Refinishing Concrete Footings for Steps to Smooth out Uneven Finish Drainage pipes, concrete, footings and foundations. Post your questions and find answers here

[FaceOfBear]

Hi, before I start I freely admit to being a complete concrete noob :) That said I have read about the basics.

I am making some steps down from our back door, about 1.2m in height. When constructing the frame I found that the concrete yard surface wasn't flat enough near the house wall, and was only around an inch thick everywhere, so I've had to construct some concrete footings for the posts. These posts will be attached with metal sleeves to the concrete.

So, 3 out of 4 concrete footings poured, I find out that my finishing is not really up to much - there are ripples and bumps all over the surface. The bumps aren't stone, it's just unevenness in the cement surface. Is it possible to rough up the surface and pour a thin layer of cement over to smooth it out? It's been 48 hrs since I poured it.

If that sounds ok, I also read somewhere about using plasticiser for a cement surface, should I use that and in what quantity?

If adding more cement on top is a bad idea, is there anything else I can do to flatten the surface?

Thanks!

[diggerjones]

Is this concrete going to be the finished surface. Much less than a couple of inches and additional concrete will be a problem. If a few mm maybe granola with sand and sbr.

[FaceOfBear]

Yes it will be the finished surface, ideally I won't add much to the height so I guess extra cement is a bad idea. Just a few mm would be ideal, not sure what you mean by granola or sbr - sand I got.

Thanks

[diggerjones]

It should of said grano as in granite dust. Sbr is an additive, waterproof,sticky, like pva but for outside. Mixing building sand make the mix smoother. Or instead you could try sharp sand instead of grano

[FaceOfBear]

Ah ok that makes more sense. Sbr sounds like just what I need, having read a bit about it.
Thanks for the advice.

[diggerjones]

No worries