How to Repair Cement Concrete

Inclement weather conditions and pressure from your settling house can cause the toughest concrete to crack. After the water in the concrete dries up, the concrete shrinks and leaves noticeable cracks. Fortunately, most of those cracks can be easily fixed by using a patching compound.

1.       Scrub the sides of the crack in your concrete by using a steel brush.

2.       Suck up the dust left behind with your vacuum cleaner.

3.       Put a half inch drill bit on your drill and drill a half inch thick hole into the crack in your concrete.

4.       Cut a piece of half-inch rebar with your hacksaw and hammer it into the half inch hole with a rubber mallet. Make sure the rebar is just barely recessed from your crack’s surface.

5.       Add the appropriate amount of water to some dry concrete patching compound by following the instructions on the package.

6.        Mix the concrete patching compound and water together until well blended.

7.       Scrape up some of the concrete patching compound onto a trowel and shove it into the crack in your concrete.

8.       Smooth out the concrete compound until it is even with the crack’s surface.

9.       Cover your concrete patchwork with a piece of plastic sheeting so it will not harden too fast.

10.   Wait 72 hours for the concrete patch to set then peel away the plastic sheeting to finish your project.

11. Repeat this process for any remaining cracks in your concrete.