Fill concrete cracks?
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Discussion

bobski1

Original Poster:

2,070 posts

133 months

Monday 15th June
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The concrete has had a crack down every since we moved in, every few years I spend a good couple of hours scraping out all the weeds & dirt which accumulates in there.

Any recommendations on a way to fill or patch these cracks to stop things growing back or will they just always find a way & to just suck it up & accept it's part of house ownership




smifffymoto2

125 posts

10 months

Tuesday 16th June
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I have used Floorsaver recently to repair cracks and damage to the warehouse floor where I work.
Very easy to use and dries in record time.

wolfracesonic

9,204 posts

156 months

Tuesday 16th June
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If you have have a small angle grinder, buy a 115mm mortar rake from Screwfix or toolstation for it, clean out and deepen the cracks, then apply some of this.
.
It will do the job but might end up looking worse than the cracks and weeds, as may any repair.

Drumroll

4,517 posts

149 months

Tuesday 16th June
quotequote all
bobski1 said:
The concrete has had a crack down every since we moved in, every few years I spend a good couple of hours scraping out all the weeds & dirt which accumulates in there.

Any recommendations on a way to fill or patch these cracks to stop things growing back or will they just always find a way & to just suck it up & accept it's part of house ownership



To be honest, any "repair" you do now will stand out like a sore thumb.

ARH

2,059 posts

268 months

Tuesday 16th June
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Drumroll said:
bobski1 said:
The concrete has had a crack down every since we moved in, every few years I spend a good couple of hours scraping out all the weeds & dirt which accumulates in there.

Any recommendations on a way to fill or patch these cracks to stop things growing back or will they just always find a way & to just suck it up & accept it's part of house ownership



To be honest, any "repair" you do now will stand out like a sore thumb.
And as soon as you have gone through one hot day and another day of frost you will be back where you started.

J4rvis

62 posts

114 months

Tuesday 16th June
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This looks very similar to our driveway.
Like you, the cracks and also the gaps where the slabs met got full of debris and sprouted all sorts of growth. Very annoying.
My solution for the deeper parts were to rake out any debris and fill with Sika patio jointing compound.
[https://www.screwfix.com/p/sika-fastfix-self-setting-paving-jointing-compound-dark-buff-15kg/439ky>]

It comes in different colours. I went with dark buff, which started quite light, but has now darkened down. I don't have any growth in those areas now. If you did use it, make sure you pack it well into the gaps and keep it wet whilst doing it....don't just sweep it in and been done with it.

bobski1

Original Poster:

2,070 posts

133 months

Tuesday 16th June
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I think the concrete repair stuff should be better than the sealant, I can't see the sealant adhering very well and probably over a summer it coming away.

The cracks aren't very big, opening them out and the filler failing just feels like more space for crud to get into and grow again.

alabbasi

3,221 posts

116 months

Wednesday 17th June
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If you have a decent size pressure washer (3000psi / 2.5GPM or more), you should consider getting a surface cleaner attachment and giving it a good clean. You'll better see the cracks. Once clean, you can fill, stain and seal the cracks with a concrete filler and sealer that you should be able find at any hardware store.

Here is one example

Edited by alabbasi on Wednesday 17th June 05:55

M138

1,254 posts

20 months

Wednesday 17th June
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When underpinning and the concrete was poured there would be a small gap appear between the old footing and the new underpin concrete. We would ram anti-shrink grout in the gap using a flat stick.
Anti-shrink grout might be the way to go.
https://colliercatchpole.co.uk/product/fosroc-conb...