How To Repair A Crack In Concrete Patio

Determining The Size Of The Crack

The size of your break is vital to determine what repair type youll use, and the materials to cover up the split.

Some of the most common splits in concrete are:

• True break They have different sizes and have considerable depth and width
• Hairline break They are mostly surface splits meaning they are always shallow and quite narrow.

Cracks In Footers/foundations Block Walls And Columns

Cracks in footers/foundations and block walls can also be repaired using epoxy, but again, it is critical to eliminate the cause of the cracks. A house settling, for example, may require the construction of a boot on the outside of the foundation to prevent any further settling. Cracks in a column are another substantial issue. While there are means of filling in the cracks, preventing further cracking is the largest issue. That may require the addition of more columns to support the weight above. Another option is building a rebar cage outside the column, drilling six-inch holes into the existing concrete, driving rebar into the holes, attaching that rebar to the cage, then forming and pouring more concrete around the column.

Floating Concrete Slab Characteristics:

In the sketch at above left, the floor slab is simply “floating” sitting atop gravel and soil inside the foundation wall.

This is an idealized sketch.

The author’s first construction job consisted of raking roughly level loose-fill dirt inside of building foundations.

Over several summers of this labor we never once saw anyone using a soil compactor and rarely did we see gravel poured inside of the foundation walls before the slab was poured.

The bad newsÂ;about typical floating slab construction is that anything that causes the soil to settle risks slab cracking and settlement. Flooding, leaks, or simply poor handling of roof and surface runoff can send water under a building where it causes loose soil to settle.

The good newsÂ;about cracks in floating slab construction is that the damage is to the floor, not to the structure that is supporting the building.

Only if you see a floor slab crack that continues up in the foundation wall where the crack meets the wall would the structure be obviously involved.

More good news: if there is significant soil settlement under a floating slab, the slab is likely to break and follow the settling soil downwards; a sudden precipitous collapse of a floating slab is less likely than the next case we describe.

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Trowel Down The Filler

If there are areas that fill the crack from side to side and are flat, they will not need additional tooling. For high areas, draw the putty knife in the direction of the crack to flatten the filler. For areas that appear low or have pockets, add more filler in those areas and then immediately trowel down with the putty knife.

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Unsightly cracks in concrete not only detract from the look of a garage or patio, they can also lead to further problems as moisture seeps into the concrete.

Luckily, theres an easy way you can repair a cracked concrete slab or wall and prevent further damage down the track.

Sikadur Concrete Fix is a two part epoxy adhesive and filler that can be used as a bonding bridge adhesive paste for concrete and most building materials.

Its simple and easy to apply and can be used for repairing cracks, holes and voids in concrete floors and walls.

It also works as a structural adhesive for a range of materials including stone, ceramics, fibre cement, masonry, metal and timber.

To repair cracks in a concrete floor, first ensure that the area is free from dust, grease and surface contaminants.

Concrete fix can be applied to both dry and damp surfaces, but standing water in any voids, pits or pores should be removed prior to application.

While wearing safety glasses and chemical resistant gloves, pre-mix both parts separately, then mix equal parts of each together in a suitable container. Mix thoroughly for three minutes with an electric drill and paddle mixer.

Use a trowel to apply concrete fix to the prepared substrate and smooth it into the crack or to form the desired shape.

Apply Sika Concrete Fix to corners using a shaped trowel

The paste cures rock-hard, so make sure you clean all tools and surfaces using Sika Colma Cleaner before it hardens.

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How To Resurface A Cracked And Sunken Concrete Porch

• How to Redo Stamped Concrete Flooring

All buildings are subject to eventual settling into the earth as gravity takes its toll, and concrete porches are no exception. Eventually they will crack and some areas will sink. While you can resurface a cracked and sunken concrete porch, understand that it might only be a temporary solution if the porch continues to sink over time.

How To Repair Cracks In Stamped Concrete Patios

• Written by Evaline Tiondi on Nov 22, 2010To ensure our content is always up-to-date with current information, best practices, and professional advice, articles are routinely reviewed by industry experts with years of hands-on experience.Reviewed by

Stamped concrete patios are one of the most popular residential outdoor installations. Concrete is poured onto a patio and allowed to cure partially. Various patterns can then be stamped onto the concrete before it hardens to create an attractive surface. It is a good alternative to a brick patio. When properly installed and well maintained, stamped concrete can last several years. However, cracks are a normal occurrence even with the best of care. Some knowledge of how to repair cracks can save you from the replacement of the entire patio.

