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Repairing Epoxy/Stone Deck/Patio Surfaces
When the Stones Break Loose

PEBBLE DECK Systems

or

Doing the Stone/Epoxy Surfaces Yourself (click here)

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WITH OUR SLOWER THICKER SUMMER CURING AGENT (NEEDED IF TEMPS ARE OVER ABOUT 85 DEGREES) COVERAGE IS PROBABLY CLOSER TO 180-200 SF PER KIT. PRICE IS THE SAME. SO, IF WORKING IN SUMMER CONDITIONS ORDER THE SLOW SUMMER CURING BASIC NO BLUSH.

7/12/01

Packaged under a lot of different names, there are many flavors of epoxy and stone slurries that are applied over concrete surfaces to form an attractive and uniform new surface. These systems are generally used on patios, porches, around swimming pools (visit our swimming pool repair page for products/notes in and around pools), and along walkways. After a period of time (a few years) the epoxy ‘glue' begins to breakdown, primarily due to sun (UV) exposure and the stones break loose. The standard fix is a new coating of epoxy over the surface every few years.

The problem will always exist because of UV damage to any/all epoxies, however it is probably made worse by the methods and products used by the original installer/applicator. The ideal application would consist of a high quality epoxy (with little or no solvents), and smallish stones (more surface contact/glue points). After the slurry is applied and allowed to cure (harden) - an additional top coating of epoxy should be applied because much of the epoxy in the original slurry would have flowed away from the surface grains and pooled uselessly along the bottom of the slurry mixture. Next a UV resistant coating should be applied on top of everything to help protect the epoxy from UV sun damage. I doubt few, if any, installer do all these things because of the extra cost. (our 2 part acyrlic poly UV plus is sometimes put over the epoxy coatings to keep them from yellowing. - (epoxies yellow in UV - More on UV blockers)

).

In any event, when the stones break loose, it is time to ‘reseal' or ‘reglue' them. In many cases the original installer will return and recoat the surface with more epoxy, often for about one dollar per square foot. Even assuming more low quality epoxy will be used, this fix is probably well worth your consideration.

If the repair has become your job:

Use our least expensive epoxy (Basic No Blush) and our special slit-foam roller ($6.50) to apply a new topcoat of epoxy to the stones. Find it in our catalog - click here

COVERAGE

Coverage rates will very greatly depending upon stone size, condition of the surface and personal technique, never-the-less we estimate 200-225 square feet of recoat coverage per 1.5 gallon kit of epoxy based upon user feedback. Note that this is a very common number but we also get folks saying they only got 150 sf per kit, and others insisting they got over 300 sf. Still, 80% of people seem to like the 200-225 sf figure.

WITH OUR SLOWER THICKER SUMMER CURING AGENT (NEEDED IF TEMPS ARE OVER ABOUT 85 DEGREES) COVERAGE IS PROBABLY CLOSER TO 180-200 SF PER KIT. PRICE IS THE SAME. SO, IF WORKING IN SUMMER CONDITIONS ORDER THE SLOW SUMMER CURING BASIC NO BLUSH.

WARNINGS:

The epoxy will yellow in sunlight (starts out clear). Your stones are probably golden in color - this is most likely actually white stones covered with sun yellowed epoxy.

Pool chemical contamination on your stonescan sometimes turn the epoxy a bright yellow or white. Even hosing/washing etc. of the stones always seems to miss places, so yellow chemcial stains can become an issue.

Also and more commonly, rain, water splashes, bird pee, or dew on still liquid or tacky epoxy (ay 0-18 hours after application) can result in a white 'stain' that will not go away. It is either a waxy white film that forms on the surface (blush - but being a no blush epoxy this is rare) or more commonly little water caused indents on the smooth epoxy surface that now reflects the light making it appear white. Try a bit of clear nail polish over these white spots. Very likely it will fill in the 'dents' and the surface will (maybe) return to clear. (I have no way to test this). If so, the fix is a bit more epoxy over those spots.

