Applying a skim coat of cement is useful for giving new life to concrete surfaces that have pitted or cracked over the years, but it is also useful for covering mason block walls in preparation for a ceramic tile or natural stone installation. While you can buy pre-mixed skim coat materials, you can also make your own.

Step 1

Determine the area for which you are going to skim coat. If you are covering an existing concrete floor and are simply covering up old cracks or helping to level out dips and valleys, you can use a simple concrete and water mixture. If you are skim coating walls, such as with bricks or masonry blocks, you can add a little lime into the mixture to create a more sticky compound that more readily sticks to the surface, allowing for ease of use.