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Great looking patios and walkways
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After trips to
the "Home-Depot" experts of every store around (and hearing each of
them say, "Gee, I never tried it for that"), I've found something
that works for cement work.
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Okay, several books
have hints on making a flagstone patio or walk. They talk about the
gravel and sand foundation, and dropping shovel fulls of concrete
onto the sand, and leveling the mixture to about 2 inches thick, and
finally laying the flagstone down. But few books talk about "clean
up" -- without which, this patio or walk will look sick.
After smoothing all the edges, between the flagstone (with
whatever tool you prefer), there are three tricks (they will tell
you) to making the finished product look good.
Use a GOOD paintbrush (never to be used to painting)
to
smooth out the edges -- cheap brushes leave parts of
themselves in the concrete. This is not hard to do, and produces an
impressive finish.
Use a sponge to get left over bits of concrete off the
flagstones themselves -- and keep cleaning the water dish, or with
each dip, you'll bring more concrete back from the dish onto the
stone. This is a pain to do, but has good results.
Use Muriatic Acid and a special acid brush (like a scrub brush
with a broom handle), and brush off the film. This is dangerous,
since the acid is bad stuff. You also need gloves and other
protective gear, and this stuff rinses off into the grass near the
patio or walk -- which it then kills.
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1 - Make that Flagstone
Patio or Walkway Look Great
2
- Landscaping and Grading
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Renovation Archive
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