Protect your concrete patio.

[1] Protect your concrete patio against freeze-thaw damage. Concrete is made up of sand, cement, and water—these elements are what make it strong enough to hold weight and withstand the elements. When temperatures drop below freezing, however, all that hard work can suddenly be undone in a matter of hours. In some cases it may take weeks for your concrete patio to return to its original appearance.

[2] Protect your concrete patio against the chemicals that won’t let you live in peace. Whether you’re hosting an outdoor party or taking care of your yard with plant fertilizers and weed-killers, these everyday chemicals have the potential to ruin a solid surface like concrete by causing stains and discoloration. A few simple DIY tips can help protect your home’s exterior from nasty spills:

• First thing’s first—make sure you use plenty of protective gloves when applying any chemical product to surfaces such as concrete. Not only will doing so prevent any possible harm you might suffer from a careless spill or splash, but also it’ll keep any dirt or particles out of the finished paneling too.[/list]

Improve your concrete patio.

If you’re planning to build or add a concrete patio, driveway, or walkway, there are many ways to boost the durability and beauty of your concrete with additives. Here’s a look at some of the most common additives that can help you enhance your outdoor concrete project.

Accelerating Additives:

Accelerating admixtures speed up the initial set time of the concrete mix so that it reaches its final “hardened” state faster. They are often used in cold weather when reduced setting time is necessary to prevent freezing during placement and finishing operations or in hot weather where rapid strength gain is required to offset high heat and evaporation rates from increased surface area of exposed fresh concrete. Accelerating admixtures must be properly used in order for them to produce their desired effects; too much or too little will result in unwanted side effects such as rapid stiffening, delayed finishing time and reduced durability. Because accelerating admixtures can sometimes cause plastic shrinkage cracking, they should not be used if excessive bleeding has occurred during placement due to over-watering (or excessive slump) of the mix design.

Treat stains on your concrete patio.

If you want to keep your stained concrete patio looking good, you’ll want to do some maintenance. Here is how to treat stains from things like oil or grease on your concrete patio:

• Sweep and clean the concrete surface before using a stain remover
• Apply a spot test of the product, following directions on the bottle
• Apply the product to the stain and allow it to sit for 1-2 minutes according to directions
• Rinse off the residue right away, repeating if necessary

How to apply a sealant to your concrete patio.

When you’re ready to apply the sealer, make sure it’s not too hot, and use the right tools. Like all concrete coatings, they generally won’t adhere well in high heat, so consider a cooler time of day. And make sure you have a squeegee, good paint brush and a roller to spread the sealer evenly.

Read the instructions on your chosen sealer to ensure proper application. The key is in thin coats; don’t try to get it done quicker with more coats at once. Too much will lead to unsightly buildup in corners and drips that will be difficult to remove without damaging your concrete finish. Too little might not protect sufficiently from damage in the future from water or other elements.

Also note how long between coats you need to wait before applying another—and how long before walking on it with your bare feet or chair legs scraping across it.

How to maintain your patio to keep it looking and performing great.

When you have a stained concrete patio, it’s important to make sure you maintain it so that it looks great for years to come. Here’s how:

• Regularly inspect your patio throughout the year and perform maintenance when needed. If you catch any cracks early on, they are much easier and cheaper to repair than if they get worse. Look for hairline cracks or other imperfections, and immediately fix them before they worsen.
• Protect your patio from moisture by applying a sealant at least twice per year—once in the spring to protect from the summer rains and once in the fall before winter sets in. If you live in an area where there is heavy snowfall during winter, consider applying a third coat of sealant before it starts snowing heavily. This will help protect against water getting into concrete and freezing there; as water expands when frozen, this can be extremely damaging to concrete surfaces over time.

Stained concrete patios can look and perform great for many years with the right care and treatment.

If you love the look of your concrete patio, but want to make sure it lasts for years and years, you will be glad to know that this is possible. The key is keeping up a regular maintenance routine that stays on top of wind, water and chemicals that can cause your patio to deteriorate over time.

The good news is: You don’t have to do much at all. Sweeping or blowing the surface off regularly gets rid of grit and dust that can wear down the sealer over time. Using a leaf blower or shop vacuum makes short work of any debris on the surface; then simply hose down the patio as needed with plain water. That’s it!

