Concrete Slab Repair
A concrete slab is a large horizontal area which is usually the floor of the house. A concrete slab can also be your driveway or the sidewalk in front of your house. With time, the concrete slab in your house can develop cracks. The process of fixing these cracks is called concrete slab repair and it doesn’t take more than one or two days to be fully done with it. A homeowner can also do the process themselves, but we usually recommend that you hire an expert to take care of the repair properly and make sure that the concrete slab is going to last longer.
Preparation
At first, you have to make sure that there are no obstacles in the area where you are going to repair. With that being said, you should clean the place where the crack is. You have to make sure there is no loose debris inside the crack and no loose rocks around. For the cleaning process, you can use a wire brush and then vacuum the crack, so all the dust and obstacles are out of the way. Remember to be sure that the site which is going to be repaired is cleaned, or else the new concrete is not going to settle well.
Reinforce and Paint
If the crack is long but tight, you want to open it a little bit with a drill hammer. The reason that we advise you to do this is to make space for reinforcement. It is always smart to put an iron bar inside with the new concrete that is going to make it more resistant. The concrete has a habit of developing cracks from below to above. The iron bar is going to support the concrete and make it more resistant, thus making sure that is not going to crack easily the next time. Once you have put the bar inside the crack, spray the damaged area with water and then you should prepare some cement with some water and paint it on the crack to secure the iron bar.
Mix and Put the Concrete
Now that the iron bar is secured inside the damaged area, it is time for the patch. For this step, you should prepare the concrete. Inside a bucket or even on the ground mix two parts of sand and a half part of cement and add some water until the whole mass becomes like butter. You want to add water to make it pourable, but be careful not to make it too runny. Put the concrete into the crack and make sure to cover the whole damaged area. Then by using a bar of wood, you should make sure to level the concrete.
Finish and Let It Cure.
While the concrete is going to become stiffer you should rub it with the bar of wood to make sure you bring it to the same level as the rest of the slab. Put a plastic bag over the concrete and let it cure for a couple of days. You should give it a minimum of three days so it can cure perfectly. After it is cured and the surface looks too rough, you can try to sand it to make it smoother.
