Before you learn what concrete repair Denver to give your damaged floors, first get familiar with the types of damages common to concrete.
Check out if you got the following on the surface of your floors:
- Concrete cracks
- Sunken slabs
- Scaling
- Chipping
- Crazing
A damaged surface starts with spider-web-like cracks. Some may not be visible to you, but it might already be too late once they begin to crawl over the surface. The cracks had become deep holes, and severe chipping occurred. The steel rebars start to appear and become too apparent. The concrete crumbles and repairs need to proceed.
So, with those damages mentioned above, there are various repair methods to apply and save the concrete material from tearing into pieces.
There are four:
- Stitching
Yes, concrete; as hard as it is, it can get stitches. But no, you won’t use threads and needles. Here is how stitching cracks work?
This method is more common and more practical to perform among outdoor floorings. Imagine ordinary stitching on clothes and textiles. So you got needles and threads. The threads are the ones that hold the two pieces of cloth together.
Now for concrete, instead of thread, what to use is metal steel wires. Stitching is done to hold separated slabs with large cracks between them. This is also what most professionals recommend for this procedure to last longer than any other repair method.
- Injecting
This next is much easier and practical compared to stitching with inches thick wires. Before you imagine a clinical syringe, doctors often hold and use it in hospitals. The injection here actually means filling.
Thus the following process is what is known as epoxy filling. Yes, the concrete gets injected with epoxy grout.
If the cracks on the concrete floors are not that big as those that appear on public roads, then you can quickly remedy the damage with grout epoxy fillers. The reason why probably this method is also referred to as injecting is that the fillers must be poured directly into the crack.
You need an extra step when performing crack filling. You need to make a triangular hole along the cracks. Make sure the gap at the bottom of the damage is wider, going narrow upwards.
This step is also why you need to hire an expert to fix these cracks on the floors. Making the specific stapes with precision will ensure the success of the method of repair you choose.
- Sealing
The following method is the best and suitable fix when repairs do not involve structural damages. This is also the same with sealing joints with black tar for outdoor concrete and public roads.
Concrete sealer is a type of quick fix for concrete floors with light damage such as inactive cracks. An inactive crack means that this crack does not have to grow. Also, sealing cracks is the best and the simplest way to prevent leaking concrete.
- Resurfacing
The last and fourth option is resurfacing. Concrete resurfacing is the most cost-efficient and cost-effective at the same time among the other repair methods.
Resurfacing will provide a brand new layer of flooring. Resurfacing is not a replacement. You are not required to discard the old concrete floors you got.
This is a sustainable method to preserve the old materials and keep using them as long as they remain durable. To cover up the existing damages, you will only apply a thin layer of concrete, also known as overlay. This will create a seamless, flawless concrete surface.
