Front yard concrete walkway repair

[strobes]

Hi, I need some recommendations.
The front yard concrete walkway in shape of long shallow steps (exposed aggregate) cracked and twisted after constriction and stable now for a few years.
I'm considering to do some repairs.
1. On these steps that are cracked/twisted place about 1.5" thick layer of concrete mix and level.
2. Cover all steps with 0.5" concrete mix and seed some fine (.25") pea gravel so all steps have identical finish.

Any problems with plan?
What concrete mix to use in step 1 and step 2?
I'd like to have the final layer flexible as the soil will continue to move at some degree.
And of course make it budget friendly where it is possible.
Thank you

 

[bluedog225]

Some pics would help. I think you are going to have problems with the thin layer adhering the prior work. How stable is the underlying soil? Rock, clay, etc.

 

[strobes]

Here you are, I attempted these repairs 5-6 years ago. Was waiting to see if soil under continue to move or not. Appears to be more less stable. So it is time now to do right. Still I expect movement any way (north Texas clay). Need to control thickness of the last step where it is connected to sidewalk.

 

[Rusted Nut]

1/2" of concrete won't work, absolute minimum is 1 1/2" with pea gravel aggregate. Demo, re-compaction, and re-pour would be best, or chip out bad areas and patch with a mix of matching aggregate size.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Do you have freezing temps during the winter?…… If so water will get between the "new" topper and crack it.
My suggestion is to take up the old walk and pour a new walk………. You will thank me later!

 

[mm08822]

Do you have freezing temps during the winter?…… If so water will get between the "new" topper and crack it.
My suggestion is to take up the old walk and pour a new walk………. You will thank me later!

I agree. It won't last otherwise. The same cracks will come back and the additional layers will never be bonded well enough to survive freezing/boiling water in that joint. (A patch is always a patch.)

Remove it all. Excavate deep enough to place 6" stone. Form it for 4-6" slab with 6x6-10-10 mesh or #3 rebar in it. Set the risers to a uniform equal height. Provide a slight pitch for drainage. Provide control joints.

 

[bluedog225]

Agree with the above. It does freeze up there. I don’t know if they have a frost line or not.

Taking it out and doing it correctly with concrete is going to be expensive. I wonder if digging it out, put in a compressed base, and building the walk out of large stone would be cost competitive. Hard to tell how steep it is.

 

[strobes]

> Hard to tell how steep it is.
Its is 5 steps, about 6" tall.
Yes. Taking up old walk way and pouring new is a big deal...
I guess finishing with flag stone or similar will have the same problem as adding 1.5" of cement on top of old walk way?