Losing stones from aggregate pool deck

My friend has an aggregate pool deck and I was looking at it today because he’s losing stones here and there and asked me if I know how to prevent it. It looks chipped

My guess would be to seal it but I wanted to ask for input because this isn’t something I’ve learned much about and not really something I want to get into as a company. I am interested in helping my buddy out though by pointing him in the right direction.

One of the reasons for sealing exposed aggregate is to help prevent the stones from coming loose. So he needs to seal it. And keep sealing it on a regular basis.

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Agree, I spoke with a customer who has this same material. It must be sealed regularly.

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With an acrylic sealer. Being close to the pool he may want to put in a traction additive because it can be quite slick when wet. Make sure the concrete is dry when putting it on or it’ll leave a milky finish and not bond properly.

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I have had good luck sealing with SEK Surebonds, SB-4000. It is a penetrating water based sealer, dries clear and and never has to be stripped. It wears away over time. It also doesn’t make the surface slick.

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Is it matte or gloss

Penetrating, may slightly darken the concrete but that’s it. You can’t see it once it is applied.

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The SB 1300 I heard works well too

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Yeah 1300 would probably be as good or better since it has a joint sealing capability. I just don’t know about the finish or if it ever has to be stripped.

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it’s a matte finish so no gloss

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Stupid idea but why can’t the homeowner just glue down the missing pebbles?

He can but he’s asking how to prevent it.

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Thanks Mark. @DJPWS and everyone else who made suggestions.

You’ve used it for exposed aggregate? Not sure a penetrating sealer would be best for this as it soaks into the concrete more. An acrylic sealer actually just coats over top of it basically holding all the rock in.

I’ve used in on exposed aggregate and had good results but my customers weren’t as concerned about losing stones. So it seals the concrete and helps delay the algae growing back, that’s why i said the 1300 might be a better choice since it will help lock in the stones but still be a matte finish.

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