How To Repair Old Concrete
Fixing old concrete may mean just re-doing a previous coating or floor system that needs maintenance, or starting over from scratch and reapplying a coating. It may include structural repairs of cracks, spalls and other defects in the concrete itself.
If a coating is peeling or scraping off, it is always better to get rid of it so you have a good substrate for the next step of putting a new product on the floor. You can use chemical and water means: Applying a cleaner or stripper and washing with water, such as out of a pressure washer. This method is pretty messy and risks emulsifying old coating and soaking it further down into concrete, which is not always a good idea. You can use mechanical means: Grinding with abrasive pads, grinding machines, or shot blasting.
Measure
A starting point is to measure all the square footage involved. Measuring right away serves two purposes: You know the exact square footage, which later allows you to develop cost estimates for materials and labor. Takes you over the whole area so you can inspect it in detail.
Evaluate Existing Conditions
A detailed inspection and noting of problems can often give clues as to the cause of the problems you see. Knowing the causes then allows you to avoid them during this "fixing" process. Sometimes coating or floor covering failures have underlying causes. Sometimes the problem is with the material or product, or the application techniques. While poor or inadequate products often play a role, the preliminary issues of concrete preparation are probably the most common cause of failures.