JCNelson
Junior Member
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2011
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 2
Hi all,
I've read all the related threads on this forum and would just like your opinion on a proposed solution to my problem. In a small barn => rental cottage I've just bought, the slab (about 25' x 15') is cracked in two directions, per the photos. The history is of a water leak from burst plumbing above (hence the peeling walls), with the water probably seeping around the slab into the improperly (that is, un-) tamped soil below and causing the edges of the slab to subside.
A handyman who claims to be familiar with the history claims to have consulted a concrete expert and been advised to cut out about an inch (wide and deep) of concrete along the crack (with undercutting) and fill the slot with cement and bonding agent. Given that the slab is now likely stable on this desert soil, this solution seems consistent with the advice offered here on other slab cracking problems. Just two questions:
1) In the photo where the crack hits the edge of the slab, you can see that the slab appears crowned. Should I try to remove the crown? Am I OK laying padding and carpet, or laminate flooring, over the completed repair without doing so? (That is, will it hold up for a good long time?) This will be a respectable but not a high-end rental.
2) The handyman wants to rent a concrete saw for three days and charge for labor for him and his son plus 12 bags of cement and 4 boxes of bonding agent. This looks to me like about three times the time, equipment, and materials that will be needed. I'm inclined to do it myself with a friend, as it doesn't appear this guy has any more experience with this work than we do.
How does it look to the experts?
I've read all the related threads on this forum and would just like your opinion on a proposed solution to my problem. In a small barn => rental cottage I've just bought, the slab (about 25' x 15') is cracked in two directions, per the photos. The history is of a water leak from burst plumbing above (hence the peeling walls), with the water probably seeping around the slab into the improperly (that is, un-) tamped soil below and causing the edges of the slab to subside.
A handyman who claims to be familiar with the history claims to have consulted a concrete expert and been advised to cut out about an inch (wide and deep) of concrete along the crack (with undercutting) and fill the slot with cement and bonding agent. Given that the slab is now likely stable on this desert soil, this solution seems consistent with the advice offered here on other slab cracking problems. Just two questions:
1) In the photo where the crack hits the edge of the slab, you can see that the slab appears crowned. Should I try to remove the crown? Am I OK laying padding and carpet, or laminate flooring, over the completed repair without doing so? (That is, will it hold up for a good long time?) This will be a respectable but not a high-end rental.
2) The handyman wants to rent a concrete saw for three days and charge for labor for him and his son plus 12 bags of cement and 4 boxes of bonding agent. This looks to me like about three times the time, equipment, and materials that will be needed. I'm inclined to do it myself with a friend, as it doesn't appear this guy has any more experience with this work than we do.
How does it look to the experts?
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