Concrete Help

[Rich M.]

I was at my daughter's house doing some other repairs when I noticed her concrete porch had two cracks. One was a smaller crack and the other was larger and a little puzzling to me.

First, I am a low level DIYer who is good (well okay) at minor repairs or will view Youtube for repairs that are out of my wheelhouse.

Anyway, the porch is about 5 feet wide and about 20 feet long. The larger crack runs the five feet width. It starts out as a narrow crack and then widens to about an inch to an inch and half. As I look into the crack I can see an asphalt strip, like the ones used for concrete expansion. So I thought, "well this is an expansion joint put in by the concrete person." Did I mention yet I have little to know knowledge about putting down concrete. Looking at the crack, it looks fairly straight, but like I mentioned earlier it starts out as a hairline crack. If concrete people did this, it would be the same opening for the entire width/length.

Now feeling inside the opening, I can feel that both sides of the slab are smooth.

So is this possible, a crack developed and a repair person cut the slab, causing the smooth edges and then forced the asphalt strip down into the opening. Right now, the asphalt strip sits about an inch below the opening.

The only signs of any repair is at the end where the crack opening is smaller. I can see some concrete patch remnants st the end with the smaller opening.

Okay, so what do I have? How can I repair this?

My guess it might be best to have this section cut out (if it can be done), but my daughter is getting a new roof with wood replacement. If this is not enough, she needs new gutters and fascia board replacement. So doing a costly repair on the porch is not exactly in the cards right now.

Should I leave this alone or should I use a concrete patch to fill in the opening. Only guessing here, but my thought is this larger crack was the cause of the smaller crack forming. My guess is the crack needs to be filled in. You know the freezing/thawing issue.

Okay,

I have attached several photos that will show what I am facing.

Looking for advice.

Thanks.

 

[PAToyota]

It looks to me like someone tried to fill the crack with an asphaltic sealant of some sort. I'm not sure how someone would force an expansion joint board down in there after the fact (after the fact because, as you say, it isn't uniform).


My guess is that the contractor didn't bother to put any reinforcing in the slab, it settled, cracked, and then repairs were attempted. Really, replacing the slab is about the only option at this point to do it right.

 

[yeldogt]

They look different -- did someone pour another slab ..making the patio longer .. or maybe part had a problem and they resurfaced.

 

[NUTTSGT]

How long has she been in the house ? If just recently moved in, give it a Winter cycle to if it moves at all. Maybe take some measurements. If it's not growing, I wouldn't worry about it for the near future.

 

[Rich M.]

How long has she been in the house ? If just recently moved in, give it a Winter cycle to if it moves at all. Maybe take some measurements. If it's not growing, I wouldn't worry about it for the near future.

She has been there for several years. I think the wider opening was there, but the smaller crack is somewhat new. Not sure how longer the newer one was there, but my guess is it formed within the last year.

So, I guess I need a to get thoughts if I should fill in the larger crack. My main thought for this is to prevent water to get in and under the slab and freezing. Maryland weather has plenty of freezing opportunities.

As noted by another poster, did someone do another pour over the old slab? This might explain the asphalt expansion strip and the crack’s smooth sidewalls. It might also explain the less than straight crack.

So now, possibly based on this theory, would it hurt at this point to patch the opening? Not sure if it will hold for any length of time, but it might. My concern is if I leave the opening untouched, I will have additional slab movement creating more issues.

At this point in life I need less issues not more. Yes, this is my daughter’s house, but her being single and living 10 houses away has a way of increasing my issues. Hey, once a dad always a dad. You know whether it the kids or wife, they think you can fix everything. Yeah, right.

So the 10 million dollar question, based on what was explained and the photographs, does anyone foresee an issue with closing up the crack opening?

Thanks for your thoughts and opinions.

 

[ConCretin]

Looks to me like someone tried to float in an expansion board during the placement and then finished over one end of it. The thin layer of concrete that flowed over the expansion material then unsurprisingly cracked.

I'd open up the entire joint to a uniform width, gouge out the top of the expansion material, install backer rod and caulk.