|
Fix for cracks in concrete?
05-04-2018, 03:12 PM
|
#1
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,065
|
Fix for cracks in concrete?
Thought I'd ask a quick question since so many folks on the forum are handy and knowledgeable.
Patio porch is concrete/flagstone and in pretty good shape for this 10 year old house. I believe the patio was added on by the previous owner. There are several thin cracks that have developed.
Question: is there a simple way to seal these cracks to keep water from seeping into them. Last year, I sealed the entire patio The sealant I used was a waterproof sealant for natural stone. I believe the sealant did it's job on the surface of the patio but I don't know if the sealant penetrated the cracks or should I have used a different product on the cracks. I'm not looking so much to repair these thin cracks...more so to seal them up. I'm really hoping that someone knows of a DIY fix with another type of sealant.
Maybe some here could at least point me in the right direction.
Thanks in advance!
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
05-04-2018, 03:52 PM
|
#2
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Independence
Posts: 7,298
|
I've used a concrete patch goop - you will see it used in big box stores to seal/fill cracks or holes in the concrete floors. Kind of a caulking compound. I think it looks like hell and it has pulled away from the concrete over several years - I'm using it in 1/4"+ cracks on an exposed aggregate driveway apron and didn't have a prayer of having a fresh clean bond.
Think with your pictures I'd go with "first, do no harm" and leave it alone.
__________________
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
|
|
|
05-04-2018, 04:17 PM
|
#3
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1,390
|
I am not an expert by any means, but I had cracks in my driveway. So I went to home depot and bought some ready mix concrete patch and it seems to work pretty good so far. Some sealant was used previously and it did not work very well at all so I tried this.
__________________
Understanding both the power of compound interest and the difficulty of getting it is the heart and soul of understanding a lot of things. Charlie Munger
The first rule of compounding: Never interupt it unnecessarily. Charlie Munger
|
|
|
05-04-2018, 05:24 PM
|
#4
|
Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 13,925
|
As a not particularly overly handy but creative type, I would probably look for some matching/gray tile grout, mix up enough to smush in the cracks, and then apply grout sealer.
|
|
|
05-04-2018, 05:41 PM
|
#5
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 10,936
|
I've used the stuff shown in this video a few times. Both Home Depot and Lowes carry it. Works okay.
https://quikrete.com/athome/video-re...ing-cracks.asp
|
|
|
05-04-2018, 07:07 PM
|
#6
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Colorado
Posts: 8,971
|
Polymeric sand. Sweep it into the joints, hose it down, let it dry and you are good to go. It hardens like grout, but a thousand times easier to work with. They sell it at Lowe’s. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sakrete-40-...c-Sand/3502168
|
|
|
05-04-2018, 07:16 PM
|
#7
|
gone traveling
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: The Deep South Bay
Posts: 744
|
I’ve used epoxy sealant on cement before and it doesn’t let any water through, i used gray on my garage floor but I believe they make it in clear as well so you can see your stone
|
|
|
05-04-2018, 08:09 PM
|
#8
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
|
You've got a tough situation there. Something is causing those cracks (settling of the base underneath? frost heave? expansion/contraction of the stones/mortar itself?) and nothing you put on top or squish into them is going to stop the cracks from progressing.
Unless you want to go through the trouble of widening the cracks, only something very "thin" (i.e watery) will even get into the tiny cracks, and I don't know of anything that is like that and which also has the stretch/resiliency to keep the gap sealed thrugh expansions/contractions.
If you are willing to chisel/saw the gaps wider (including the ones across the stones), then some good elastomeric sealants might work for awhile. The polymeric sand suggestion is a good one, but you'd need wider gaps (it won't go into hairline cracks) and it won't seal as watertight as an elastomeric caulk.
|
|
|
05-05-2018, 05:51 AM
|
#9
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 1,770
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by samclem
You've got a tough situation there. Something is causing those cracks (settling of the base underneath? frost heave? expansion/contraction of the stones/mortar itself?) and nothing you put on top or squish into them is going to stop the cracks from progressing.
Unless you want to go through the trouble of widening the cracks, only something very "thin" (i.e watery) will even get into the tiny cracks, and I don't know of anything that is like that and which also has the stretch/resiliency to keep the gap sealed thrugh expansions/contractions.
If you are willing to chisel/saw the gaps wider (including the ones across the stones), then some good elastomeric sealants might work for awhile. The polymeric sand suggestion is a good one, but you'd need wider gaps (it won't go into hairline cracks) and it won't seal as watertight as an elastomeric caulk.
|
+1
There are so many variables when it comes to concrete and stone. How thick the slab is, if you are in a freeze/thaw zone, type of concrete. It makes a big difference too if the stones were set in the concrete base or were applied to the top of a concrete base. Have a friend that decided to put a slate stone top on his concrete patio. Didn't do proper prep and after the first winter, the pieces of slate started cracking and separating from the concrete base.
|
|
|
05-05-2018, 07:13 AM
|
#10
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Independence
Posts: 7,298
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Car-Guy
|
The concrete crack seal shown in the latter part of the video is what I used, thinking the apron cracks would allow gravity to help seal deeper into the cracks. Probably matches clean new plain concrete better than it did the exposed pea gravel aggregate of our apron.
__________________
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Quick Links
|
|
|