
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 11, 1994                   TAG: 9403140149
SECTION: LAWN & GARDEN                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NEW TECHNIQUE GIVES NEW LIFE TO PATIOS

From a distance, the patio behind Paul and Mary Calvert's north Roanoke County home looks as though it's paved with large flat flagstones set in mortar. But on closer inspection, it's obvious the surface is man-made. The pits in the stone are too regular, and the color is an unusual pink, which matches the vinyl siding on the house, but is a hue seldom found in nature.

Although it is artificial, the surface is attractive, and adds a decorative element to what otherwise would be a plain slab of concrete.

That's what the Calverts had when they moved into their home nine years ago, they said. Although the patio probably was built in the mid-'80s, during the last few years the concrete had started to break down. The cracks weren't too deep, Paul Calvert said, but there were many of them. He tried to repair the cracks himself, but he wasn't pleased with the result.

Last summer, the Calverts' next-door neighbors had a pool installed in their back yard. Calvert talked to the contractor, Bill Lee of William W. Lee Pool Construction Company, and found that Lee was using a new process that could be used to resurface concrete in practically any color or texture a homeowner could want, including brick or stone.

"You can't tell it from brick," Lee said.

For a patio that hasn't deteriorated too much, he said, resurfacing is much less expensive than laying new concrete.

"There's an awful lot of concrete out there that is old and has gotten dirty" that could benefit from resurfacing, he said.

During the process, a synthetic concrete material is extruded from a gun powered by an air compressor and onto the surface.

"It's a very interesting process," Lee said, one that is used frequently in states such as Florida and California, but is new enough to Roanoke that he believes he is the only local contractor who installs it. In fact, he has a separate business name he uses for marketing the product: Southern Designs Decorative Concrete Restorations.

Lee first read about the process in trade journals, and went to workshops in Florida to learn it.

For the Calverts' patio, tape lines were placed on top of the concrete, and later pulled off to make the white "mortar" joints between the pinkish "flagstones."

After it was finished, the Calverts waited a week for the surface to cure before they put their metal lawn furniture on it, but Paul Calvert said Lee told them it was ready to be walked on within a day.

The surface is durable, and comes with a one-year warranty, Lee said. It's also easy to clean, said Paul Calvert. "It just hoses right off."

The price of the resurfacing varies with the size of the the job and with the pattern selected. The Calverts paid $1,100 for the 35-by-20-foot patio and the stairs leading down to it. Later, they had Lee cover part of a walkway and the garage steps as well. They are considering having the front porch done next.

The Calverts are pleased with the work. They use the patio quite often, Mary Calvert said, especially in the afternoons when the weather is nice. The new patio is a hit with visitors, too.

"A lot of people have seen it," Paul Calvert said. "They really liked it."

by CNB