Years of heavy use, or abuse will undoubtedly wear down concrete steps or walkways. When you feel the need has arrived to finally fix that broken corner on your steps or patch that crack in the driveway before it slips away and leaves a grand canyon for your guests to traverse before reaching your home, don’t worry, the fix is simple and you don’t need to break the bank. Just a few simple tools and minimal knowledge is necessary to complete the task. Trust me, the average homeowner is more than capable of working with concrete. The basics are simple. Concrete patching products are available at most hardware stores and pre mixed concrete is available for under $5. The simple cracks or chips are not difficult. It’s the larger cratered areas that will produce a small headache but don’t worry if you have a day to set aside your Average Joe, or Miss Average Joe, is certainly capable of this do it yourself repair as well.
I’ll start with the simple chipped concrete step. I rate the difficulty of this one as low to medium.
How to Repair a Chipped Step:
First you will need to pick up a few items from the hardware store. You will need concrete screws (commonly referred to as Tap-Cons which is a brand name) (3/16″ by 2 ¼”) three or for should do the trick. Next pick up a concrete drill bit, use the recommended size for the concrete screw used. Now grab a sack of pre mixed concrete, and a concrete trowel. The last item you’ll need is two scrap pieces of 1×4, which can be purchased cheap if you like, but really any scrap will do so you probably have something around the garage.
What you need:
3-4 concrete screws
A concrete drill bit
1 sack pre mixed concrete
A concrete trowel
2 scraps of 1×4
Now using a cordless drill, if you don’t have one I’m sure someone will lend one to you, drill a pilot hole for each of the screws you will place in the chipped area of concrete. Clean out the pilot holes by blowing in them and screw the concrete screws into the pilot holes. Leave enough screw out of the chipped area to be sure about ½ inch or so of concrete will cover the screw head. The screws act as rebar which will hold the new concrete tight to the old concrete. Now place the scrap 1x4s around the crack to act as a form. Be sure the form is held tight to the step so you keep the shape and don’t cause a deformity. Next, mix a small amount of concrete in a bucket and place it in the chipped area. To be sure that the concrete is settled throughout the patch, use a thin rod or stick to punch throughout the patch. Knocking on the sides of the forms will settle the concrete and make a nice even finish. Use the trowel to level the top of the concrete patch. Wait a few hours for the concrete to set up and remove the forms. Now, use the trowel to make the finish flush and blend with the rest of the step. The patch will be ready to walk on in about 2 days. The concrete will not reach full strength for about 30 days.
Now we will fix that crack in the sidewalk or driveway. Once again you’ll need to head off to the hardware store but this trip will likely be a bit cheaper.
How to Repair Cracks in Concrete
Using a urethane caulk best repairs most concrete cracks. If you prefer or you believe your crack needs to be strengthened, then there is a high strength concrete adhesive that is available which is injected into the crack in order to reinforce it. This adhesive can be purchased at many hardware stores. Ask the sales person for more information if needed. For now I will only discuss the urethane caulk method.
There are few simple items needed. If you have a large crack you will need to purchase what is called a backer rod. This is carried at nearly every hardware store, and is simply a roll of Styrofoam with a diameter of less than an inch. Use the size appropriate for your crack. Now purchase several tubes of Urethane caulk and a caulk gun. You will also need some mineral spirits to clean up messes.
What You Need:
Urethane caulk
Caulk gun
Styrofoam backer rod
Mineral spirits
A rag
Use a stick to push the backer rod into the crack to fill the void so less caulk is needed. Cut the spout of the Urethane caulk at an angle; be sure the size of the opening matches the size of the crack. Now simply apply the caulk in a slow smooth movement and wipe with a rag dampened with mineral spirits or if you prefer, use a spoon.
