How To Repair Old Concrete Basement Floor

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While concrete is a strong construction material, it tin still crack. Temperature changes, heavy weights, and dropped objects can all damage your physical flooring by causing cracks and holes. Fortunately, patching damaged concrete is an easy task. Start past chiseling and cleaning the cracked area so the mortar bonds better. And then, mix the repair mortar and scoop information technology into the hole. Even it out and let it cure for 24 hours to complete the job.

Things You Should Know

• To gear up, chisel the sides of the hole to make information technology foursquare, remove loose physical from the hole, and scrub the hole with a wire castor and water.
• Castor the physical bonding amanuensis earlier laying the mortar in the hole and leveling the surface with a trowel.
• If the mortar is in direct sunlight, cover information technology with a cardboard box while you lot wait 24 hours for it to dry.

1. i

   Put on goggles, gloves, and a grit mask to protect yourself. This job sends a lot of grit and concrete debris into the air. Forestall injuries by wearing goggles and a dust mask. Protect your easily with a thick pair of work gloves.^[1]

   • For added comfort, wear knee pads. These will prevent pain and bruising when you lot kneel down on the concrete.
   • If yous don't take knee pads, yous can also lay a padded mat in your piece of work expanse.

2. ii

   Chisel the sides of the scissure or pigsty to make them square. The bonding textile won't stick besides to rounded edges. Take a chisel and hammer and tap any rounded edges to straighten them out.^[two]

   • If you make a mistake and chisel off too much, don't worry. You lot can patch those holes the same way you're patching the main crevice.
   • Don't chisel just for the sake of information technology. If the edges are already squared and straight, and then skip this step.

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3. iii

   Sweep any large concrete chunks out of the hole. Large pieces of concrete and debris will prevent the bonding agent from making a good seal. Remove all large pieces with a broom and scoop them into a pail.^[3]

   • Don't worry if in that location is dust or smaller debris left behind. This step is only to remove big pieces that a vacuum can't choice up.

4. 4

   Vacuum the area with a shop vac. Remove whatsoever grit and small debris from the crack to help the mortar bond meliorate. Utilize a store vac to clean the crack and surrounding surface area. Pass over the expanse several times and ensure you've picked up all the droppings.^[4]

   • If y'all don't have a shop vac, don't apply a normal vacuum cleaner. Concrete shards could harm information technology. Instead, utilise a fine brush to sweep up dust and smaller droppings as well as you tin can.

5. 5

   Scrub the damaged area with a wire brush and water. Dip the brush in h2o and scrub every part of the crack or hole. This gives the bonding material a greater surface area to adhere to. Make sure you get all the edges, sides, and the lesser of the damaged expanse.^[v]

   • Generally, you lot don't have to wait for the water to evaporate before applying the bonding agent. Even so, read the instructions on the production you use. If information technology tells y'all to apply the agent to dry concrete, so wait for the water to dry.

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1. i

   Castor a physical bonding amanuensis into the crack or hole. Bonding agent is a liquid that helps concrete stick better. Dip a paintbrush into the canteen and spread an even layer into the damaged area. Cover every part of the crack or hole. Then permit the bonding amanuensis dry for 1 hour.^{[half dozen]}

   • Bottles of bonding amanuensis are available at hardware stores. Enquire an employee for product recommendations if in that location are multiple to cull from.
   • The production you use may give specific directions on the amount to use and drying time. Follow the instructions provided.

2. two

   Mix the repair mortar in a saucepan. Mortar is used to patch cracks in concrete. Look for specialized mortar designed for repairing physical at the hardware store. Pour out the dry mortar into a bucket. Then add together the instructed amount of water. Mix it with a trowel, electric mixer, or your hands until it reaches a thick, peanut butter-like consistency.^[vii]

   • If the mortar is as well watery, it won't bond well. Add together more dry out mortar to brand it thicker if yous have to.
   • The corporeality you apply depends on the size of the hole you lot have to fill up. Most packages take directions on how much to employ for different sizes.
   • The recipe and mixing time may vary for different products. E'er follow the instructions on the product you use.
   • Always clothing gloves, safety glasses, and a mask when mixing mortar.^[8]

3. 3

   Scoop the mortar into the crack or hole. Use a trowel or your hands and fill the space with mortar. Press it down and so it fills all the small holes in the concrete. Proceed adding mortar until it makes a small, rounded mound on over the concrete surface.^[ix]

   • Be sure to press the mortar against the edges of the damaged expanse likewise. You need a potent bond throughout the unabridged crack.

4. iv

   Level the surface by scraping a trowel across the mortar lengthwise. Piece of work in whichever direction the crack is longer. Press a long trowel down at the top and pull information technology towards y'all. Then go in the opposite management. Scoop away whatsoever mortar that scrapes off when you do this.^[ten]

   • Echo this motility if the mortar is withal not level.
   • If the hole is round, and then don't worry well-nigh working lengthwise. Just pull the trowel across the surface to even it out.
   • Annotation that the mortar won't exist completely flush with the surface of the physical however. This step just levels out the meridian.

5. v

   Make the mortar flush by scraping it horizontally onto the damaged edges. Use a smaller trowel or paint scraper and scrape along the edges of the crack or hole where the physical meets the mortar. Push button the mortar and then information technology is even with the concrete surface. Work around the whole border of the crevice.^[11]

   • You lot might need to echo this several times. Go on working around the mortar until it's all even with the concrete.

