the hard surfaces around our house in Santa Clarita, CA. We like the
look and options of stamped concrete. One of the contractors offered
concrete overlay that's about 1/4" thick, rather than removing the
existing concrete and repouring, and then applying the stamped concrete
design. We were wondering if that is a good idea because we are
concerned about the durability of the thin overlay. This project would
involve our driveway, walk way to the front door with some steps, the
side of the house as well as part of the back yard. Assuming that it's
properly applied, is the overlay going to last as long as fresh poured
stamped concrete? Is it going to save us money? I would imagine there
would be some big cost savings going with the overlay, like not having
to rip out the existing concrete, haul it away and repour it all. And
is it going to save us money in the long run? Or will it look nice for
a few years and then start cracking and pealing and will we end up just
redoing the whole work from scratch?
Another question: the contractor that has shown us a portfolio of some
of his work that we like the best has no license, but he seems to have
the magic in his hands because the work looks beautiful and he sounds
like he really knows what he's talking about. Is it foolish to hire
someone without a license just because you have a good feeling about
him and his work? He's also a neighbor, and he just bought his house
in our neighborhood, so he probably won't go far for a while if we have
problems. We are thinking about hiring him for a short job to do
something else (replace a broken jacuzzi gas line under concrete and
replace a cracked driveway section), so we can always evaluate him
based on that job before we decide to go with him for the big job.
We would appreciate some advice from home owners who have done the
overlay, especially a while ago (any problems?) and from the pros.
Thank you very much!
Lila
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Posted by Dan Deckert on December 12, 2006, 1:07 am
IMO-----NO!!!!! to any 1/4" overlay........much less a driveway. My 3"
stamped walkway has fractured in the joints because I ran over it with the
tractor, cars and trucks. Not that I really care but.....point
is............
NO!!!!! has no license...does liability or warranty ring a bell? Perhaps a
'visit' to his previous jobs may be in order should you choose that option.
Friends are friends but business is business!
my 2 cents worth...............
Dan
> Hi and Happy Holidays!
> My husband and I are considering getting some work done to spruice up
> the hard surfaces around our house in Santa Clarita, CA. We like the
> look and options of stamped concrete. One of the contractors offered
> concrete overlay that's about 1/4" thick, rather than removing the
> existing concrete and repouring, and then applying the stamped concrete
> design. We were wondering if that is a good idea because we are
> concerned about the durability of the thin overlay. This project would
> involve our driveway, walk way to the front door with some steps, the
> side of the house as well as part of the back yard. Assuming that it's
> properly applied, is the overlay going to last as long as fresh poured
> stamped concrete? Is it going to save us money? I would imagine there
> would be some big cost savings going with the overlay, like not having
> to rip out the existing concrete, haul it away and repour it all. And
> is it going to save us money in the long run? Or will it look nice for
> a few years and then start cracking and pealing and will we end up just
> redoing the whole work from scratch?
> Another question: the contractor that has shown us a portfolio of some
> of his work that we like the best has no license, but he seems to have
> the magic in his hands because the work looks beautiful and he sounds
> like he really knows what he's talking about. Is it foolish to hire
> someone without a license just because you have a good feeling about
> him and his work? He's also a neighbor, and he just bought his house
> in our neighborhood, so he probably won't go far for a while if we have
> problems. We are thinking about hiring him for a short job to do
> something else (replace a broken jacuzzi gas line under concrete and
> replace a cracked driveway section), so we can always evaluate him
> based on that job before we decide to go with him for the big job.
> We would appreciate some advice from home owners who have done the
> overlay, especially a while ago (any problems?) and from the pros.
> Thank you very much!
> Lila
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Posted by ante@aflmarketing.com on December 12, 2006, 8:00 am
Sounds like a dreadfully bad idea. Pay the extra money and go with a
full thickness pour...and I would suggest using someone other than this
guy.
Concrete cracks. fact of life. once you get a void under this and it
fills with water, it will start working itself loose.
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Posted by fishycharl on December 12, 2006, 5:36 pm
Lila wrote:
> Hi and Happy Holidays!
