Inexpensive finish for curved steps and driveway?

[Monomial]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for an inexpensive solution that looks good to finish a driveway and curved steps up to the front door. I would prefer something that I can do myself, or that an inexperienced laborer can do. I suggested to my wife we just leave it bare cement, but she claims that looks ugly and she will not accept it. She wants to put down ceramic tile, but due to the complexity of the curves we can not get a cost effective quote for installation, and the tiles themselves would be expensive as well. I don't think tiles will look good around the curved, vertical sections of the stairs anyway, so we are butting heads on that one.

We had one quote for a poured epoxy solution, but that price was in the stratosphere.

I am really looking for something in the range of 500 baht per sq. meter that is relatively easy to apply to complex surfaces. I've seen products in the West that you can simply spread on the cement with a squeegee, but I haven't found anything like that over here.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Edited March 30, 2016 by Monomial

[IMHO]

Sandwash usually costs between 250 and 400 Baht/sqm fully installed, depending on special designs/colors you want, and where you are - but is definitely not a DIY:

https://www.google.com/search?q=ทรายล้าง&source=lnms&tbm=isch

Stamped concrete is another option, but again not really a DIY, and costs 500-750/sqm installed:

https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&q=แสมป์+คอนกรีต

Edited March 30, 2016 by IMHO

[CGW]

^ Sandwash for the steps for sure, in the past we made the mistake of using tiles and had to replace them as they become dangerously slippy when wet!

[Morakot]

Sandwash usually costs between 250 and 400 Baht/sqm fully installed, depending on special designs/colors you want, and where you are - but is definitely not a DIY:

https://www.google.com/search?q=ทรายล้าง&source=lnms&tbm=isch

This looks really nice!

Does it have a high degree of water permeability? Could some water get through it, or does it seal like concrete?

[IMHO]

Sandwash usually costs between 250 and 400 Baht/sqm fully installed, depending on special designs/colors you want, and where you are - but is definitely not a DIY:

https://www.google.com/search?q=ทรายล้าง&source=lnms&tbm=isch

This looks really nice!

Does it have a high degree of water permeability? Could some water get through it, or does it seal like concrete?

Sandwash is concrete

Basically, it's stones (various grades and colors) mixed in with cement, sand, water and a coloring agent. If the surface is rough it's normally screeded first. The sandwash itself usually goes on about 1cm thick, and requires lots of labor to pat it down properly and insure there's no air pockets underneath. After it's cured, it's then washed with diluted hydrochloric acid to remove the top layer and expose the aggregate.

If properly applied it will last decades. If not, it can start coming apart in just months. Make sure you visit and inspect actual projects your contractor has completed before signing.

Oh, and you will want a pressure washer to clean it - standing water will create black spots, and high pressure water is the best/quickest way to remove them.

I use a Karcher with this attachment, which makes light/fast work of it:

Edited March 30, 2016 by IMHO