Cracks in the sidewalk, missing hunk off your front step? You can fix these simply and easily with just a few tools and a few minutes time.
If you have that crack, chunks missing from steps or other repairs that you’ve been dreading and putting off, your not alone. Many people hate doing things like concrete repairs because it can be messy and their afraid they might mess up the job.
Following a few simple steps and with some simple tools we can have that step or other concrete job done in no time.
First for some of the real easy jobs. Cracks in walls, steps, or flat surfaces. Some of the easiest jobs with concrete don’t even need concrete to repair them. If you have cracks that let water into the areas around your foundation or inside your walls you can fix them with a mortar mix available in caulk tubes.
You can go to your home improvement store and buy some mortar and concrete repair that squeezes out of a caulk gun to fix cracks and mortar joints in concrete. It is easy to use and dries to a flexible textured surface that looks like real mortar mix.
You use a caulk gun which costs less than five dollars. You can also get mortar repair for fireplaces that is resistant to heat. You simply squeeze out a line between the cleaned out cracks and fill with the mix. This takes some practice so don’t be mad if you don’t get the hang of it right away.
When your done with the crack filling press the release to stop the mix from squeezing out of the tube. Then using your finger that is dipped in water, smooth out the filled area. Presto, your done.
The stuff costs about two to three dollars a tube. There is also a squeeze bottle of crack repair that doesn’t even use the caulk gun. This works in much the same way as the other mortar repair. You simply cut open the top of the bottle and remove the inner seal. Then squeeze the stuff into the cracks that need filling.
You can put a seal made of plastic wrap over the cap to prevent the unused portion from drying out but this is an area that you should use the whole bottle on. The same for the tubes. It is more likely that the stuff will dry out but you can try your luck with keeping it from doing so.
For small jobs I would buy the tubes of caulk like mortar repair and for larger jobs like many cracks in the driveway or sidewalk I would use the $8-$10 option of the crack filler.
Now for some bigger jobs. Filling missing pieces of concrete. If you have a step that is missing a piece or a hunk came out of a wall, use a premixed concrete from the home improvement store. They are an already mixed can or tub of concrete repair material that you just scoop out and put in the hole you are filling.
You will need a trowel for this kind of job, they cost as little as $1.50 and can go up from there. A small one is all you need for smaller jobs and you may need a finishing trowel if you are doing larger jobs such as whole steps.
A little introduction into the wonderful world of trowels may be in order. There are all kinds of fancy names for trowels but they are really pretty simple. The triangle shaped ones are called pointer trowels. They are for getting into cracks, corners and such, hence pointer. The rectangle flat ones are for either smoothing or creating rough surfaces. Finishing jobs, hence finishing trowels.
If you are going to buy one to keep for simple jobs around the home I would recommend a cheap pointing trowel for just a dollar or two. You can use it for repairs to concrete and basement walls and floors. To get into the corners and such and pick out the loose stuff in and around cracks.
If you plan on doing things like making your own steps and possibly putting in sidewalks you will need to get a flat finishing trowel. They come in several varieties. Some have serrations on them for creating rough surfaces. These are for slippery areas such as pool decks. For just rgular steps or a simple sidewalk they have ones with one side flat and the other serrated. A cheap one will be about three or four dollars.
For these simple repairs take some concrete mix from the tub and using your trowel squish it into the hole. Use a smoothing motion with the flat of the trowel to get the mix smashed into the hole and flat. Add more if needed and get the whole area filled. If it seems to not be sticking to the old concrete try wetting it down a little bit with water from a squirt bottle or gun. Borrow the kids, they’ll love that.
Use the flat of the trowel to smooth the whole job. When your done put the lid back on the tub and put it away for the next job. Clean the trowel out back with the water hose. Don’t clean off tools used in concrete in a sink or down a drain. The concrete can clog the drain and you’d be calling a plumber to fix that.
For bigger jobs, you’ll have to buy a bag of concrete mix to fill large areas such as steps or a missing piece of a side walk. This will also possibly require some wood for a form.
Construction workers use wood to create those nice edges along sidewalks and such when they pour them. You can do the same with scraps you have laying around, I always keep scraps of wood for odd jobs such as this.
You can also buy pieces cheaply at a local lumber yard or home improvement store if they do that. As an example I will tell how you would do two different jobs.
A stair that is a middle step that is missing a big piece would need to have a board pressed against the riser part of the step to hold the concrete from pouring down to the next step. I would take a piece of wood wider than the part to be repaired and press it against the flat of front. I would use a block or sand bag or something that weighs a lot to hold the board in place while the cement dries.
For replacing the whole step I would build a box with wood and nail it together. Then using stakes I would hold it in place to keep it form shifting while the concrete dries if it is on dirt or gravel. If it is on other concrete I would use sandbags or something like that.
The form needs to not let the cement from pouring out so holes need to be covered in the boards and any cracks need to filled with scraps or something.
Put the form up and use a level to ensure the top is level. This is important if you are pouring a step or sidewalk. It is not funny to fall due to an unleveled surface.
Use a hammer to tap the form if you can, or use small shims to block up the sides that are low and fill the edge with some dirt to prevent the cement from coming out too much till it’s dry.
After you figure out what kind of form you need, you will have to judge how much cement to buy. I just did a job for some signs. I used Quikrete ready mixed concrete and filled one gallon pails to use as stands for signs.
I filled five one gallon pails with one 80 pound bag of concrete. If that doesn’t help they have a chart to tell you how many square feet the bag will fill. You can figure out pretty easily by measuring the form you are using.
If the step is about a half a foot tall give or take, a foot deep, and three feet wide that would be 1.5 square feet of space to be filled. The 80 pound bag says it fills about a half square foot of area. That would take three bags of mix to fill a half foot by foot by three foot step.
You can use a five gallon bucket or even a wheel barrel to mix the concrete in. You want to use a shovel for these larger jobs. You add water slowly to the mix, don’t add too much water. You can always add more water, if you run out of mix, you have to run and get more. Stir well until it’s thick but all of it is wet. Then put it into the form.
Use the shovel to get it in so you don’t move the form. If it’s too thin it will not be easy to pick up in the shovel, if it’s too thick it will not flow together in the form. You fill the form until it’s at the top and then smooth with the trowel.
Sometimes you have to spray the top to get a real smooth surface when your done adding mix, This is called finishing.
Spray the top lightly with water and use the flat of the trowel to smooth out the surface.
When you are all done you may have some leftover, now’s the time to do those smaller jobs, check around and see if you have anything you can fill like cracks or what not. Clean off the tools and whatever you used to mix the concrete in with the garden hose.
Concrete takes a day or two to dry to a hard surface. It takes a few days for it to cure completely so you don’t want to use steps and such for at least four or five days. This allows the center to dry completely.
When your finished and it is dry, take off the form and your done. The job will be better if you do it yourself. After a few tries you can get to be an expert, or at least a home do-it-yourselfer.
