Another Concrete Crack Repair Thread....

[neel2008]

Yea I know..... but I searched and couldn't find an example that felt like it was just like my situation....

Trying to figure out what is going to be the best course or action for my crack in my garage floor. I think the garage was built back around 2000 (before we lived here) so i assume slab is around 13-14 years old. Looks like a home brew job done by Helen Kellar.....anyway, it has one crack in particular that I am trying to decide what to do with, should have some pics of it below. It is on average 1/2" wide in the bad spots Id say, down to 1/4" towards the far end. Slab was poured on stone that is non compactable and slab is not level but its REALLY REALLY thick, at least 8 inches or more and has this crack that goes all the way across it at an angle. Garage is 24x24 and since it is at an angle, Id say factoring in the angle and path of the crack, It has to be 28-30 feet in length total. I know it will never be perfect, but besides a new slab, what should I do with it? I really just want to seal it to try and keep the edges from chipping off and creeper/engine hoist/engine stand wheels from catching on it. We have lived here through two freeze/thaw seasons and I have not visually noticed any change in the crack or any unevenness of the levels of each side of the crack, surprisingly. I know it HAS to move some, so I assume I should use some kind of epoxy fill and not like a box store cement patch. I would love to just go the store and by something, but is there anything really out there at lowes/menards that is worth it? I know Legacy Industrial is a good forum contributor and I was eyeing some of their/his products. Something like the HD-110 patch? 2 gallon enough? Or go like with the Xtreme Set 100 crack-joint filler? That 2 gallon kit doing to be enough for something like this? Other options?





Now the worst spot, I know I would need to remove the broken pieces and clean the crack out before doing anything. The crack is currently half full of sawdust.

 

[nicksnothereman]

Yea I know..... but I searched and couldn't find an example that felt like it was just like my situation....

Trying to figure out what is going to be the best course or action for my crack in my garage floor. I think the garage was built back around 2000 (before we lived here) so i assume slab is around 13-14 years old. Looks like a home brew job done by Helen Kellar.....anyway, it has one crack in particular that I am trying to decide what to do with, should have some pics of it below. It is on average 1/2" wide in the bad spots Id say, down to 1/4" towards the far end. Slab was poured on stone that is non compactable and slab is not level but its REALLY REALLY thick, at least 8 inches or more and has this crack that goes all the way across it at an angle. Garage is 24x24 and since it is at an angle, Id say factoring in the angle and path of the crack, It has to be 28-30 feet in length total. I know it will never be perfect, but besides a new slab, what should I do with it? I really just want to seal it to try and keep the edges from chipping off and creeper/engine hoist/engine stand wheels from catching on it. We have lived here through two freeze/thaw seasons and I have not visually noticed any change in the crack or any unevenness of the levels of each side of the crack, surprisingly. I know it HAS to move some, so I assume I should use some kind of epoxy fill and not like a box store cement patch. I would love to just go the store and by something, but is there anything really out there at lowes/menards that is worth it? I know Legacy Industrial is a good forum contributor and I was eyeing some of their/his products. Something like the HD-110 patch? 2 gallon enough? Or go like with the Xtreme Set 100 crack-joint filler? That 2 gallon kit doing to be enough for something like this? Other options?

Now the worst spot, I know I would need to remove the broken pieces and clean the crack out before doing anything. The crack is currently half full of sawdust.

I use that crappy tube stuff but the only problems I have are at the "joints" in my front porch concrete so looks don't really matter in those spots because you can only see the patch standing top down. Next time (for major repairs)...I might actually try portland cement or just filtered concrete (what I call it). I've had mixed results with "filtered" concrete before (taking out the larger rocks) but I didn't use it for anything fantastic. I'm trying to think of the consistency, I think cement doesn't have larger rocks in it and probably a bit easier to mix than mortar; I'm not a stone mason or a contractor so I'm probably wrong about some of this stuff.

There are a bunch of things you can try but at the end of the day it's going to be utility not looks because nothing is really going to hide the cracks unless you fill over, sand, and paint it but that seems shady to me...I don't think that's a real construction technique. Please tell me that's not a construction technique.

 

[neel2008]

Well from the research ive been doing, I think I would have the best luck with an epoxy based product instead of a cement based product because the cement based stuff just seems to crack again in short time. Just trying to figure out for what I am calling a "large crack", if I should use like a patch or if i should use a crack sealer, I know a lot of crack sealers are avertised like up to a certain width, say 1/4" or so. And yea I'm not worried about how it looks really, I just want a smoothish floor that doesn't eat small nuts,bolts, and screws. Lol

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

If you are certain it won't move anymore, HD110 is tough stuff but it will not elongate too much.

If you think it might move, HD821 is great. May have to apply 2x to avoid a little settling during cure.

A sand bottom would help it from settling too much.

Make sure you chip out any weakness prior to applying either.


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[neel2008]

Sounds like the 821 might be a safer bet to me, I used the calculator on the page for the 821, it said 1 gallon was enough for 30 feet, I wondered how much on average 1 gallon would do so i put in 300 feet and it still said 1 gallon. Lol is the calculator not working properly at the moment? If I clean the crack, fill it with a fine sand up to an inch or so below the surface where needed and the crack is about 28 feet long, half about 1/4" wide and half about 1/2" wide, does that sound about right for a gallon or will I need multiple gallons. I mean i can always buy more if one doesn't do it, but I read the tech sheet and install pics and don't have a good idea on coverage really. Yea I know on cracks, its going to be hard to estimate, maybe ill start out with a gallon of the 821 and see how it goes.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Agreed. It is 1:1 ratio, so it's easy to meter out a little at a time.
Cracks are tough.


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[neel2008]

cool, thanks alot