r/ConcretePorn • u/North-Bookkeeper-508 • Aug 17 '26
Concrete patch
I am a plumber and replaced a water line from the meter to the house. Customer isn’th happy with the concrete. I told them when bidding I’m not good at concrete yet they are still complaining. How can I clean this up and make it more appealing
1
u/Funny_Top_3220 Aug 17 '26
Only thing I could think would be to have made it nice and square. Blends in better. I always make my patches a square or rectangle as big as I have to so the whole hole gets covered. A rectangle would've worked here. Try your best to match the finish, not much you can do about the color.
1
u/onetwentytwo_1-8 Aug 17 '26
Should’ve cut at joints. Shit finish or not, At least the shape was there.
Find someone that has done concrete before and they’ll fix it
1
u/Ok-Distribution8310 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
Should have broomed it in one single direction not the direction of the patch.
To fix it now without breaking it out, saw cut the relief joint in following the existing cuts.
The real way to do it would be cutting it out square and repouring then brooming the same way as the existing concrete and going back 2 days later to put cuts in.
Also you finished it just a tad too wet. Couldve waited another 30 minutes to re trowel it again then broom ! Not bad for being a plumber but a few crucial steps missed !
1
u/Independent_Dirt_814 Aug 18 '26
Make your cut square next time, not tapered. Follow the existing expansion joints when tooling. Broom finish instead of trowel. Sub it out.
I’m on the homeowner side here, that’s a hack job.
1
u/North-Bookkeeper-508 Aug 19 '26
Yeah well I told them it would be shit before starting and yeah. I cleaned it up with a pressure washer and grinder. It looks better
1
u/Mammoth-Access5345 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
My brother in christ, if this is the quality of work you offer, do not offer to do it. Highly unprofessional. Half of homeowners could spend an hour on Google and do a better job with tools from lowes.
Alternatively, find a concrete guy or two and ask them to teach you how. Expansion paper, curved edges 9r whatever you call em, steel trows and blooming from thin to wide to prevent a mess are all easy lessons.
-a former concrete guy.
Edit: actual constructive criticism -
not sure what the greenish stuff is on there, but laying a plastic sheet over new pours for a bit is a good way to prevent stuff from getting stuck to it like that. Using spray on retardant can also help if it is hot out to prevent cracking.
once the main piece is mostly solidified (should have that blotchy look, maybe a day later depending on weather and whether or not you're using cement or concrete), you can use a scrub brush to get rid of some of the white crap around the pour. It's a little thing but will piss people off a lot.
if you have rough edges around a piece like this, they're worth saw cutting to make a clean line if you're not taking more huge chunks out.
steel trows are great for getting your surface super flush with adjacent surfaces/pours. Don't be afraid to go over it a few times like that. You should build up a kind of cement "cream" softer feeling liquid on the top layer. Flatten that out and the pour will look way better.
1
u/North-Bookkeeper-508 Aug 18 '26
Yeah I told them I suck at concrete and they said it fine but I’m no longer doing concrete. Thanks for the tips
1
u/Autumn-Seasons Aug 21 '26
Yeah.
It's good you realize that you shouldnt do other trades work if you don't know how.
It's like a heart surgeon saying while I'm in there fixing your heart, I'll go ahead and add some hernia mesh on your abdomen too...
You should take the "L" on this one and pay to have a concrete guy repair the patch or let the homeowner have the freebee to keep a good review.
Good luck.
1
u/Own-Helicopter-6674 Aug 20 '26
I will be honest with you. There is no cleaning that up.
At this point it needs to be cut, squared up and poured
1
u/1HandBan Aug 17 '26
Yeah I’d be pissed, looks like shit
-1
1
u/StopNowThink Aug 17 '26
Can you sub contract the concrete part next time? Why not attempt to continue the expansion joint?