A little bit more care should be taken if you have had an acid stain applied to your patio; here are some tips for taking care of stained concrete patios so they last even longer:

• If you mop, use clean water only; avoid cleaners or chemicals as they can damage colored concrete
• While cleaning agents are fine in other areas (like kitchen counters), steer clear of them if they could splash onto your colored patio—even diluted products may remove color from stained patios
• Discourage pets from urinating on your patio—urine breaks down sealers and causes discoloration

Concrete Patio? Try concrete additives. See how you can make your stained concrete patio last longer and look better

Do you have a concrete patio that needs some maintenance? A lot of people do. Concrete patios are great and can last a long time, but they can be susceptible to the elements. By using concrete additives, you can help your stained concrete patio stay looking good and lasting long.

The first thing you want to do is seal the concrete. There are many different types of sealers out there, but my favorite is [company name]. It’s a siliconate-based sealer that penetrates deep into the pores of the concrete and seals it from within. This causes a chemical reaction with the calcium hydroxide in the hardened cement paste, which creates an insoluble gel that adds strength to the concrete. It’s water-based which makes it easy to apply and clean up any spills with just soap and water.

It will also block moisture from entering into your patio so mold doesn’t grow or mildew doesn’t form on top of the surface. You’ll see less efflorescence as well because there won’t be as much salt buildup inside of your patio when it rains outside!

If you don’t want to spend

Homeowners, are you looking to improve the look and feel of your concrete patio? Concrete can be a great choice for patios because it’s a durable material that comes in many colors and styles.

But when you get a concrete patio installed, there are concrete additives that can help make sure your stained concrete patio will last longer and look better.

Don’t have a stained concrete patio yet? See more information about how to stain concrete here.

I’m going to level with you. I think your concrete patio has a problem.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great patio. It just doesn’t seem like it’s been treated very well, and it probably could use some help.

I know, I know—it’s not a big deal. But it is going to be in the future. Trust me, I’ve seen it before.

Let me explain: The thing is, over the years, your lovely stained concrete patio is going to start looking gross and wearing down. It’s just what happens when you pour concrete like that with no additives in it: Eventually, the stain wears off, cracks appear all over the place, and you’ve got this yucky concrete slab that looks like a pile of garbage in your backyard instead of an extension of your home.

But there is good news! You can make your patio last longer and look better by adding three super-simple things to it: water repellent, anti-efflorescence powder, and cementitious urethane filler.

Your stained concrete patio is supposed to make your life more pleasant—and easy! But sometimes it can feel like it makes your life more difficult. You’re having to maintain it, and you’re not sure how.

But here’s the deal: with the right concrete additives, your patio will stay looking great for years.

When you’re building a concrete patio, you want it to last. You want it to look good, too. So what are the best ways to make sure your stained concrete patio stays in shape and doesn’t start looking tired and worn out in a few years?

Well, there are some things you can do when you’re building your patio that will help it have a longer lifespan. For instance, one of the most important things is making sure your concrete has the correct water-to-cement ratio. The more water you use, the weaker your concrete will be—and if there’s too much water in the mix, it can cause cracking.

This is why we always suggest using an additive to get the proper ratio of water to cement. But which additives should you use? There are a lot of them out there, and not all of them are created equal. Some types of additives that we don’t recommend for this purpose include fly ash and silica fume. While these both help strengthen concrete, they can also lead to cracking in the long run—and they’re really expensive.

Other additives come with their own benefits as well as drawbacks. For example, one popular additive is recycled glass aggregates (RGAs). These provide

If you’re pouring concrete for a patio, that likely means you intend to live in your house for a good long while. You want to enjoy that patio and the weather for years to come—which is why it’s so important to take steps to make sure your concrete will last.

One thing you need to do is add concrete additives. These are chemicals that get mixed into your concrete before it’s poured. They help prevent cracks, improve the strength of the concrete, keep it looking fresh, and more!

Here are a few additives you can add:

• Aluminate For Cracks: This helps prevent cracks from forming in the first place by making the concrete stronger. It’s especially useful if you live in an area with lots of temperature changes, since those fluctuating temperatures can cause more cracks over time.

• Foam For Texture: Foam makes the concrete lighter and easier to work with, plus it resists cracking better than traditional concrete.

• Polymers For Water Resistance: If you have water pooling on your patio or water seeping into your basement walls (if your patio doubles as a walk-out basement), polymers can help prevent that by creating a water-resistant barrier around the concrete.

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