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How to Mix Pebbles With Epoxy to Pour Over Concrete

Ian Kelly

Although plain concrete serves a useful purpose, the surface requires periodic maintenance as it ages. Resurfacing your driveway, patio, pathways and pool deck with pebbles embedded in epoxy not only covers cracks, worn areas, and stains, but it also gives your landscape and driveway a welcome face-lift.

Pebbles on a wooden table.

In addition, all areas are billed as skid-resistant, durable, and comfortable to walk on. However, like any refinishing process, thorough preparation is required before resurfacing.

Tip

Mix small batches of epoxy and hardener at a time. Apply the prime coat sparingly; one gallon of prime coat should cover 200 square feet of concrete without leaving bare patches. Carry out the procedure during a dry spell with zero chance of rain. Buy more pebbles than you need for the job and store the surplus away. In about two to years the saved pebbles will allow you to resurface small bare patches where the pebbles have become dislodged.

Preparation

  1. Connect a pressure washer capable of 2,400 pounds per square inch pressure to the hose bibb and plug the power cord extension into an electrical socket. Fit a nozzle that provides the second widest spray pattern to the pressure washer wand.

  2. Select a dirty test area on the patio or walkway. Put on a pair of gum boots and safety glasses before starting work.

  3. Turn the machine on. Hold the nozzle about two inches from the concrete, and experiment by directing the spray forward and backward. Vary nozzle speed and distance from the surface until you find the ideal wand angle, distance, and rhythm for optimal cleaning action.

  4. Work an area of approximately two square feet at a time and clear away all scale, rubble and dirt from the concrete surface. Continue until the entire area is clean. Allow 24 hours drying time before applying the epoxy primer.

Prime Coat

  1. Put on a pair of latex gloves. Pour two parts of epoxy resin into a clear plastic container and one part of epoxy hardener into a separate container. Pour the contents of either container into the other.

  2. Mix the two ingredients together with a clean wooden paddle while scraping the bottom and sides of the container. Repeat this process for two or three minutes to blend the ingredients together.

  3. Transfer the mixture to a clean container without pouring out the last few drops. Repeat the above procedure with a new paddle for two to three minutes to ensure thorough mixing.

  4. Pour a thin stream of mixed resin in a zigzag fashion onto about two square yards of concrete at a time. Spread the mixture thinly and evenly over the surface with an epoxy paint roller fitted with a 3/8-inch polyester nap.

  5. Turn off your lawn sprinkler if applicable and leave overnight to allow time for the prime coat to cure.

Applying Pebbles

  1. Mix up a six ounce batch of resin and hardener mixture at a time using the technique described above. Fill half a plastic bucket with small round paving pebbles. Pour a sparing amount of mixed epoxy resin onto the pebbles.

  2. Stir the mixture thoroughly with a wide drywall knife while adding small amounts of epoxy at a time. When the pebbles are fully coated, they become shiny and darken slightly.

  3. Pour the coated pebbles onto the primed concrete and spread them out with a steel finishing trowel. Keep troweling and aim for an even two-pebble thickness over the area. Once the area is covered, trowel the surface lightly a second time to ensure that there are no bare patches, or any stray pebbles resting on the surface.

  4. Repeat the above procedure until the entire area is covered. Allow 24 hours curing time before walking on the surface, and 48 hours before driving on a pebble coated driveway.

The Drip Cap

  • Although plain concrete serves a useful purpose, the surface requires periodic maintenance as it ages.
  • Select a dirty test area on the patio or walkway.
  • Vary nozzle speed and distance from the surface until you find the ideal wand angle, distance, and rhythm for optimal cleaning action.
  • Continue until the entire area is clean.
  • Pour a sparing amount of mixed epoxy resin onto the pebbles.
  • Stir the mixture thoroughly with a wide drywall knife while adding small amounts of epoxy at a time.
  • Once the area is covered, trowel the surface lightly a second time to ensure that there are no bare patches, or any stray pebbles resting on the surface.