Cleaning concrete imprint ?

jhe

appreciate any advice please

I have just had building work done at home and despite the builder assuring me he would protect my concrete imprint patio and driveway he didn’t

So now it has chips and chunks out in parts and concrete/ cement stuck to it in various places , his answer is he will use acid to clean it but surely this will take the black dye out of it ?
The driveway cost over 11k two years ago so replacing it is not affordable to me.

Would be grateful for any suggestions i can try that might help remove the cement/ concrete off it

stuart45

Can you put some photos of the damage on?

WIAWSNB

Do NOT let him touch the drive with acid.

DO get in touch with the company who laid the drive, or one that carries out similar work. Get advice from them on how to repair and clean your drive.

Get ready to possibly make a claim against the builder, depending on just how bad the damage is. Do you have LegProt on your house insurance?

Almost certainly this can be sorted to a decent level, but it may need specialist - or just very competent - involvement.

If the concrete is still 'fresh' - say just a day old - there is every chance it can be removed with something like a piece of timber with a sharp corner, even if it needs gently malleting too.

Chips can be filled and colour-matched.

jhe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81963945#Comment_81963945

too many to post but here are some along with one of how it was, builder has tried jetwashing later last year but used high power and took the sealant off , need it cleaning so i can reseal it

jhe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81963983#Comment_81963983

thanks for advice, the work was done last year so its well and truly dried onto it, added some photos for someone who requested

WIAWSNB

Have you tried tackling the odd bit of mortar gently, using a blunt scraper?

Do all these pics show mortar - yellowish - or are there chips there too? If so, is the black colour going through the block or is it a coating?

stuart45

Unfortunately, anything that will break down the cement in the stains will also break down the surface of the concrete and change the colour of the drive. Because it's spread over a large area in small bits makes it more difficult. You might have to talk to a specialist cleaning firm. Acid washing with a dilute solution can sometimes be used on this type of concrete, but needs to be done by someone with experience. The whole driveway would need doing to ensure the acid etching was even all over.

jhe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81964139#Comment_81964139

the last photo shows a couple of chunks out of the imprint, the area is too big for me to tackle trying to scrape, it is stuck on solid.

It is concrete imprint, the concrete had powder dye added when it was being laid, then the top I usually apply sealant with a color powder added every year, the builder has tried to clean it all last year but used the jet wash full blast and took a lot of the sealant off.

The cement/mortar/ concrete is spread over the entire area here and there lots of it ,a front drive for 3 cars, a long driveway and a back patio the width of the house that meets the drive and a garden path the pics only show a small area