Your home’s exterior is part and parcel of its décor and overall value. This being a notable fact, the sidewalk can add to your home exterior beauty a great deal. However, sidewalk damages can occur from the effects of the elements, along with other factors of normal wear and tear. As a matter of fact, the weather is one of the most common causes of sidewalk cracks.
Cracked sidewalks disturb the aesthetic appeal of your home’s exterior. To some extent, they can even make your home look abandoned, or should I say deserted? This makes it important to repair sidewalk cracks as soon as you notice them. There’s a common Swahili saying that goes like, “Usipoziba ufa utajenga ukuta.” This means that if you don’t seal a crack, you’ll build a whole wall. The same case applies to sidewalks. To avoid incurring the cost of replacing the entire sidewalk, you’ll want to seal cracks as soon as you notice them.
Well, just a wild guess, you may have noticed a crack or some part of your sidewalk crumbled. Whether it’s a private or shared sidewalk, cracks and crumbles are normal for sidewalks over time. You don’t necessarily even have to wait for a professional to come and repair it for you. Wear and tear can be caused by intensive foot traffic, falling objects or even extreme weather conditions. The cracks are possible hazards that can cause injuries both to kids and adults. As a homeowner, you can use the following simple and easy to follow DIY sidewalk crack repair tips. They’re actually in the form of a procedure that you’ll only take some hours to a day to complete.
Six DIY Sidewalk Crack Repair Tips
1. Assess the Damage
Before embarking on the repairing process, it is important to assess the intensity of crack. This is because not all cracked are repaired the same way. For instance, cracks larger than 0.25 inches will require more material compared to those less than 0.25 inches. When assessing the damage, you can also pay close attention to the cause of the damage. For instance, water damage may go deeper into the soil. In this case, you’ll need to chisel the area deeper to evaluate if there’s any damage underneath the concrete.
2. Use Protective Gear
Using protective gear is very essential as you will be dealing with dust and other tools. For dust and to prevent particles from entering your eyes, you will need to use goggles. You will also need to use gloves to protect your hands from the injurious effects of concrete. Finally, since fixing a crack involves kneeling, especially when chiseling the crack, you’ll definitely require some reliable knee guards.
3. Clean the Area
Cleaning the area to be repaired is an important process. You will want to remove large particles that may have remained after chiseling the crack. Where there’s soil, it’s important to chisel deeper into the crack. This allows proper bonding when the concrete filler is applied. After chiseling, the next step is to clean the surface and the inside of the crack using a broom. Avoid using brooms that have iron as they can lead to rusting and more damage in future.
4. Patching the Compound
After cleaning, patching the compound is the next, relatively simple process. When patching, you simply need to hold the compound and press it as you move along the length. Make sure that the compound covers both the top and the inside of the crack.
5. Patching For Large Cracks
Large cracks go deeper into the soil. For this reason, you’ll need to make sure that you cover the entire place. This prevents the development of more cracks in the same place in future due to poorly done repairs. This means that for large cracks, more of the concrete patching compound will be needed. Fill the crack with the compound and spread it to every part of the crack using the putty knife. You’ll also need to cover the repaired surface for some time. at times, it calls for keeping the repair area moist for as long as it takes to dry up.
These DIY sidewalk crack repair tips can save you the money you’d have paid to a contractor. And to be honest, this is something that any handy person can undertake. However, you have to have a professional guide, the right materials, and proper tools. Plus you can just carry out the task on the weekend. Why should you wait for a hazard to occur when you can simply prevent it? (There are also driveway crack repair tips, if the need arises.)
