Looking for a suggestion on concrete under my coverered patio. The concrete area is 13" x 24'9". Couple problems. When I had my patio extended they poured 12 sections of concrete, so now I have many seams and it looks silly. I am trying to figure out how to cover up most of the seams at a low cost. I have a nice sectional sofa that I want to put on the patio; however the seams detract from the look of the patio.
Are the seams in such an area and configuration that you could put container plants, or perhaps other outdoor furniture?
It would also be helpful if we could see the layout of the patio. Do you have a photo of the seamed sections and their relation to the overall patio? Where are the extentions? Around the perimeter?
the seams you are probably refering to are probably control cuts. their purpose is for any concrete cracks to form in the seam instead of in a random pattern. sometimes it works sometimes not, depending on how conciencious the contrator was and if he put in rebar and road mesh as well as compacting the soil before pouring the concrete
I did stain the patio, but I think I would like to remove it since many areas are peeling up, due to not prepping very well I am assuming. I was hoping that staining the concrete would not draw attention to the seams, but I this it is. Also, when they put in the concrete up against my block wall there is no drainage for when it rains because the concrete is directly against the block wall, but only in one area, so when it rains the water builds up right in that area, not sure how to fix that? I do understand there needs to be some seams; however I am told the contractor did this incorrect.
Not sure why they did the pour in so many separated slabs - That patio is not large enough to require more than one expansion joint - and that's even questionable. However, it's done now.
Obviously, you could pour over the slab with another and limit the expansion joints but that would make for a taller pad that you may not want - especially since this would raise the slab level near or above the level of the house door threshold. So that's out.
Here's an alternate suggestion: Cut in more lines. Get a concrete saw and cut a series of shallow lines in the slab. Make a pattern. I'd go for varied sizes but basically make it look like lots of tiles make up the pad. You could paint them all the same or paint / stain them slightly different tints.
This would best be done by hiring it out to a concrete cutting outfit. They have walk behind cutters that can precisely regulate depth of cut and can cut perfectly straight. Most companies like that charge a minimum fee - usually around $500 but since they charge by length x depth of cut and your cuts would be very shallow, you could get away with the minimum fee.
