Do concrete driveways look cheap?
Heather N
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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Heather N
4 years agomad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Concrete experts needed, bumps in new concrete driveway.
Comments (10)Rain the day after is not usually an issue (not great to pour DURING rain though as it can effect the mix). It actually prevents the concrete from drying out too fast. I have seen people watering their concrete the day or two after it was poured in the summer to avoid it drying too fast. I had a driveway poured three weeks ago and believe me I was so nervous about the weather when it was poured as we had just had a few hot days, but day it was poured was a bit more moderate and we got some rain next day (and I was very happy). Don't hold me to this as I am not a concrete pro, but I am familiar with concrete driveways and such. This looks like efflorescence. Concrete takes time to cure. As it cures, salts come to the surface (the salts would be whatever was in the water, sand, or gravel that is in the mix) and show as white spots like this. If this is indeed it, it does not affect strength or anything, it is aesthetics only. I have some of these showing up too. If it has been a couple months since it was poured, you can remove them with a concrete efflorescence cleaner. As for sealing...if you "must" depends on your climate and how your municipality deals with winter. Where I am we are told to seal every fall with a penetrating concrete sealer as the salt/sand mix used by the City for the roads is brutal on concrete. We are actually required to in order to maintain our warranty. Really, I would do it anyway as it does lengthen the life of it :)...See MoreWhat do you think of my new concrete driveway?
Comments (16)"somehow he was rated an “A” on Angie’s List" It's easy to get an A there. Just buy their advertising. They'll quietly make your "unjustified" negative reviews go away. I'm not just blowing smoke here. I was one of their users, back in the days when you had to pay, and I had my negative reviews deleted. BTW, when I used AL to choose contractors, I had about a 50% success rate. That is, roughly half were really good, and roughly half were pretty awful. I do about as well now by picking people from the local newspaper classified ads and checking them out with the BBB. The other problem with AL (and probably most contractor review services) is that many homeowners don't have a clue how good a job they've gotten. The vast majority of the AL reviewers wrote about whether the workers arrived on time, spoke politely, didn't play loud music or smoke or swear, cleaned up after themselves, and never ever asked to use the bathroom....See MoreStain on concrete & brick driveway?
Comments (6)If you consider stain, get someone experienced or prepare test samples months ahead of time. The newly finished stain does not look like what it weathers out to be, and this takes some time. Find a sacrifice place to apply samples. In my research, anything in the blue/green range is said not to hold up outdoors. My only experience is with colors black and English red. The black I disliked greatly at first as it was a dark brown, but it weathered out to be a nice medium-dark grey and now I like it fine. The English red I didn't like and still don't. It is the color of fairly bright rust. Mask of surrounding areas. In spite of how tidily you apply the stain, splatter will be nearly invisible when you're applying the product ... but it will sure be visible, and permanent, later. The stain works on different materials in different ways. I can't guess what it would do to the brick. Also, If you're applying a "thick" layer of stain, it will bleed off onto surrounding surfaces ... like running down the joints of bricks and seeping around their edges....See MoreConcrete or paver driveway when walkway is concrete slabs?
Comments (17)@Beth Thank you! We have had a concrete driveway for many years and there are also no tire marks. But I think it's because it had an aggregate type finish. I would love the more modern smooth finish - that is what we are getting on the walkway (broom finish to ensure its not slippery). When I walk around my neighborhood, there are several houses with this finish and they all have tire marks. Maybe it's because of the finish? Or maybe it's because it's newer and, therefore, in a year or more the marks won't show? Or is it dependent on the skill of the contractor and how it is installed? We are tinting/coloring the walkway concrete to a light gray. So I do hope that will not show marks as easily and also won't be as reflective (in the CA sun). I agree that pebbles in between is not a good idea. But I've come to terms with that! I love the look. I'm going to be careful with the sizing and also won't fill the gap so that the gravel is level. The gravel height will be lower than the concrete height - in the hopes that this will contain the gravel. The second photo you shared is very similar to my plan in that the slabs are right next to the driveway but separated by 6" of gravel. Fake grass is a smart idea (2nd photo) but I'm afraid I don't like fake grass. Sorry!! We did consider doing the look in the 1st and 5th photos. I LOVE that look. But my husband vetoed it as he feels the gravel would be too messy there. We can live with the messy sidewalk but not sure we can live with a messy driveway. But I really do love this look! The driveway in the 7th photo is a different color to the walkway so that gives me hope that pavers might work! Your observation about the white garage door is so accurate. I had not noticed this at all but, now that you point it out, it's completely obvious. My garage door is also white and you are making me realize we need to change the color. Thank you! Thank you so much for all your insights. I so appreciate it!...See Moreitsourcasa
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