Fizzure Cracking...... What If

[premierguy]

Hypothetically...

I have some hairline fractures developing in the basement concrete from settling of the new house after 3 years time. Generally, this crack is going to keep going on until the foundation has settled. I really wish I would have spent the $$ placing a barrier underneath ___!

I'm really concerned to apply another coating over the existing concrete for fear of it cracking with the floor....


Should I call an expert to come fix this ASAP or provide an Optional Solution for my concerns, or am I plain out of luck?

 

[Mlynch]

hairline cracks are no big deal and not an emergency situation... If there is no vapor barrier then the main concern should be vapor drive lifting a non breathable coating. There are ways to coat slabs w/out vapor barriers and you may not even need estra measure depending on your location to the water table. As far as the crack showing up through a coating ... if this is a major concren there are many measure you can take to fix cracks all the way up to a carbon fiber patch (crazy if you ask me). But a ruberized coating like a polyurea is superior to epoxy in that it has much more give and elongation and i would be willing to bet that with a proper instalation you could coat this slab and never worry about seeing a crack again.

good luck

 

[premierguy]

hairline cracks are no big deal and not an emergency situation... If there is no vapor barrier then the main concern should be vapor drive lifting a non breathable coating. There are ways to coat slabs w/out vapor barriers and you may not even need estra measure depending on your location to the water table. As far as the crack showing up through a coating ... if this is a major concren there are many measure you can take to fix cracks all the way up to a carbon fiber patch (crazy if you ask me). But a ruberized coating like a polyurea is superior to epoxy in that it has much more give and elongation and i would be willing to bet that with a proper instalation you could coat this slab and never worry about seeing a crack again.

good luck

Thank you, I enjoyed your response….

Tiny fizzure cracks seem to cover really well with the rubberized materials now days… the ½ mm size cracks deserve a bit more attention, even when placing ¼ “ deco’s. I fizure it will be best to fill n grind before the two solid coatings… but then again, two solid thin coats won’t do the best job hiding the fill n grind areas….


My next job is the stickler of them all….

*Another house was built on a water table with a basement that has no saw cuts, with a dozen or so cracks (1/16th at widest spot) already extending ten feet from the edges within two years time…

I advised him not to waste $$ on crappy rental equipment and -less than adequate coatings- sold by your local store.

This floor has future consequences to follow, and reminds me of a combination of multiple teetering floors found in the traveling circus posse….


What installation will be the best for this person?

 

[Mlynch]

Here is what i would do...

1. After filling the cracks i would grind the entire floor. (if done correct the cracks will be even with the rest of the floor and impossible to detect. OR fill cracks with a flexible polyurea then shave over the top w/ a razer (flexible fill better for stopping any kind of long term reaccurance) use aggresive grit lowest available for more extreme profile (more surface are per square inch the more adhesion)

2. There is a less expensive (high build high elongation) polyurea product i use that you could extend with sand and trowel 1 or two coats to about 1/8th of an inch then on final coat of this product broadcast color quartz or vinyl fleck... This flexible product will absorb any movement in the concrete and not allow anything but the most extreme (very extreme) cracking to show.

3. finish off with your favorite epoxy or polyurea polyaspartic 100 percent solids clear top coat.

 

[premierguy]

Good options to save $$ with your opinions here.

 

[premierguy]

It took a few passes to completely fill the minute cracks….

As the material thickened we raced back with shoe spikes to refill again, ahead of time before the hardening process to allow perfect coverage of the broadcast!