Worried the overlay will crack by next winter, or start peeling a few months in like the last one?
That usually comes down to one thing: the overlay went over a slab that was still moving, or over a top layer that already sounded hollow. An overlay bonds to the surface. It does not bridge movement. So before we quote concrete resurfacing anywhere in the Denver metro, we look for offset cracks, rocking sections, hollow spots and standing water.
If the slab is sound, resurfacing gives you a new surface for far less than tearing it out. If it is not, we tell you it needs replacing. You get a fixed, itemized written price from a licensed and insured Colorado contractor. Call (720) 782-8086.
Your old patio or pool deck got a fresh overlay. It looked great for a season. By spring there is a crack running right through it, in the same place as the crack underneath.
Here, an overlay only goes on a sound slab. A crack with one side higher than the other, or a gap that opens and closes through the year, means the slab is moving, and a new surface will crack along with it. We tell you that at the estimate.
A few months in, some spots sound hollow when stepped on. Then whole sections let go and the old concrete below is exposed.
A hollow note means a layer has already separated underneath. Nothing holds onto a layer that is letting go, so we do not put an overlay over it. That area gets repaired first, or the slab gets replaced.
Half the advice online says any overlay is a temporary fix, and if it sunk once, it will sink again. For a slab that is settling or heaving, that is right, and we will say so.
For a slab that is level and solid with a worn, stained top, it is a surface finish issue. Tearing that out is money you do not need to spend.
Whether an overlay lasts is mostly decided before anything goes on, by whether the slab underneath is sound. This is what a good candidate looks like.
The slab is structurally sound. Any cracking is hairline with no vertical offset between the two sides. The surface is worn, stained, discolored or lightly spalled but the concrete underneath is solid. Nothing rocks or sounds hollow underfoot. Drainage still works.
That describes a lot of concrete in this metro, particularly the 1990s and 2000s tract slabs across Aurora, Broomfield and Lakewood. Those pours generally had reasonable base prep and are structurally fine. They just look tired.
Once it is down, the overlay gets sealed. Sealed and maintained, a quality overlay lasts many years, and resealing keeps it protected through Colorado winters. The work is backed by a warranty.
On the wrong slab, yes. Before anyone covers a crack, the question is what caused it. If nobody can tell you, the repair may be premature.
Bad candidates. Active cracking with movement, meaning one side sits higher than the other or the gap changes through the year. Any settling or heave. Sections that rock. Deep spalling with loose aggregate. Standing water that does not drain.
If any of those describe your slab, an overlay is the wrong product. On a slab with active cracking the crack telegraphs through the new surface, usually by the second winter, because Denver's roughly hundred freeze-thaw cycles a year keep working that joint no matter what is sitting on top of it.
We would rather tell you that at the estimate than take the job. Sometimes the answer is concrete repair, and sometimes it is tearing it out and pouring new.
It happens a lot in this trade. Five or six contractors come out to measure, a few send bids, and you never hear back from the rest. Or the deposit clears and the calls stop. Here is what you can hold us to.
It should, and with us it does: the number you approve is the number you pay. What moves that number before you approve it:
If one quote is far below the others, ask whether that contractor took a close look at cracks, heaving, soft spots and pooling water, or just measured. Ours comes as a fixed, itemized written price after an on-site measurement. No hidden charges, no day-of surprises.
Our climate wrecks surfaces faster than it wrecks structure. Freeze-thaw and mag chloride attack the top few millimeters. A slab can look genuinely awful while the concrete below the damage is completely sound. That gap between how it looks and how it is is exactly the space resurfacing occupies.
The other reason is age. A lot of the metro's residential concrete was poured in the same couple of decades and is now the same age. Tired surface, sound slab, all at once, across whole subdivisions.
Rain spots, blisters and a finish peeling or flaking off after the first storm usually mean the surface got wet or cold before it cured. Overlays and most patch materials need temperatures above roughly fifty degrees to cure properly, which is why our working season runs about April through October, and sealer does not go on a wet slab.
A smooth overlay under a glossy sealer can be slippery when wet. On pool decks and walkways we add a fine grit to the sealer for slip resistance, and lighter colors stay cooler underfoot. If it is a pool deck, see our pool decks page.
A crew should not leave ruts in your yard or a job not finished properly. We protect your yard and haul off debris.
We'll measure, talk through your options and hand you a fixed written price. No pressure, no hidden charges.
If the slab is level, solid and drains, with surface wear or hairline cracks that have no offset, resurfacing or repair is usually enough. If it is heaving, settling, rocking, sounds hollow, or has cracks where one side sits higher, replace it. We tell you which you have at the estimate, before we quote.
Find that out before anyone covers it. Surface damage from freeze-thaw and mag chloride can be resurfaced. A crack from a slab that is still moving will come back through any overlay.
Not with us. You get a fixed, itemized written price after we measure on site, and the number you approve is the number you pay.
Ask whether they took a close look at cracks, heaving, soft or hollow spots and pooling water before quoting. Ask for proof of license and insurance, including workers' comp. A contractor who promises resurfacing without checking those is a concern.
Often, if the deck underneath is sound. An overlay can add color and texture and improve slip resistance, with grit in the sealer. If the deck is heaving or sounds hollow, replacement lasts longer.
Get a free on-site quote this week. Honest pricing, no pressure, work backed by a warranty.