Step 1 Prepare the Patio

Scrape off the loose concrete in the cracks with a wire brush. Be sure to clear as much of the loose material as possible. This will enable the concrete patching mixture to bond more effectively when applied in the crack. Clean the patio surface with soapy water to get rid of loose concrete, dirt, and debris. Rinse well and dry with an old towel.

Step 2 Mix Color Patch Mixture

Step 3 Application

Step 4 Extra Large Cracks

Step 5 Re-Stamp

Step 6 Seal

As a final step, seal the repaired area with a concrete sealant. This will help to protect your patio from damage and preserve the integrity of the installation.

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How To Repair Cracked Concrete Back To Its Original Beauty

Concrete installations are designed to last hundreds of years, but sooner or later, most concrete patios end up developing small cracks, gaps, holes, and crevices. If your concrete path, patio, or driveway has begun to show signs of cracking, it may be time for you to make the necessary repairs sooner rather than later. While in some cases it may require help from a professional, almost anyone can fix a cracked concrete patio.

Here are a few ways you can make your cracked concrete patio look brand new.

The Concrete Repair Process

In general, repairing a crack in concrete is pretty straightforward. Once the area is clean and completely free of dirt and oil, the steps are as follows.

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Eliminating Ridges In Stamped Concrete Seams

Question:

When we are stamping, we sometimes end up with a lot of crusting that we try to roll out or hammer away the next day. Do you have any tricks or suggestions for dealing with this type of problem?

Answer:

I assume you are talking about the material that pushes up between stamp imprints. If so, this is usually referred to as “squeeze.” You will always have some squeeze, but it should not be overwhelming. If you are getting too much, here are a few things to look at:

Is the surface too wet? A wet surface can create more squeeze. Wait until the surface is a bit stiffer.

Are you using imprinting tools with lots of edges and angles? Tools with multiple edges tend to create more squeeze because it’s harder to hold multiple edges tight during stamping vs. one or two edges.

How old are your tools, and do the edges fit together tightly? Not all tools are built the same way, and if the edges don’t come together tight, you will get more material pushing up between them.

To get rid of squeeze, the easiest method is to roll it out with a touch-up wheel or chisel while the concrete is still green. If you wait and come back after the concrete is hard, you can remove the squeeze with a good set of straight-edge metal chisels. The problem with waiting until the next day is that the areas exposed after breaking off the hardened material are now usually a different color and will need to be touched up with a tint, stain or colored sealer.

How To Fix Cracks In Concrete

The band-aid fix for repairing cracks in concrete is the simple mixing of a polymer-modified cement product in a bucket with water, then wiping the mud over the cracks with a trowel. Doing so is neither a structurally sound solution nor a long-term fix, but it will suffice if the cracks are merely symptoms of the maturation process of concrete small cracks that occur as concrete dries when the mix is over-hydrated. But, a quick fix is not adequate if the cracks are the product of pressure or torque from an outside agent like a tree root or ground swell.

Traditionally, fixing cracks in concrete properly required the removal of the crack all together, a job that entails removing the concrete around the cracks and re-pouring the section. However, in instances where the concrete supports substantial weight or is supported by rebar, removing concrete can weaken the structural integrity of the concrete and lead to further damage.

Fortunately, todays epoxies are so advanced that, once cured, epoxy often has greater tensile strength than concrete. That means taking a chance of affecting the structural integrity of a wall or flat work is minimized to a great extent through the use of industrial epoxy. However, using epoxy while it can slow or prevent the growth of cracks does not produce the same cosmetic consistency as removing the cracks completely and beginning anew on a cracked portion of concrete.

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How Do I Mix Epoxy Repair Mortars

All epoxy repair mortars come in tubs with ready measured amounts of resin aggregate and hardener. The hardener is tipped into the resin aggregate and a mixer paddle is used to get a good, uniform mix. It takes about 4 6 minutes to mix a 20Kg tub of epoxy mortar.