> My husband and I are considering getting some work done to spruice up
> the hard surfaces around our house in Santa Clarita, CA. We like the
> look and options of stamped concrete. One of the contractors offered
> concrete overlay that's about 1/4" thick, rather than removing the
> existing concrete and repouring, and then applying the stamped concrete
> design. We were wondering if that is a good idea because we are
> concerned about the durability of the thin overlay. This project would
> involve our driveway, walk way to the front door with some steps, the
> side of the house as well as part of the back yard. Assuming that it's
> properly applied, is the overlay going to last as long as fresh poured
> stamped concrete? Is it going to save us money? I would imagine there
> would be some big cost savings going with the overlay, like not having
> to rip out the existing concrete, haul it away and repour it all. And
> is it going to save us money in the long run? Or will it look nice for
> a few years and then start cracking and pealing and will we end up just
> redoing the whole work from scratch?
> i have to agree with every one else a quarter inch is no good your are
throwing away good money , rip it up and do the job properly.
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Posted by DanG on December 12, 2006, 10:35 pm
If the surface prep is done well, the overlay should last and hold
up quite well. If you were in a hard freeze/thaw area requiring
shovel and plows, I might hesitate. There are several places you
can go to get further information. Doug Bannister at
theStampStore is well versed in teaching and writing about
decorative concrete work at all levels:
http://www.thestampstore.com/
Another good source is :
http://www.concretenetwork.com/index.html
___________________________
Keep the whole world singing. . . .
DanG
> Hi and Happy Holidays!
> My husband and I are considering getting some work done to
> spruice up
> the hard surfaces around our house in Santa Clarita, CA. We
> like the
> look and options of stamped concrete. One of the contractors
> offered
> concrete overlay that's about 1/4" thick, rather than removing
> the
> existing concrete and repouring, and then applying the stamped
> concrete
> design. We were wondering if that is a good idea because we are
> concerned about the durability of the thin overlay. This
> project would
> involve our driveway, walk way to the front door with some
> steps, the
> side of the house as well as part of the back yard. Assuming
> that it's
> properly applied, is the overlay going to last as long as fresh
> poured
> stamped concrete? Is it going to save us money? I would imagine
> there
> would be some big cost savings going with the overlay, like not
> having
> to rip out the existing concrete, haul it away and repour it
> all. And
> is it going to save us money in the long run? Or will it look
> nice for
> a few years and then start cracking and pealing and will we end
> up just
> redoing the whole work from scratch?
> Another question: the contractor that has shown us a portfolio
> of some
> of his work that we like the best has no license, but he seems
> to have
> the magic in his hands because the work looks beautiful and he
> sounds
> like he really knows what he's talking about. Is it foolish to
> hire
> someone without a license just because you have a good feeling
> about
> him and his work? He's also a neighbor, and he just bought his
> house
> in our neighborhood, so he probably won't go far for a while if
> we have
> problems. We are thinking about hiring him for a short job to
> do
> something else (replace a broken jacuzzi gas line under concrete
> and
> replace a cracked driveway section), so we can always evaluate
> him
> based on that job before we decide to go with him for the big
> job.
> We would appreciate some advice from home owners who have done
> the
> overlay, especially a while ago (any problems?) and from the
> pros.
> Thank you very much!
> Lila
>
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> My husband and I are considering getting some work done to spruice up
> the hard surfaces around our house in Santa Clarita, CA. We like the
> look and options of stamped concrete. One of the contractors offered
> concrete overlay that's about 1/4" thick, rather than removing the
> existing concrete and repouring, and then applying the stamped concrete
> design. We were wondering if that is a good idea because we are
> concerned about the durability of the thin overlay. This project would
> involve our driveway, walk way to the front door with some steps, the
> side of the house as well as part of the back yard. Assuming that it's
> properly applied, is the overlay going to last as long as fresh poured
> stamped concrete? Is it going to save us money? I would imagine there
> would be some big cost savings going with the overlay, like not having
> to rip out the existing concrete, haul it away and repour it all. And
> is it going to save us money in the long run? Or will it look nice for
> a few years and then start cracking and pealing and will we end up just
> redoing the whole work from scratch?
> Another question: the contractor that has shown us a portfolio of some
> of his work that we like the best has no license, but he seems to have
> the magic in his hands because the work looks beautiful and he sounds
> like he really knows what he's talking about. Is it foolish to hire
> someone without a license just because you have a good feeling about
> him and his work? He's also a neighbor, and he just bought his house
> in our neighborhood, so he probably won't go far for a while if we have
> problems. We are thinking about hiring him for a short job to do
> something else (replace a broken jacuzzi gas line under concrete and
> replace a cracked driveway section), so we can always evaluate him
> based on that job before we decide to go with him for the big job.
> We would appreciate some advice from home owners who have done the
> overlay, especially a while ago (any problems?) and from the pros.
> Thank you very much!
> Lila