6. vi

   Scrape the surface once more than with the long trowel to even it out. This last pass removes whatsoever backlog mortar above the surface and smooths it out. Apply the same back and forth motion that you used before. Make multiple passes if the mortar doesn't flatten out after your kickoff pass.^[12]

7. 7

   Cover the mortar while it dries if information technology's in direct sunlight. High estrus causes the mortar to dry too chop-chop, making it weaker. Protect your repair by covering it if it'south in direct sunlight. Place a cardboard box or similar covering over the mortar while it dries.^[13]

   • Don't let anything you employ to embrace the mortar touch it directly. A sheet, for example, could get stuck on the mortar.
   • If y'all've repaired an indoor flooring, then this probably isn't an consequence unless a window focuses the sun correct on the repair. Keep the window closed until the mortar dries.

8. eight

   Let the mortar dry for at to the lowest degree 24 hours before walking on it. Mark the area off so no one steps on the mortar by accident. Keep pets and children away also. After 24 hours, the mortar should be dry enough to walk on unremarkably.^[14]

   • Bank check your product instructions to see if at that place is a different drying time.
   • If this floor was in your garage, wait a week before driving over it with your machine.

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Add together New Question

• Question

  I've rented a flat and at the bottom of the dorsum stairs, the bottom floor is sinking, what exercise I demand for information technology?

  

  It sounds like the house may have some structural issues; this could be dangerous for you, so you lot should contact your landlord nigh it.

• Question

  How can you repair the cement if information technology was damaged before it finished drying?

  

  If it'south still wet, you lot can smooth it out with a trowel. If it's as well hard for that, you can wet it down and trowel in some moisture cement.

• Question

  I have a cement flooring in my garage, which is at present total of potholes. How exercise I lay a new floor over the existing one?

  

  To lay a new flooring, you volition offset demand to fill out the existing potholes. Once they have dried, yous can lay a new floor. This volition ensure that the new floor has a smoothen final finish. However, if the number/size of potholes and the level of damage is high, it is better to tear down the existing floor and so lay a new ane.

• Question

  My friend used a hammer chisel to remove tile and gouged the underlying concrete slab. What is the best way to fix it?

  

  Cement-all is the best. It does not need a bonding agent, and is especially strong. Information technology costs about $20 USD per bag at about hardware and home improvement stores. It was designed to fix driveways and cement stairs, and is easy to work with, but the area must be make clean of all lather, oil and grit, and cannot be likewise smooth.

• Question

  How do I embrace a hole in the basement flooring while retaining the hollow space beneath the floor?

  

  Put a couple of holes in a piece of plywood and tie a shoelace or piece of wire in it. Then put information technology in the hold and attach a stick to it and twist to hold it in place. Then utilise the plaster, Fixall, Quick Fix or Cement-All. These compounds do not compress and make the chore take less time. After it hardens, remove the stick, cut the wire and sand lightly.

• Question

  How do I repair a concrete flooring that has a lot of pin holes in it?

  

  The holes have to be very clean. You tin apply a wire brush to clean them out. So vacuum. Then moisten the floor with water. Mix some Cement-All with water, (Cement-All is a loftier class cement that is used to prepare driveways and stairs, and sticks very well to onetime concrete, merely information technology must be clean) and make full in the holes with a spatula or trowel. Afterward you apply the cement, run the spatula over the holes with a little bit of water to really flatten and level it out. Later it dries for an hour, yous can launder off the excess cement with a wet rag.

• Question

  How do I set up a crumbling concrete flooring?

  

  You should contact a professional. That can exist very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

• Question

  How do I repair a hole that is in a higher place a hollow surface area with a sheet rock ceiling?

  

  Often with large holes, over nine inches in size, you can cutting a rectangular area out and nail in a new piece of drywall. This is a lot of work, and you lot can put a scrap piece of wood in the hole and screw the erstwhile drywall into the woods to hold information technology in place. So screw some wire mesh to the wood and make full the mesh with plaster. Do not mix the plaster likewise watery or information technology will fall on y'all. If y'all find the plaster wanting to fall on you, permit it ready in the ceiling for 5 to ten minutes to harden some, the hit it with the spatula again. Plaster can be sanded easily and then painted.

• Question

  How do I repair salt damage that's on a physical floor?

  

  Wash it off with lemon juice to neutralize the salt, and then wash information technology off with clean water.

• Question

  I have a croaky concrete floor with damp coming through it. Can it be repaired?

  

  Stephen Leccese

  Community Answer

  If y'all hateful that at that place's h2o coming through the crack, and then y'all may have a damaged pipage beneath the concrete. Phone call a contractor or plumber to audit the damage as soon as possible.

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• This repair works best if the cement temperature is above 50 °F (10 °C), then if the concrete is exterior, wait until the atmospheric condition warms upwardly.^[fifteen]

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• Always wear eye protection, a dust mask, and gloves when chipping, grinding, or placing concrete.^[sixteen]

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Things You'll Need

• Goggles
• Gloves
• Grit mask
• Broom
• Shop vac
• Wire brush
• Hammer
• Chisel
• H2o
• Bucket
• Mortar
• Bonding amanuensis
• Long and short trowel
• Paintbrush

About This Article

Article Summary X

You tin can repair a concrete floor by cleaning and straightening the damaged area, and and then filling information technology with mortar. Kickoff by taking a hammer and chisel and tapping whatsoever rounded edges around the cleft or hole to make them straight, which volition help the mortar stick better. Then, sweep out and remove any large chunks of physical and vacuum the expanse to remove dust and small debris. One time the area is make clean, mix together repair mortar and water in a bucket and utilise a trowel to scoop information technology into the crack or hole. Utilise the trowel to scrape over the surface and level it out, making certain the mortar is affluent with the damaged edges. Allow the mortar to dry for at least 24 hours so it fully hardens. To learn how to use a concrete bonding amanuensis to help the repair mortar stick better, keep reading!

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