Concrete patio finish covering material? (Epoxy?)

[Mark Rios]

Does anyone have any information or opinions on a paint-"like" covering for a concrete patio. The front porch/patio measures approx. 4' x 9'. It now has indoor/outdoor carpeting glued down on it. The carpet is 15-20 years old so the glue comes off relatively easy and the surface is very smooth underneath. The house is a 70's construction era house. The owner (I'm doing many projects for them including a new kitchen starting in about 2 weeks) would like a finish that will last forever, kinda like an epoxy garage floor finish without the speckles.

Any ideas on top quality material/brands?

Thanks very much for any help and advice.

[Dan Stuewe]

I've never used the garage floor epoxy, but from what I've read, the speckles are spread out on the wet epoxy, so they are completly optional.

[Doyle Alley]

My personal preference would be to lay outdoor tile over it. Tile made for the outdoors like that will have a rougher texture on it (for safety when wet). I'm doing my front porch in some stuff that looks like slate. Cost for the tile itself is about $3 to $5 per Sq. Ft.

[Chris Padilla]

Mark,

Look into this product but dunno if it meant for outdoors. Works awesome on a garage floor.

www.ucoatit.com

[Vaughn McMillan]

As has been mentioned, the epoxy speckled paint can be done without the speckles. I've got the speckled kind in the mud/laundry room, and I would think it'd do well on a concrete patio. My only concern is that without the speckles, it could be pretty slippery when wet, especially on a very smooth slab. I would think you could add something like graded sand to the mix (like you sometimes see for concrete decks around a swimming pool), but have no idea about the specific proportions or other details.

- Vaughn

[Stan Mijal]

Mark,
I've used epoxy on my garage and shop floors (both interior, no flake used on the garage) and the one thing I learned is that epoxy is dangerously slick once wet!. Any small amount of ice or rain and you can instantly have your feet go out from under. Using the flakes (which I did on an extra stall added on the garage, helps some, but it still requires being very carefull.
There are ad mixtures of sand or some other small particles that can be added to the paint or spirinkled over the surface to give more traction. This might be the route to go if you end up using epoxy.
Since I've only used these paint products on indoor floors, I have no idea how well they would hold up in the exterior. Perhaps the parent companies can provide knowledge here.
I have an older concrete patio that I want to give new life to and have thoght about epoxy, but the chance it will need to be removed and reapplied has kept me thinking about using very thin pavers or tile.

[Allen Bookout]

Mark,

I had to have my pool deck redone a year or so ago by a professional decking company and they used a product called "Aqua Deck" and it is holding up well so far. The paint company that supplied it has several products for that type of application but they are in Sarasota Fl so my thought is that you might be able to find a similar company in your area with similar products. Below is their website that has their decking products and descriptions.

http://www.scottpaint.com/products.asp?Category=FLOOR%20COATINGS

I hope that this is of some help.

Allen

[Brett Baldwin]

I saw a similar product to this on a DIY show but I can't recall what it was. In any case, this looks like a good possibility and the page I've linked gives you many options including the faux stone finish I was thinking about.
http://www.backyardsbydesign.com/buyers_guide.htm