How to Go About Making Concrete Exposed Aggregate?

The concrete exposed aggregate is created mainly for decoration. By the removal of the surface fines from the concrete, the internal aggregates get exposed which exposes the stones’ natural elements as well. This method is mainly applied in the outdoor areas.

For the areas which need more grip or the driveways, it is ideal to use heavily finished concrete exposing the aggregate. You can choose any color to individualize and add an extra dimension to the project as well. You must place the concrete appropriately first, then only you’re ready to make the concrete exposed aggregate, and it gets revealed.

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There are a plethora of options when doing this exposure which can be applied by the contractor. So, he must choose the concrete exposed aggregate method first according to the look and size desired for that particular project. In concrete exposed aggregate, only the stone’s portion at the top gets the exposure, other than that, rest of the stone is kept embedded in the concrete forever.

The common rule or method to the concrete exposed aggregate is removing the surface mortar of the thumb to that particular depth which won’t be higher than one-third diameter of the particle which is also the aggregate particle. Some other ideal methods to do this concrete exposed aggregate are: -

• Brushing and Washing: - Brushing and washing is the oldest of all the methods of concrete exposed aggregate. It is also the simplest method among the other methods as no special tools or chemical retarders are required in this process. Just, the service mortar’s thin layer is needed to be washed away by which the aggregate is covered. You need to spray water to do this and then scrub using broom until and unless the aggregate gets exposed to the particular depth which you want. The most critical part of this operation is timing. Therefore, this method is mostly applied for small jobs where there is no hurry. AS soon as the service mortar gets removed, start with this method and do not dislodge or overexpose the aggregate. With the help of a stiff broom made of nylon-bristle, you can brush away the service mortar which is in a small area. 

• Using A Surface Retarder: Nowadays, as soon as the slab is placed and finished, contractors spray chemical surface retarder in order to expose the aggregate easily. The set of concrete gets delayed in this process and the contractors are given the opportunity to wash away the paste of cement after one day or more than that. They can do this later by either scrubbing or pressure washing. During hot weather, this flexibility helps the contractor’s a lot of large area jobs. There are so many top service retarder available in the market which can be applied to do the concrete exposed aggregate. These are produced by several companies applying different technologies. Select any one from them as per your need. For the full exposure, some retarders allow you to acid wash or sand wash the concrete as well. Some retarders are ideal to be applied to vertical surfaces too. 

• Abrasive Blasting: -If you have already set the concrete and it has hardened, by the application of abrasive blasting, you can expose the aggregate even after that. There are two kinds of abrasive blasting-one is sandblasting and another one is shot blasting. The only disadvantage of this method is that the aggregate may get fractured or become dull in appearance if this method is applied. If you require preserving the shape and the original color of the aggregate on the project then, this method should not be applied.