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Porch Floor Cracks

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BiXLL

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Recently retired and came home from our first snowbird winter to what I think is a pretty major problem. I have contacted 3 different contractors but nobody has shown up. Can I just seal those cracks off with something, maybe grind it down some and paint? Is this a job that someone with no concrete experience should even attempt?1000000707.jpg
 

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BiXLL

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I bought the house that had been totally remodeled including all new block wall in basement 18 years. Now I can't say I really pay a lot of attention to it, it's not used really. I know I would have noticed this, so it had to happen over winter.
 
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BiXLL

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I have no idea what the winter was like here. Question is, can I simply fill and seal these cracks with something like vinyl cement and paint over it, or do I need professional help herr?
 
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isb cornbinder

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JimH74 said:
Where do you live approximately? Any issues with subsidence in the area?
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I live close to Vancouver, BC. The land seems to be stable here. The front street vanished in under 20 minutes when a large water line broke. 12 inches in diameter and 165 psi has some serious earth moving power. My wife's company car was left standing on an elevated section of asphalt. A roll-back snatched her car off the pillar. The city foreman said it took 40+ truck loads to fill the hole.
We think the porch may have cracked because the original contractor did not design proper draining for the rain run-off in 1990.
We hired a contractor to replace all of the damaged wood and set the porch right.
 

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racecougar

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Yes, you can fill the crack with a flexible sealant. Something to be cognizant of is that as that foundation settles/heaves separate from the rest of the house, it will lower/raise the posts supporting the roof over your porch, which will pull/push the other end of the roof that is attached to the house. I'd question the quality of the foundation under the front of the porch; it likely isn't below frost depth.
 
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BiXLL

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racecougar said:
Yes, you can fill the crack with a flexible sealant. Something to be cognizant of is that as that foundation settles/heaves separate from the rest of the house, it will lower/raise the posts supporting the roof over your porch, which will pull/push the other end of the roof that is attached to the house. I'd question the quality of the foundation under the front of the porch; it likely isn't below frost depth.
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It is a front porch with no roof over it. I also am questioning the quality of the build. Would have though it would have showed itself sooner then 18 years?
 
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BiXLL

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Any recommendation on what product to use to fill and seal the cracks?
 
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Jsf721

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BiXLL said:
Any recommendation on what product to use to fill and seal the cracks?
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I am out of my area of expertise but I just fixed a crack in a marble shower seat with Lamlock crack repair off amazon, It was reccommended by a member here and it worked perrfectly. If you call the company (they are in Az) they are very helpful.

I did 2 pours, one really soaked in and the other filled true. Don't go over like I did bc sanding wet with 35 grit was a ton of work. Wish I was more careful not to overfill and taped off the area. I also suggest leveling with a razor blade while wet so that you have less sanding when cured.

 
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cgrutt

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racecougar said:

Sikaflex® Crack Flex Sealant

retail.usa.sika.com retail.usa.sika.com
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That or Sika self leveling sealant. I'd partially fill crack with sprayfoam or try to use backing rod (not sure how well that would work with jagged edge though). Self leveling will not hold on the verticals though may be able to block it off or fill with a urethane caulk. Main concern though is getting to why it cracked to begin with may have some structural issues to deal with.

ETA sorry that appears to be self leveling. Need to fill crack with foam or backing rod or it will just run out. Also won't work on verticals as mentioned above.
 
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Shiftless

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cgrutt said:
Self leveling will not hold on the verticals though may be able to block it off or fill with a urethane caulk. Main concern though is getting to why it cracked to begin with may have some structural issues to deal with.

ETA sorry that appears to be self leveling. Need to fill crack with foam or backing rod or it will just run out. Also won't work on verticals as mentioned above.
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Right!

I have experience with filling large stucco cracks on the part of my house which was an addition built over fill that has some settling issues. The settling has almost completely stopped but left some cracks that were long ago improperly dealt with. One old crack got to be large enough that regular backer rod was too small so I got the idea of using a piece of a pool noodle to back fill the biggest section prior to filling with mortar.
 
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