Mixing epoxy repair concrete with a mixer paddle

Why Does The Concrete Patio Settle

In the first place, why does the concrete patio settle or sink? Before the concrete is installed, the ground is prepared and the earth is compacted using heavy machinery. Typically, the compacted surface usually comprises of gravel or it will have at least a layer of gravel. This is usually done to prevent the ground from sinking because of the weight of the concrete patio that is installed above.;

Settlement can occur because of weather conditions or the soil below it eroding due to rainwater. It may also occur if the compacting is not done thoroughly or properly.

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Cut A Chiseling Groove

Using a diamond blade on your circular saw, cut a 1/2-in.-deep groove along each side of the crack. Wear an N-95 respirator and turn on a fan to blow the concrete dust out of the garage. Chip out the cracked portion with a maul and cold chisel.

Concrete cracks are caused by sideways expansion, poor drainage conditions or settling soil beneath the concrete. If your concrete is the same height on both sides of the crack, you can fix it yourself. But you have to enlarge the crack . Then power-wash the area and squeegee off the excess water before applying the concrete crack filler. Fill with a polymer-modified cement such as Quikrete concrete resurfacer No. 1131. Our crack was wide and deep, so we chiseled out the entire opening and refilled it . However, if one side of the crack is lower, call an expert to diagnose and fix the underlying soil/drainage problem. Then either replace the sunken portion or call a mud-jacking company to raise it.

How Do I Clean Everything Up After Making My Concrete Repairs

Resin based materials are usually hard to clean and the solvents used to clean them are pretty harsh on the hands. Rizistal however have delivered a solution which you will be able to see in all of the product reviews mentioned above. It is called Safer Solvent, and it is called that because it is!

Dip a rag into the safer solvent and clean your tools easly. The safer solvent can also be used to wipe your trowels down as you smooth over the repair mortars we have mentioned above. As they are all resin based, they tend to stick to the trowels which makes it hard to get the surface smooth.

Use safer solvent to clean tools down after working with epoxy repair mortars

We hope this project has helped you solve a problem that is experienced by thousands of home improvers every year.

Concrete is perishable, it will deteriorate very quickly when it is allowed to crack and the only method of repairing it properly is with epoxy repair mortars. We only recommend Rizistal mortars and concretes because we have worked with them for a couple of years but there are many others out there so please do go and have a look round.

All project content written and produced by Mike Edwards, founder of DIY Doctor and industry expert in building technology.

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Why Does The Patio Crack

The main issue with outdoor concrete patios is that they settle or sink. When the concrete patio sinks or settles, this occurs unevenly in different sections. This results in wobbly, unstable, and uneven concrete surfaces. When the concretes weight is not supported uniformly from below, concrete cracks start to form.

If you leave these issues unattended to and let the cracked concrete patio remain in this condition, your furniture may be unstable and walking on cracked concrete can stub your toes. Overall, you will have an unsightly concrete patio.

Option 1: Replace The Whole Thing

The first way most homeowners think of to;address their settling patio is to simply replace it. Seems simple enough, right?

But this method is not so simple. Replacing the entire patio will first require you to remove any furniture you may have on the surface, as well as any plants or landscaping which may be along the borders. Then youre in for;lots of labor, new materials, and foot traffic through your property. Even though it seems like the most obvious choice, replacing the whole patio is the most expensive and time consuming option on the table. So what else can you do?

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Insert Foam Tubing Into Large Cracks

The crack I had to repair was about 1/2 inch wide.

Although Sakrete crack filler can be used for cracks up to this size its best to fill in large gaps with the foam tubing.

The foam tubing should be slightly wider than the crack to create a tight fit. I used a 5/8 inch wide variety.

Place the tubing in the crack and push it down. There should be a 1/4 inch space between the top of the foam tubing and the top of the concrete crack.

This 1/4 inch space is where the concrete crack filler will be poured.

Click on this link for more details on the polyfoam caulk saver.

Its made by Frost King who also has a ton of other great weatherizing products.

Check out their website because youll get a lot of great ideas of how to keep the cold weather from increasing your heating bill.

When To Repair A Concrete Patio

Unlike the controlled environment of a home’s interior, concrete patios are subject to temperature and moisture fluctuations that can severely hamper your repair. For most patch materials, both the air and the concrete must be between 50 F and 90 F. The concrete should be perfectly dry and no precipitation should be forecast for the next 24 hours. Covered concrete patios that remain fully dry can be patched during precipitation.

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