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Concrete Quality pakdog 06-09-2007
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Posted by pakdog on June 9, 2007, 12:39 am
I'm building steps in my backyard from a door down to a patio. Last week I
poured footings using Quickcrete. That went fine but now the concrete is
set and it looks unattractive -- deep dark grey and I want a lighter color.
What quality should I go with to get a better appearance? Would using
straight cement make a difference? I'm just a weekend do-it-yourselfer
who's trying to get it done. Also, I'm hiring a contractor to do the
finishing for me so I'm really just researching the quality issue.

Kevin

Posted by Roger on June 9, 2007, 1:42 am
I'm building steps in my backyard from a door down to a patio. Last week I
> poured footings using Quickcrete. That went fine but now the concrete is
> set and it looks unattractive -- deep dark grey and I want a lighter
> color.
> What quality should I go with to get a better appearance? Would using
> straight cement make a difference? I'm just a weekend do-it-yourselfer
> who's trying to get it done. Also, I'm hiring a contractor to do the
> finishing for me so I'm really just researching the quality issue.
> Kevin

Concrete will lighten with time and loss of moisture.
Freshly set, it will be dark gray for some time, especially if it is at
ground level.
Once the steps are built, above grade, they will fade out to a light gray
over time.
Straight cement will not set properly, will shrink and crack, and is used
only as an adhesive or repair material.
Quikrete in my experience sets to a medium to light gray, when used on
steps.
The contractor can also add earthtone colors to the slurry, if desired, to
yield different effects.
Roger



Posted by pakdog on June 9, 2007, 2:23 am
"Roger" <sherryrogeratcomcastdotnet> wrote:

> Concrete will lighten with time and loss of moisture.
> Freshly set, it will be dark gray for some time, especially if it is at
> ground level.
> Once the steps are built, above grade, they will fade out to a light gray
> over time.
> Straight cement will not set properly, will shrink and crack, and is used
> only as an adhesive or repair material.
> Quikrete in my experience sets to a medium to light gray, when used on
> steps.
> The contractor can also add earthtone colors to the slurry, if desired, to
> yield different effects.
> Roger


Ok, that sounds great. What you said about the color at ground level really
makes sense because I've never seen it look that ugly before. Thanks for
taking the time to help out.

Kevin

Posted by Richard J Kinch on June 10, 2007, 1:55 am
pakdog writes:

> What quality should I go with to get a better appearance?

Mix your own using white portland cement and gravel.

Posted by Joe on June 10, 2007, 9:23 pm

pakdog wrote:
> I'm building steps in my backyard from a door down to a patio. Last week I
> poured footings using Quickcrete. That went fine but now the concrete is
> set and it looks unattractive -- deep dark grey and I want a lighter color.
> What quality should I go with to get a better appearance?

<snip>

Kevin

Higher strength concrete usually is whiter than the run of the mill
type. When you're at the box store or whatever, read the labels on the
QuickCrete. 4500PSI will be lighter than 3000PSI, for example. Some
old time ready-mix suppliers used to deliver mix based on the number
of bags in a yard, i.e., 5 1/2 bag mix was deemed very good and was a
lighter shade cured than lesser grades. HTH

Joe


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