We are considering what to do about an exposed aggregate concrete patio which has several cracks in it. The rise to the door frames make it too hard to put wood over it so not sure what to do. Any suggestions welcomed, thanks.
krames,
Apr 28, 8:04pm
live with it
cagivachick1,
Apr 28, 9:39pm
there are crack isolation membranes that you can use then tile over the patio, parching cracks isnt always successful as a crack is a structural break/weakness
sylvia,
Apr 28, 10:29pm
Thank you - never heard of that, it looks to be an amazing product.
jacinda2059,
Apr 29, 9:10am
you could grind the cracks wider [bevel the edges] then fill with a epoxy filler, then put a concrete over lay product , over the patio.
martin11,
Apr 29, 9:19am
That is what was done to my garage after the quakes and most of it has come out . Epoxy filler will not stick to a dusty surface like cracked concrete .
jacinda2059,
Apr 29, 8:31pm
if you use the proper two pot product, dampen the concrete, mix part a,x part b together, fill the crack. this wont come out, and will last for years.
Looks like this might be unsuitable as you can't use it over sealed concrete. Thanks for your suggestion though.
daves01,
Apr 29, 10:09pm
Your concrete is sealed? Thought it was exposed aggregate? Either way have a look on the cemix website they might have something .
sylvia,
Apr 29, 10:42pm
It is exposed aggregate but had a clear sealant over it. I will have another look at the website as you suggest but am thinking that the crack isolation membranes suggested above might be an easier option - although an expense with tiling over that but it would look a lot better.
flancrest,
Apr 30, 7:26pm
That is simply not true. If the surface is prepared properly, epoxy works very well. You just had yours done by monkeys.
mm12345,
Apr 30, 10:53pm
That was pretty much how Fletcher EQR seemed to be fixing cracks in garage floor slabs - using a monkey method. They'd chase out the crack with a vee blade in a grinder, but only down to about 10mm depth. Then they'd fill it with epoxy mortar, grind it off and in some cases paint the floor. Of course much of it cracked open again - only the top 10% of the crack had been glued together.
martin11,
May 1, 7:31am
I have used a lot of epoxy glues for many things and unless you can clean the surfaces properly the epoxy will not stick to the surface . How do you clean the surfaces in a crack ? You do not know what you are posting about .
mm12345,
May 2, 8:15am
You blow them out with air airgun, then use products designed for the purpose - which are often "epoxy" based - but are not the same as "araldite" or other epoxy glues. Has been used successfully for a very long time - many decades - but can be completely unsuccessful if it's not done correctly.
martin11,
May 2, 10:24am
I have been in the build industry for over 40 years and have never seen a successful patch job on cracks yet . .Even in commercial situations I have seen failures of the fill in joints done by professionals .
mm12345,
May 2, 4:50pm
I've been involved with the industry for 40 years too from developing and testing products through to working on multi-million dollar concrete repair contracts overseas - and I've seen it used for structural repairs very successfully. So we'll just have to agree to disagree on that.
martin11,
May 3, 7:50am
Just after the first quake in Christchurch engineers came up with a repair for the Palms shopping centre car park columns that had fractured during the quake , it involved putting a Carbon Fibre band around the affected area on the columns with epoxy , it was professionally done . Most columns were finished with this style repair before the Feb quake , and guess what the repair failed . when inspecting the failed areas it was clear that the epoxy had not adhered to the concrete even though it had been cleaned and etched . A good example .
mm12345,
May 3, 4:59pm
That sounds like a pretty dumb idea in the first place - attempting to fix/strengthen failing reinforced concrete columns from the outside. Anyway, that's not really comparable to fixing cracks on garage floor slabs which if done correctly should be okay except for the obvious, that if you've fixed parts of it stronger than new, it's just going to crack open elsewhere if it's subjected to movement again - especially as it was common for there to no reinforcing mesh at all. Then there's the other problem that the "Fletcher" method of filling only the top 10 or 15mm is a waste of time, but to do it properly, then to fill the entire void won't be easy as you can't seal the underside of the crack - try to inject low viscosity resin it'll all run through into the ground. I think if you look at Bunnings in Tower Junction, they repaired the floor slab correctly, it was a huge job, but AFAIK it's been successful.
flancrest,
May 3, 10:37pm
And I’ve worked with industrial floorings for over 30 years. If you know what you’re doing, epoxy is very effective. Some people do the job poorly, or with the wrong products, others do it properly, with the right products. Just because you haven’t seen it done right, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
flancrest,
May 3, 10:40pm
Actually, that’s a very poor example. There is a huge difference between the types of epoxy used in flooring/joints and epoxy used with fibre reinforcements such as carbon.
You seem confused.
flancrest,
May 3, 10:42pm
Very easily. With a combination of air and solvents.
martin11,
May 4, 10:41am
Having worked in the high spec boat and aircraft industry with epoxies I do know my fillers/gluing .unlike some people on here !
flancrest,
Nov 15, 10:17am
If you don’t think epoxy can do the job, then you don’t understand epoxy as well as you think you do. I work with epoxy, vinylesters and urethane daily. Their applications are wide and varied, and there are most certainly epoxy products that can do exceptionally well what you claim they can’t.
Once again, you mention industries using very different epoxies for very different purposes.
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