While this spotting is often not an issue (only comes up once or twice a year), we did have an unhappy customer that had this problem again and again. He contacted other 'experts' and reported back to us: "One stone manufacturer that I did speak with felt that there may be water coming up from underneath the pebblestone and this was causing the white spots to develop but didn't know of any remedy for it." This would explain a lot. Picture a plastic sheet (the epoxy) over humid ground as the sun warms the air. Water will form (condense) on the bottom of the plastic. This would cause the spots on the new epoxy. It is obviously best to have plastic under the stones and/or have it ground REALLY dry before epoxy coating. In other words, a few dry days are needed after it rains (wetting the ground under the stones) to get the ground under the stones completely dry.

Note that we are not responsible and have no control over this sometimes white spotting. It is not the product's fault or refundable issue. There is a legal disclaimer to this affect in our legal notices - www.epoxyproducts.com/legal.html.

WITH OUR SLOWER THICKER SUMMER CURING AGENT (NEEDED IF TEMPS ARE OVER ABOUT 85 DEGREES) COVERAGE IS PROBABLY CLOSER TO 180-200 SF PER KIT. PRICE IS THE SAME. SO, IF WORKING IN SUMMER CONDITIONS ORDER THE SLOW SUMMER CURING BASIC NO BLUSH.

Customer feedback (7/31/02)

Basic No Blush/epoxy pebble stone surface around swimming pool/recoat

(7/31/02) "Job went well for a do-it-yourselfer. Coverage was much higher than directions - covered 600 square feet with a little less than 3 gallons. Mixed 1.5 gallons per batch. First batch exothermed adn cured in the paint pan in about 30 minutes. Air temperature was 74 degrees F and in the shade." - John K.

(6/2006) "Just finished using your NoBlush Epoxy on our stone/pepple pool deck. Used four 1.5 gallon kits for about 800 sq. feet. The rollers you sell for this are the way to go. I used 3 for this job and should have ordered a 4th to be safe. Power mixed 1.5 gallons at a time and used an oversized paint roller an(1gallon) and a standard size one. With 2 people we were done in 11/2 hours. The weather was overcast and 62 degrees and had not trouble at all. Looks great and hope to get 3 or 4 years out of it here in Ohio. The stone was laid 3 years ago and am interested to see the comparison. Great product."
Kevin D

FOUR YEARS LATER KEVIN DID ANOTHER RECOAT - HERE ARE HIS MOST RECENT COMMENTS

(5/2010) "Wanted to let you know how pleased we are with the NoBlush (summer version). Just finished doing our pebble pool deck and it came out great. The summer version gave us more time to roll on the product and not feel rushed. I highly recommend the split rollers. Our deck is around 850 sq. ft. ; we used 4 of the 1.5 gallon kits and 3 of the split rollers The split rollers worked great, just make sure that you keep them wet and don't over roll the stone so that the roller has little to no epoxy on it. Itook us around 2 hours including power blowing the deck surface. The temperature was around 75.

Really a simple project if you plan ahead. Used a 3 gallon plastic bucket to mix the batch using a battery powered drill and mixing device attached. Clean-up was easy. We used old plastic bags to take the roller off and dispose of them.

By the way, the quotes to do our deck (825 sq. ft) ranged between $850 to $1200. Also they all were using standard rollers for epoxy and not the foam split rollers you sell. The amount of epoxy used by the contractors to recoat was onlyt 2 to 3 gallons versus the four of the 1.5 gallon kits you sell. People need to be sure if they have it done there is enough epoxy being used by the contractors to settle into the gaps with the stone to get a good sealing.

(VENDOR NOTE: Also the epoxy needs to be the right thickness. Not too thin: you use less epoxy but it doesn't seal the gaps --- Not too thick: not enough coverage for the price)

Great product and will continue to make use of your products in the future."

Kevin D

It's not that difficult to make your own epoxy - stone surface. The most difficult part is finding the small pebble stone. Having to purchase 3 tons of stone and shipping it across the country will probably nix the entire project. If you can get around 'stone availability' issue, you're home free.

STONE SOURCE: TRY ARKANSAS DECORATIVE STONE (www.arkansasdecorativestonellc.com). Pls tell them you found them via Progressive Epoxy Polymers!

