Concrete grinder vs cap

On concrete grinder, anyone have any experience? Feller at the rental place did say that the concrete should be fully cured before using the grinder.

If I try to cap it, I'd like to go as thin as possible (so adjacent slab isn't off as much) and still be able to drive on it.

Any thoughts on either alternative will be appreciated.

BTW, tried an archive search so I wouldn't have to admit all this, but the search function's evidently broken, at least temporarily.

Thanks in advance ..
John A (TX) .. who's NOT going into the concrete finishing bidness!

You need to find out if the cement company is pouring road curbs the same day as you are. they use chloride to make the concrete set up faster. I have seen 2 floors ruined because the residual chloride in the mixure caused the concrete to set up too fast.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

John A (TX)

I sure might end up learning to live with it but not ready to throw in the towel quite yet. (Actually, I could probably live with it ok, but Her Royal Fluffiness has a different opinion!)

Thx again, Robert
~ja

Anyway .. thx again. I'll check it out.

~ja

Had a friend who did a room on the back of the house. Didn't want the concrete truck to mess up his yard so he left him at the curb. Wheelbarrowed the stuff to the rear of the house alone. You will not believe the surface roughness on that floor. It was unbelieveable, well maybe believeable when you think that he was so busy hauling he had no time for finishing. The room was unihabitable.

I usually do all the prep work and get a contractor, with crew, AND A CONNECTION TO THE CONCRETE COMPANY.....TO GET DELIVERY. I go to where they are building houses and get a crew to schedule my job after their day job (moonlighting). Get pretty reasonable prices that way.

So we were pouring a slab at my house and a strong cold front came in that day. The contractor didn't order calcium in it and we were out there till after midnight trying to trowel it down as it wouldn't set-up.

Problem with a cap is chipping in a couple of years (have seen it). Grinding will take awhile and you need a good respirator, plus it looks ground, doesn't match normal concrete cause you grind into the rocks and the other has the Portland floated to the top (smooth gray).

Mark

Am leaning towards trying the grinder first - the different coloring doesn't bother me near as much as the uneven surface. As someone else suggested, can always cap it later if necessary.

Thx again for the reply.
~ja

If the entire area is above the adjacent slab, wait 30 days for the concrete to cure and grind it. Wear eye and nose protection. You'll be spitting dust for weeks. If it doesn't turn out you can always have it capped.

In the future, you can tell your concrete supplier to adjust the mix so you have much more time to work with the pour. I noticed you are in TX and if it was hot when you poured, the extra time might have prevented the problem.

Am still pondering the options (none of which look easy and/or cheap, dangit!)

Thanks again ..
~ja

~ja