How to Re-Surface Your Driveway Dressing Your Home

June 25th, 2011 by Matthew Kirkhope

How to Re-Surface Your Driveway

Driveway resurfacing is a great way to save money on replacing old concrete, and to revamp a tired looking portion of your home that may be an eye sore when it come to curb appeal. Driveway resurfacing projects can fix cracks, replace broken concrete, and fix staining caused by oil and other fluids that can leak from a car. If done properly, this can be a significant improvement to the value of your home.

Driveway resurfacing: where to start

There are specific re-surfacing kits that will contain all the materials and instructions needed to complete this project. It will require some time for the different mixtures used in the process to set and cure. The best part about the materials used in this process is that they are polymers and have an elastic memory to them. This make using them tacky, but they settle and dry smooth with little use of a trowel.

This is a project that will use many of the same tools as a dry-walling project. You will need to have the following on hand:

A smooth trowel to pack down the concoction into the cracks
Cheese cloth fabric to seal the polymer mixture while curing
Driveway paint
Five gallon bucket

These elements will need to be used over the span of 48 hours, and will make your driveway look like a fresh poured concrete surface.

Prepping the driveway surface

Prepare the surface of the driveway by completing a thorough cleaning. Any type of debris that is left over on the surface will become part of the finished product once the resurfacing mixture cures. The folks at concretenetwork.com suggest a thorough power washing as the best type of method to use in order to guarantee that the surface is free of any particles. This will also clean out additional concrete that is chipping away so that the polymer can penetrate and close the gap.

Applying the solutions

After cleaning the surface, you can now begin to apply the first coat of polymer. Mix the product in a five gallon bucket according to the manufacturer instructions. Using a smooth trowel, scoop out some of the solution and begin to press it into the cracks. It is important to really press this is in so that air bubbles do not interfere with the setting process.

Once you’re done applying the first coat, cover the repaired surface using strips of the cheese cloth. This is followed with the resurfacing agent. Concretnetwork.com suggests finishing by spraying a thick coat of polymer to competely resurface the area.

Make the driveway look like new

The cloth will protect the polymer from settling into the old cracks. After the drying process has taken place, you can begin with the last step of painting the surface with outdoor driveway paint. This paint is specially crafted to be able to tolerate the abuse that a driveway receives. There are many colors offered, but concrete gray is the most popular. According to the concretenetwork.com professionals, this paint layer needs to be thick and generously spread with standard rollers.

The finished product should look like a freshly poured slab of concrete. This will not only improve your home’s curb appeal, but can also improve the value of your home.

Importance of water drainage

There is another important point to hit on the idea of driveways, and that is water drainage. In this age of greater water conservation, the simple addition of a green driveway designed to allow rainwater to filter back into the ground. When it comes time to see to driveway maintenance, factoring in a strategy for proper drainage and efficient rainwater runoff is also a conversation to have with local building supplies retailers when seeking to resurface a driveway.

Enjoy your new (or new looking!) driveway!

Dressing Your Home