Usually the epoxy-stone surface is applied as a thin topcoat over a poured concrete surface. It is generally applied as thin as possible. You want to cover the surface with a uniform layer of pebble stone, but not much thicker. The smaller the stones the, easier and more attractive the end result will be.

OK - heres how to do it:

Mix up epoxy and have the stone ready. Working time will be about 30-45 minutes per batch of expoxy. Use our Basic No Blush epoxy. Roll on a coat of epoxy on the concrete (1.5 oz of epoxy per square foot).

Immediately begin applying the stone - epoxy slurry over the epoxy primer coat. The slurry will consist of 2.5 oz of epoxy and approx. 1.85 pounds of pebbles per square foot.

Evenly spread the epoxy - smooth using a trowel. Wiping down the trowel with our Trowel Aid cleaner will keep the epoxy-stone slurry from sticking to the trowel (the Trowel Aid product is a helpful, but not necessary, product).

Let the epoxy-stone surface harden overnight or longer.

It is strongly suggested you apply a topcoat of more epoxy to prolong the life of the surface. Follow the directions above for 'repair'. You will use approx. 1.5 oz of epoxy per square foot and we suggest you use our extra thick, slotted foam roller.

Almost no one puts a UV blocker over the epoxy to keep it from UV yellowing, but if you wanted to we do have a 2 part clear polyurethane with lots of UV blockers in it (very hard to find clearcoats with UV blockers) called Acrylic Poly UV Plus. This will keep the surface shiny much longer and will, to a small degree, protect the epoxy and provide additional 'gluing' between the pebbles. Figure on about 2.5 oz of clear acrylic per square foot, applied with an ordinary paint roller (this is an approx. figure, not based on user feedback).

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ABOUT	KEYWORD	ADDRESS	CLICK HERE
The floor paint page in our online catalog	EPOXY PAINT	www.epoxyproducts.com/b_floor.html	epoxy paint
Intro to epoxy floor coatings - the basics	EPOXY COATING	www.epoxyproducts.com/beginfloor4u.html	epoxy coating
More about epoxy floors - sort of intro part 2	EPOXY RESIN	www.epoxyproducts.com/floorcoatings.html	epoxy resin
More about epoxy floors - sort of intro part 3	EPOXY REPAIR	www.epoxyproducts.com/floorcoatings4u.html	epoxy repair
Most common epoxy floor coating systems	EPOXY FLOOR	www.epoxyproducts.com/floorpopular.html	floor epoxy
Read this before painting your garage	GARAGE PAINT	www.epoxyproducts.com/garage4u.html	garage paint
Epoxy floors with colored chips (includes color chart)	CHIP FLOOR	www.epoxyproducts.com/chips4u.html	professional grade epoxy
Epoxy floors with broadcast sand (high end)	QUARTZ FLOOR	www.epoxyproducts.com/quartz4u.html	commercial grade epoxy
Epoxy floor with latex highlights/color shading	FLOOR PAINT	www.epoxyproducts.com/latexfloor.html	floor paint
Epoxy coating issues/basics for homeowners	LEAK REPAIR CRACK REPAIR	www.epoxyproducts.com/home4u.html	leak repair crack repair concrete repair
How to have a successful epoxy coating project/issues	CONCRETE REPAIR	www.epoxyproducts.com/scoat4u.html	concrete repair
Moisture and vapor barrier issues with epoxy coatings	WATERPROOF EPOXY	www.epoxyproducts.com/vapor4u.html	waterproof epoxy
How and why to paint your concrete slab	CONCRETE PAINT	www.epoxyproducts.com/slab4u.html	concrete paint
These and other floor epoxy links (with comments!)	EPOXY	www.epoxyproducts.com/epoxy-floor-paint.html	epoxy urethane fiberglass resin

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"INDUSTRIAL FLOOR EPOXY" (tm) By Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc. 0% VOC, Solvent Free and Environmentally friendly, Odorless.

Professional grade floor epoxy paint / coating for garage, shops, and commercial facilities

48 oz, 1.5 gal, and 15 gal kits. Available in any amount over 15 gallons

Purchase at the Progressive Epoxy storefront or the more simple EpoxyUSA.com site

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