My front porch is polished concrete, and gets slippery in the rain. What is the best way to add grip/traction to an existing concrete walkway?
More info: My front porch is part of the house slab, so it's the full width of the house, and extends about 4 feet from the house. The roof also covers this porch, however rain splashing off nearby bushes always means that the concrete walkway is dangerously slippery in any wet weather.
Best Answer
You can make the surface a bit rougher by using an acid etch. Muriatic acid & water is commonly used to clean concrete prior to sealing or painting. A strong solution allowed to sit will actually etch the slippery surface away. It's much easier than grinding.
Once the surface etch is deep enough rinse with fresh water if the first solution did not etch enough add a higher percentage of muriatic acid. I would start with 4 parts water to 1 part acid. Remember to always add acid to water.
Most big box stores sell muriatic acid for this use and pool supply stores have it for balancing the pH in pools and spas so it is easy to find and not very expensive at ~$10 per gallon.
Added per comment: we always add acid to water to prevent an exothermic reaction. If water is added in some cases it causes the water to rapidly heat and can boil and splatter the acid from the reaction. So to be safe remember AAA always add acid