Fix patio drainage with TOP N Bond I have a patio problem, this is a small 10' x 5' entrance slab, poorly poured with improper drainage slope and 2 major low spots and bordered with brick. The slab is under an aluminum threshold / 3 door french door so pump jacking is not possible without removing the door. This also interferes with removing the slab and replacing without major sawing, sledging as well as cost of concrete. My plan is to build a frame against threshold and brick sloping from from 1/2" down to 1/8" at the end/front of patio and resurface using sackrete TOP N' BOND. This should allow me to screed the slope in, trowel smooth then brush finish. Am I being to hopefull or will this work ? I know slope should be 1/4" per foot but threshold edge is only 1/2" water flows downhill, I hope !! Should I fill the low spots 1st ? Will Top n Bond work & hold in form to allow for and keep this slope ? Are there any other products or methods that would work better ? Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/forum/bricks-masonry-asphalt-concrete/525041-fix-patio-drainage-top-n-bond.html#ixzz31i38sVIi

Stamped concrete can only work on newly poured concrete. When the concrete is "green", close to cure, the powder color is added and then stamped on the fresh concrete to create an impression. Personally, I'm not crazy about it as to me it looks to fake. Your best bet to save money, is to paint the surface with a deck coating. Kelly Technical coatings has a line of deck coatings that have a variety of color choices. It's easy to apply and is water based. This will spruce up your patio nicely for an inexpensive cost. We did this for a customer a few years ago. It came out nice and it was inexpensive. You may have to re-coat every 2-3 years. It's lot cheaper than a new pour. Plus the cost to remove the existing, yard repair, etc... For the new section, you could integrate the natural stone as a border. As long as your new pour is separate from the old, you will not have any cracking. Even a 1/2" break is sufficient.

The product looks great and it has a well known company, Rustoleum, behind it. As far as using the self-leveling concrete, I would make sure that you use the final product in exact agreement with Rustoleum's instructions. If in doubt, call their tech service people to make sure, a call to save a headache down the road is well worth it.

Those one step down set ups are bonafide tripping hazards. Creating a contrasting but integrated look is going to be your best bet . You can achieve this by introducing a modern look by covering the concrete with a hardwood like deck landing ( ipe wood or the like) . Or you could use a hybrid of materials such as using the same stone on the field of the landing and a strong constrasting accent at the edge of the one step riser. I believe that simply painting the full area an analogous color, such as the white or creme color, is not going to provide you with a enough contrast to allow the eye to pick up that there is single step downward. A banding of contrasting material or color is needed at the edge to alert the brain into registering the grade change. A tricky challenge for sure. Best of luck.