Concrete Pond Rim, what is this stuff?

[Booj Restaurant]

Hi everybody,

Im posting on behalf of my restaurant which owns a concrete pond. We are cleaning it and going to put in sky blue epoxy. I ran into a problem though. Some of the material on top of the pond's rim is crumbling and I know I need to re-do it. A picture of it is attached, I have been unable to identify if it is mortar or concrete. Any ideas?

 

[poconojoe]

Before doing any patching and painting, you'll have to chip out any loose stuff in order to make the proper repairs. Hammer and chisel. If it sounds hollow when you hit it, chip it out. It has to be solid or it will most likely fail in the future.

If you are unsure or if this is a large undertaking, it might be wise to higher a professional.

I guessing your photos show some type of mortar mix.
It's definitely not concrete. Concrete is basically cement with stone aggregates added.
Both concrete and mortar mix are cement based. Mortar doesn't have the aggregate (stone, rocks).
I believe mortar mixes have bonding agents to help them adhere better than just plain cement. Usually acrylic latex, which helps the mix to stick better. Plain cement would be hard to work with because it would mostly just fall out. You can also buy the latex as a liquid and paint it on the surface ahead of applying the mortar mix. This creates a clean sticky surface.

 

[poconojoe]

Without seeing the whole project, it might be a good idea to just chip all the mortar and stone off and do some nice cap stones or some type of bricks. It would probably look a lot nicer than those rocks stuck randomly into that mortar.

 

[j.w]

@Booj Restaurant

 

[Booj Restaurant]

Before doing any patching and painting, you'll have to chip out any loose stuff in order to make the proper repairs. Hammer and chisel. If it sounds hollow when you hit it, chip it out. It has to be solid or it will most likely fail in the future.

If you are unsure or if this is a large undertaking, it might be wise to higher a professional.

I guessing your photos show some type of mortar mix.
It's definitely not concrete. Concrete is basically cement with stone aggregates added.
Both concrete and mortar mix are cement based. Mortar doesn't have the aggregate (stone, rocks).
I believe mortar mixes have bonding agents to help them adhere better than just plain cement. Usually acrylic latex, which helps the mix to stick better. Plain cement would be hard to work with because it would mostly just fall out. You can also buy the latex as a liquid and paint it on the surface ahead of applying the mortar mix. This creates a clean sticky surface.

Thanks for your help!