Decorative concrete with uniform surface and method of forming the same

Abstract

A decorative concrete with a very uniform finish surface and a method of fabricating the same is disclosed. A concrete mixture is poured over a subgrade which defines an exposed surface. The exposed surface is finished with any of several techniques, and the surface is then worked with an abrasive material, and additional techniques are used to color and seal the concrete.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of forming a decorative concrete slab having a highly uniform exposed surface, comprising:
 pouring a concrete mixture over the subgrade, the concrete mixture defining an exposed top surface when poured;   finishing the exposed top surface;   allowing the concrete to harden; and   working the exposed top surface with an abrasive.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of washing the surface film, curing the slab with water, and power washing the slab. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sand blasting after allowing the concrete to harden. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising acid washing after allowing the concrete to harden. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein finishing the exposed surface comprises applying aggregate. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the abrasive is sandpaper. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein working the exposed surface with an abrasive is done with a machine. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein working the exposed surface with an abrasive is done by hand. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein finishing the exposed surface comprises applying fine sand. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of placing reinforcement members above the subgrade and pouring the concrete mixture over reinforcement members so that the reinforcement members are encapsulated within the concrete mixture. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the reinforcement members are rebar or a wire mesh. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein finishing the exposed surface comprises applying a mixture of fine sand and aggregate. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the step of applying a stain after working the exposed concrete surface with an abrasive. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the steps of:
 preparing a concrete form for the decorative concrete slab, the concrete form defining a boundary of the decorative concrete slab; and 
 applying a surface retarder after working the exposed surface with an abrasive. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising forming a vapor barrier after applying the surface retarder.