Helpful Tips To Sustaining Your Concrete

The drill hole patches will begin to fade and blend with the existing concrete in approximately 4-5 weeks. If the patches do not seem to be blending to your satisfaction, buffing them with sandpaper can help to blend the patch with the original concrete.

If you have any surface cracks, we recommend those areas be caulked with a polyurethane caulk, often called self-levelling concrete caulking. This type of caulk is available at most home improvement stores.

Caulking larger cracks up to ¾”:

Caulking is an important step in stopping water from getting under slabs which can lead to erosion and/or frost heave.  It also improves the overall appearance of concrete surfaces.

Materials Needed:

Wire Brush, Caulk Gun, Polyurethane Concrete Caulk, Acetone, Old Butter Knife or Scraper, Rubber Gloves, Fine Sand

Directions: 

1. Use a garden hose and wire brush (or pressure washer) to clean out the crack. The caulk needs good adherence to the concrete surface.
2. Wait 24 hours for the surface to dry thoroughly.
3. Fill any deep cracks with fine sand. The sand should fill the crack to within ½” of the top surface.
4. Place a bead of caulk in the crack being sure of a good bond to both sides.
5. Smooth out the caulk bead(s) by dipping the butter knife or small scraper in the acetone and tooling the surface, scraping off any excess that flows on to the surrounding surface.
6. Lightly sprinkle sand on the top caulk surface to prevent the urethane from sticking to any foot traffic, leaves, pets, insects, etc.
7. Try to avoid traffic in this area for at least 48 hours

Remember that eave trough downspouts should never be pointed at concrete slabs, if the downspouts are pointed at a concrete slab not only will erosion occur under the slab but also will create a place for water to “pool” causing further settling or heaving depending on the time of the year.

After your concrete has been raised your landscaping should drain the water away from your slab(s).  Once again water under a concrete slab will only lead to heaving due to freezing/frost.

Vegetation is often the cause for concrete settling. Often when trees and shrubs are planted the people planting them do not consider the size that they will become in 20 years. During dryer years more often than not trees will depend on the moisture under concrete slabs (including basements) and roadways. Sometimes it may be necessary to remove a tree or shrub to eliminate further damage. In many cases simply watering the vegetation more will help mitigate the problem.