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I have a peagravel walkway up to my front door and a concrete driveway, both of which have some cracks. I am about to put my house on the market. What can I do that will improve the appearance but won't be throwing away a lot of money

Submitted: 40 days and 20 hours ago.

Category: Home Improvement

Value: $12

Status: CLOSED

Posted by Coldwater Creek Homes 40 days and 19 hours ago.

Answer

Go to a local masonry supply and get 1 tube of sl-1 grey for the driveway avd 1 tube of sl-1 stone for the sidewalk. Sl-1 is a self leveling crack filler so you will inject it into the cracks with a caulking gun and it will flow into and fill the cracks and will look better than unfilled cracks.

40 days and 19 hours ago.

Reply

My house will sell for about 400k so that answer would not work. I need to repair it or cover it up...as I said, I am working towards selling my house so it has to look good not just better than not filled. That's not an acceptable answer. I thought there would be pavers or spray on something.

Posted by Coldwater Creek Homes 40 days and 19 hours ago.

Answer

Okay well I thought you wanted to save money from your original post. First of all all concrete cracks so unless they are huge cracks, most buyers won't even consider them. I build and sell houses from $350k and up so trust me. If they are huge cracks then basically what you need to do is cut out the cracked sections and repour them. This has its drawbacks too because you almost certainly will not match the pea gravel exactly and it will take several months for the concrete to cure to the same color as your existing driveway. You could also top the cement with a thin coat of cement and then stain it, but the cracks will come back in time.

40 days and 11 hours ago.

Reply

OK, I guess I don't understand how this works. I was thinking I would get suggestions on what options would be reasonable from a price and results perspective...ie i have learned today from other sources that stamped concrete is very expensive so it is unlikely that I would realize the benefit of that option...ie it would cost more than I would get in sales price of my home. I thought you would tell me here are a few suggestions and for an average driveway of x sq ft (3 car garage with x distance from the street), it might be reasonable to expect this...if you have any other help, I would appreciate it. If not let me know that as well and I will just accept what you have sent.

Accepted Answer

It is unlikely that any of the experts on this form could give you a very close estimate on anything since construction prices vary widely by area. For example in San Antonio I can have stone laid for $2.50/s.f. Whereas in Dallas Fort worth masons charge $5-$7/s.f. I can tell you that in Fort Worth it would cost me $2.50/s.f. to pour concrete and about $500 to remove a 12x12 portion of existing concrete. These are my costs and you as a homeowner can expect to 15-35% more. To top coat your existing cement, you will spend about $3-$5/s.f. total but you home and yard will be disturbed much less. Bottom line, there is only one inexpensive solution and that is to fill the cracks with the concrete crack filler that I mentioned before. Since you aren't interested in doing that, there is no option that will give you a positive return on your investment. I hope this help and I'm sorry that it is not what you wanted to hear.

Accepts:
Expert:	Coldwater Creek Homes
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Answered:	10/12/2009

General C&ontractor

Extensive experience in carpentry, plumbing, electrical and all other aspects of construction.

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Question

I have a peagravel walkway up to my front door and a concrete driveway, both of which have some cracks. I am about to put my house on the market. What can I do that will improve the appearance but won't be throwing away a lot of money

Answer

Go to a local masonry supply and get 1 tube of sl-1 grey for the driveway avd 1 tube of sl-1 stone for the sidewalk. Sl-1 is a self leveling crack filler so you will inject it into the cracks with a caulking gun and it will flow into and fill the cracks and will look better than unfilled cracks.

Reply

My house will sell for about 400k so that answer would not work. I need to repair it or cover it up...as I said, I am working towards selling my house so it has to look good not just better than not filled. That's not an acceptable answer. I thought there would be pavers or spray on something.

Answer

Reply

Accepted Answer

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