Cement Repair

[Jerry1]

Wondering if anyone has ever successfully repaired concrete. I have a step that needs repaired and I'd like to try to understand my options. I'm not sure if filling the crack/chip with a concrete repair material or some type of epoxy would be best. My home sits on a slab and I don't think this can be removed and replaced - certainly not without a lot of work. Hoping to figure out how best to proceed as I work to get a couple quotes. I've call a mason to have him look at it. However, I'm sure his answer will be to mix up some mortar and fill the crack. I'm just not sure that would be durable enough. I'd like to think this would get a permanent fix which I'm assuming will need to be water tight. Maybe a sealer after the mortar? It's hard to see in a picture but that chip at the end of the crack is actually pretty deep.

 

[Texas Proud]

Are the crack just surface or completely through the slab?

My back patio had a crack from one side to the other... I also had a post of bricks where the crack ended and it was separating the two halfs.... I did pay someone to come and jack up the side that was slipping away and going down... they seemed to do a good job and just filled in the cracks so it did not look bad...

Two years later the crack was much wider than when I fixed it.... so I paid to have someone hammer out the patio and pour a new patio... came to find out that I had 3 different thicknesses.... the original was 6 inches for the half closest to the house, 4 inches past the crack and the previous homeowner built some more patio with 2 inch but did put some wire mesh in it....

What I see in the picture I would just buy some liquid cement and pour it in the crack...

Quikrete 1 Qt. Concrete Crack Sealant 864000 - The Home Depot

Quikrete 1 Qt. Concrete Crack Seal is used for repairing cracks in concrete driveways, patios and sidewalks. The crack seal can be applied directly from the bottle and is gray in color to blend with the

www.homedepot.com

 

[zinger1457]

One repair I did to my concrete entryway was to first clean out the crack and fill it with a concrete crack filler, don't recall the brand, it came in a caulking type tube, then painted the entryway over with Behr Concrete Epoxy coating. Still looks good after 5 years but have to accept that once concrete starts to crack it will probably never completely disappear no matter what you do to cover it up. Getting the epoxy paint to adhere properly does require some prep work like a good cleaning and etching the concrete surface. The idea is to stop moisture from getting in the crack and to stop it from getting worse. Not a difficult DIY job.

 

[Walt34]

I did this repair last April and it's still holding fine. I used the same epoxy material to do a whole bunch of cracks, and some that came in a tube to do some others. All are holding up fine so far but they haven't been through a winter with the freeze/thaw cycles yet.

For the cracks similar to yours I also bought a "crack chaser blade" that goes on an angle grinder to widen the crack so the epoxy can actually get down inside the crack. Use a dust mask with this tool! You do not want to get that concrete dust in your lungs and it generates a LOT of dust.

I also used this concrete epoxy for cracks in the sidewalk, it is a much smoother material (the one I used on the porch has a sand-like consistency as if it has sand in it). That stuff comes in two tubs and has to be mixed.

 

[Walt34]

Oh, for laughs here's a picture of me in all the concrete-dust gear:

 

[Jerry1]

Oh, for laughs here's a picture of me in all the concrete-dust gear:

I think I’ll use an N95 mask and a chisel.

 

[wolf]

A few years ago. I saw workmen, repairing some concrete "ramps" at Costco. Typical skinny long cracks.

I asked them what material they were using. Texture of toothpaste.

They said, they use patching material, that is used around swimming pools. Has to be smooth.

They said, swimming pool supply houses sell the patch.

Since, the patch is not used on car driveways, (which requires super strong concrete). It should work.

Oh, by the way. The Costco ramp repairs are fine to this day. California, Bay area.

Good. Luck.

 

[Sunset]

The thing about all these patch epoxy or concrete patching solutions is that they show up the repair so vividly. Folks around here have patched their driveway or even filled in spots where a stone popped out of the cement. Now they have 1 inch lines all over their driveway and round spots that stand out as different color and texture.

I wonder if getting some sand/dust/ground concrete and sprinkling on top before the patch hardens would blend it in better ?

 

[triangle]

Concrete cracks, it is just a matter of degree. If it is not chipping away you might be able to use a filler product like in this manufacturer demo:

For driveways and larger areas I believe the professionals use various topping compounds after using some acidic solution to prep the old surface for better adhesion.

 

[zinger1457]

The thing about all these patch epoxy or concrete patching solutions is that they show up the repair so vividly. Folks around here have patched their driveway or even filled in spots where a stone popped out of the cement. Now they have 1 inch lines all over their driveway and round spots that stand out as different color and texture.

I wonder if getting some sand/dust/ground concrete and sprinkling on top before the patch hardens would blend it in better ?

Probably you're only option to try and hide the crack/repair after filling it is to put a coating over the entire area afterwards. As described above I had good luck with Behr Concrete Epoxy coating, maybe not a 100% blend in but does provide a uniform color and most folks wouldn't notice it unless looking up close.

 

[Jerry1]

I have a mason coming out today. While this is something I could probably handle, I don’t want to fix this and I really don’t want it to be messed up.

I do appreciate this discussion. I’ll be taking to him about how to make his repair last. I’m thinking some type of sealer so that the moisture stays out. I live in the north, so the freeze thaw cycle is my biggest concern. If I can’t save this, the cost of a rebuild would be significant. I’d probably have to have the door removed back to the frame and repour a threshold. Obviously something to be avoided if possible.

 

[Jerry1]

The work has begun. A bit worse than it looked from the last picture.

And the finished product. I’ll seal it once it cures.