Cynthia and Dan Capezio wanted to add more curb appeal to their Florida home. Instead of looking up at their home, they looked down at their feet.
“My husband had our home built about 13 years ago,” says Cynthia Capezio. “The large driveway was plain concrete. Then, about five years ago another section was added at the bottom of the driveway, so the concrete colors in the driveway didn’t match. And, to make matters worse, we looked down and saw some very visible cracks.”
To make an impressive change to their home exterior, Cynthia and Dan started to search online for concrete resurfacing DIY products. That’s when they discovered Daich Coatings.
Taking the Plunge After reviewing online information for the SpreadStone™ Decorative Concrete Resurfacing Kits, the Florida couple decided to take the plunge. They ordered five of the large kits in the Cold Gold Slate color, enough to cover 2,000 square feet of space.
The patent-pending pre-mixed, factory-tinted stone coating is easy to roll onto a surface. The coatings dry quickly, so results are fast to see.
“In the beginning of the project we took a full day to clean and pressure wash the driveway and sidewalk,” says Cynthia. “We took extra time to make a diamond-shaped wood template for our stone design.
“It took us a day to figure out exactly how we wanted to do the tape placements. It wasn’t hard, it was just some decisions we had to make. Then we proceeded with the primer and laying down the tape.”
A Step at a Time
With the primer down, the husband-and-wife team waited 24 hours to let the curing take place. Then they followed the instructions and added the base coat and accent colors.
“Each step took us a full day to complete,” says Cynthia. “It’s an awfully big driveway. But, at the end of five days, it was finished.
“Next we tackled the sidewalk. That went much quicker since it was a smaller area and we had the practice of doing the driveway first.”
But There’s More …
To give a truly unique accent to their home exterior, Cynthia and Dan took an extra step. They drew out palm trees, then cut them out of cardboard. The pair traced them onto specific areas on the driveway and sidewalk, then painted them in. Now the palm trees stand out as a sign of welcome for their home.
“We love the new look,” says Cynthia. “Our neighbors have stopped and told us how nice it looks. Many have commented that it looks very professional. This project really increased the curb appeal of our home.
“This was another satisfying home DIY project we’ve done together. Next we’re getting ready to use Daich Coatings products to tackle the garage floor so it matches the driveway!”
Cynthia’s Tips:
– If you live in a warm location like we do, put down the base coat during the early morning hours. We did it mid-day and it was drying before we could roll it on!
– Contact Daich Coatings if you have questions. They were able to mail us real samples so we could see for ourselves what the product would look like before we purchased it.
– Take your time. When tackling a large DIY project like this, it’s great to pace yourself and to also go back to the installation instructions and videos.