Home cement and concrete repair tips

Concrete is a great surface for sidewalks, driveways, and patios; however, most homeowners know all to well the issues that surround it. Overtime, everyone is expected to see holes, cracks, chips, and areas of broken concrete. The causes for these problems most commonly include normal wear and tear; however, bad weather may be to blame too. Whatever the problem with a concrete surface, repairs are needed for safety reasons. For most homeowners, the first choice is to hire a professional contractor concrete repair, but this can be a big and costly hassle. Instead, you can take the time to familiarize yourself with do-it-yourself concrete repair; you might be surprised how much time and money you save.

Do-it-yourself concrete repair is a fairly easy process to learn and it is cheap. For a traditional sized sidewalk, driveway, or patio, you are looking at a problem that can be finished in one weekend. The materials needed for repairs are easy to find at local home improvement and hardware stores. When buying the supplies yourself, you avoid the markups usually charged by contractors and you avoid costly labor fees. Small repairs, such as a simple crack or a small chip, will not require much money.

For those above mentioned small repairs, only a limited number of supplies are needed. All you need is water and cement. For concrete crack repairs, just moisten the area and then apply grout to the affected area. The final step is to let it dry completely; do not touch or walk on the area while drying. The end result is a small, simple repair that only took about an hours worth of your time at a very affordable cost.

Examples of larger repairs include large cracks, holes, and big chips; for these, you must smooth the area first and remove any old concrete and fill the area to give you a leveled surface to work with. For this type of project, you will need gravel and hand-tools, which can be found at hardware or home improvement stores. Once you have a leveled surface to work with, the steps are very similar to small repairs. Start by getting the area damp and then apply cement to it. The surface should be smooth and then allowed to dry; during this time it cannot be exposed to any foot traffic.