seems like someone tried to fill it with some white stuff at some point, but the crack got longer/wider and there are some additional holes. Short of pouring new concrete, what could I do? I want to make it looks nicer. I am thinking to cover everything with new tiles. is that a bad idea?

I'm pretty sure I saw something at Home Depot that was made to fill cracks in concrete. If I'm not mistaken, it was in the adhesive/calk section. You will probably need to clean out the crack as best you can (scrape and vacuum).

---

Northern California Coast

Duct Tape?

Quote
fauch
Duct Tape?

Thanks, that's what you do over there?

I have suffered with somewhat similar concrete over the years. Other than buying bulk pack of masonry cutting blades and a cheap circular saw that you plan on ruining, every other solution I know of takes a months worth of weekends and offers very little long term benefit.

---

In tha 360. MRF User Map

Tiles on top of concrete is simply a very bad idea. The concrete will continue to crack and then the tiles over the cracks will crack.That is why they remove the concrete when they put pavers in for a driveway.

---

Bill
Flagler Beach, FL 32136

Carpe Vino!

Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.
— David Rains Wallace



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2014 03:36PM by WHiiP.

Without knowing why it is cracking, I'd remove the rubbery looking goop from the previous attempt , flood the crack with copious amounts of water to remove any loose material and then while still soaking wet stuff as much portland cement mix into the crack as I could . Push it in with sticks. Popsicle sticks, whatever. A couple different sizes ( got any shingles lying around for pieces ?) will come in handy.
Kinda like doing grout or re-mortaring bricks.
By rights, the best way is to undercut a large crack and then stuff it.

I've also swept dry fine cement into a hairline crack and then kept it wet ( like grass seedlings) for a week.
That was a cement cured too quick crack, so there was no subsequent movement to open it up again.



That might not be stable enough for tiles. At least not knowing why it is cracking.

---

The Phorum Wall keeps us safe from illegal characters and words
The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is the knowledge of one's own ignorance. -Benjamin Franklin
BOYCOTT YOPLAIT [www.noyoplait.com]
[soundcloud.com]




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2014 03:44PM by billb.

I've noticed when shopping at Costco that they seem to fill cracks in their polished concrete warehouse floor with some sort of epoxy.

Quote
GGD
I've noticed when shopping at Costco that they seem to fill cracks in their polished concrete warehouse floor with some sort of epoxy.

That works really well with a slab that has two (or more) layers of rebar stabilizing the slab across the crack. Not so great for driveways with at most a thin wire screen.

space-time, if you have free space to the side of the driveway that is again as wide as the driveway, it might be possible to kludge up a miniature concrete injection rig. Get a 2" pipe a few inches longer than the length of the crack. Force it under the driveway along the crack, then pump in concrete until it fills the crack from the bottom and keep doing it as you pull the pipe out.

Still, as bill said, you really should figure out why it cracked in the first place.

---

In tha 360. MRF User Map

This is not driveway, it is on the back yard so I wanted to put tiles to make it look better. It is 25 year old

There are 2 types of concrete slabs, cracked ones, and those that haven't cracked yet.

Another idea that just popped in to my head. Since you are only looking to make the surface look better, you could lay down a thin layer of asphalt over the entire walkway, using a 12" wide sheet of 16 gauge stainless steel across the crack. The asphalt will still likely crack in about the same place, but it will be easier to patch.

Not a great solution. Not cheap, easy, or reliable, and some people don't like the look of asphalt. It can be painted to reflect the sun but that does not last very long unless the "paint" is the vinyl stuff they use for lane striping.

---

In tha 360. MRF User Map



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2014 05:09PM by Filliam H. Muffman.

If the crack hasn't worsened recently you may get away with tiling over a decoupling membrane like Ditra
[www.schluter.com]

I remember seeing something once where a professional crew would come in and paint very realistic looking stones on your concrete. They would match the stone pattern to existing cracks and they were very well camouflaged. I saw it done on a driveway and front walk, but a back patio might be even more appropriate. Probably not cheap, though, and you'd have to find someone doing it in your area.

The options I'd look at would be to either fill it with something made for that purpose (something with more elastic give would probably last a little longer than a concrete-only type of patch...assuming the crack will continue to spread), or to have the slab removed and replace it with pavers. In my personal financial situation, I'd be filling some cracks. YMMV.

---

Grateful11

Why not fill the crack as mentioned above (concrete or epoxy type stuff) and the used the snap tiles for outdoor patios that would float on top?

Thanks for the ideas. I should mention that I like to power wash this once or twice a year. The crack was already there, when I wash I try to avoid making additional damage.

Cracks allow water to enter. Water freezes and expands. Then the crack is bigger. And so it goes. I've filled similar by using a grinder and a diamond blade and then an air chisel to clean it out. Then cleaned it, painted concrete "glue" stuff , and then poured in more concrete. Works for a few years.

Cracks allow water to enter. Water freezes and expands. Then the crack is bigger. And so it goes.

I guess a heated patio would be a solution? LOL

maybe I should spend $$$$ and get a deck

Cover it with solar road panels.

[www.solarroadways.com]

---

Mr. Lahey: A lot of people, don’t know how to drink. They drink against the grain of the liquor. And when you drink against the grain of the liquor? You lose.

Randy: What the @#$%& are you talking about?

I would think that a flexible filler would be your best bet. That's what they use on streets and highways. That way the filler would flex with the movement of the cracked slab. Nothing fixes it.

"How do I deal with this concrete crack?"

Put it in your concrete crack pipe and smoke it! Duh!

---

[www.zeemaps.com]

Quote
Lizabeth
Why not fill the crack as mentioned above (concrete or epoxy type stuff) and the used the snap tiles for outdoor patios that would float on top?

This.

Here's one option: [www.amazon.com]

Quote
Racer X
There are 2 types of concrete slabs, cracked ones, and those that haven't cracked yet.

Yep, that's concrete. It WILL crack. If it's been there for 25 years, I think you might be able to use tile on it. Seal it up good as suggested somewhere above first.

---

That old man - he don't think like no old man...
Now I wouldn't want to be within 400 - 500 yards of one of them nuclear bombs when it goes off! WW1 Vet Old Man
"He's pinned under an outcropping of rock. Lucky for him, the rock kept the dirt from burying him alive."
If idiots could fly, this place would be an airport. And I'd be a TSA agent.
A bonified member of The Mystic Knights of The Sea, George P. Stevens, President. Andy Brown, Treasurer, Algonquin J. Calhoun, Legal Consultant.

Is it an exterior crack?
If so it was either caused by settlement or not having proper control joints cut in the slab to allow expansion or contraction.
I the crack is still moving if you put an epoxy in it will just develop a new crack next to the old one.
A flexible caulk like a polyurethane will prevent water from getting under the slab but won't stop movement and a crack could develop through your tile.
The joints at Costco or any other large warehouse are put in predetermined
expansion joints and saw cut joints to prevent random cracks.
They use either a semiflexible epoxy(not very flexible) or a polyurea sealant that allows more movement.

my personal take on cracked concrete is to simply ignore it as long as there aren't any structural problems. i've never understood why people get bent out of shape over cracked concrete (as long as its not recent....) if thats the worst of your problems then you're doing very well..

---

Outdoor carpet over it.

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.