Understanding Basic Concrete Repair
One common problem that home owners experience with concrete is cracks. These cracks in the concrete can be caused by a number of different reasons, but they always need to be repaired. Before any concrete repair is done however, it is important to take note of several safety precautions. Aside from wearing eye protection, it is also important to have some kind of hand protection as well.
The first step to repairing large cracks is to remove the damaged concrete. With a hammer and chisel, carefully chip away the damaged concrete. Once the damaged concrete is removed, the edges of the area needing repair can be undercut by widening the bottom of the hole and not the top, so that the inside walls are slanting inward as they go up.
All of the debris and rubble from the area needing repair must then be removed and kept moist. Water is allowed to drip into the hole overnight, or sprinkled manually every few hours over the course of an entire day. Then combine some three parts of cement with a part of water, so that it takes the form of a paste or a gel then a liquid and set this aside.
Then a little more cement is added but a little thinner this time, but still heavy enough to coat a surface and coat the inside edges, the walls of the hole. This portion needs to be done as quickly as possible, while still doing it properly, because the cement needs to be applied before it dries. This is an important step in even the simplest of concrete repairs.
The last step is curing. Fill the gaps with the concrete mixture and let it set for a couple of hours. A plastic wrap is used to cover the mix and it must be moistened a couple times a day for a week. For many simple concrete repairs, this final stage is the most crucial. It determines if the concrete mix was applied correctly after it sets and hardens.
The same principle applies in foundation lifting. A similar concrete mix, or sometimes a polyurethane paste, is injected through small holes drilled in the portion of the foundation that is to be lifted. When the mixture hardens it expands, lifting the foundation back to its original level.
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