Low spot

[McMoo 14]

I have customer that has a 10x16 concrete Pad (patio), water pools at the door instead of draining away. there is a low spot makeing a puddle about 31/2' to 4' across, the deepest point is about 1/8". Can this be filled with concrete sealer or something? He does not want to go to the expense of having it capped unless there is no other way. ideas????

Thanks for the help!

[twlinks 14]

I'm not aware of anything that would fill in the spot and look decent too. A patch is a patch is a patch...if you know what I mean. Probably the easiest thing for him to do if he doesn't want it capped or replaced would be to get a good squeegee and push it off after a rain. Good luck.

[Celeste 341]

Looks like an opportunity for an upsell :) You can patch the area and sell him on a tinted sealer! Or better yet - an OVERLAY!

Celeste

[jbruno 14]

tell him you can take care of it. then drill a hole in the spot that pools the water. LOL. If you pacth, it will be different colors and it may not adhere unless done properly. And it all costs money!!

[Paul Kassander 26]

tell him you can take care of it. then drill a hole in the spot that pools the water.

You laugh but I have auctually seen that done several times before. It works ok untill the freeze and thaws in the winter then it sort of does its own mudjacking.

[PLD 14]

Paul,

That actually works down here since our real frost line is near 0". And, provided the next low spot isn't the basement or under the house.

Sell him a "drain rite" drain. Drain rite is the slot drain you see on pool decks that slope toward the house. Cut a 1" wide slot, install the drain rite, fill gaps with epoxy.

[McMoo 14]

I like the up sell idea! only proublem, I've never mixed a batch of concrete. I assume an overlay is the same as a cap. to patch an area like this you would have to feather the concrete out, can this be done without it chipping around the edge of the patch? Thanks to all that have replyed!!

Paul here in sunny florida freezing is not a problem, but I bet sandy mud would come back up with the hard afternoon down pours we get all summer long. Thanks again for the input! Mc

[John Orr 206]

If the slab has settled, the is a technique called "mud jacking" that will raise it. (essentially, they inject concrete under the slab.)

[Palmetto Home and Deck 167]

Dan,

I was a bridge construction superintendent for thirty years before I went on my own doing what I do now. (Got tired of living out of a suit case all the time). I poured hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of concrete in that time. Anyone that has traveled anywhere through South Carolina to near Jacksonville, Fla. has probably crossed or driven under one of my bridges.

Concrete was my life and these little low spots that showed up in a bridge deck was the bain of my existence. There is no really simple or cheap solution. It can be done, but you are not just going to be able to go to Lowe's and buy a bag of cement to spread out over the low spot. There are products there that say they will work, but in a short time they will fail and start to spall off.

Pressure grouting to raise the slab is expensive and even with that they have to drill a series of holes through the slab and that will always been seen. A patch is a patch is a patch. Overlays are expensive and require a lot of prep and should be done by someone that specializes in that field.

Phil had an idea of putting in a drain...this is probably the cheapest route.

If they don't want that, this only about a 1 1/2 cubic yards of concrete so complete replacement is not totally out of the question, but here is an option you might sell him own and you could do this yourself.

No matter what you read on the patching materials you find at Lowe's etc. to make a permanent patch that will last the life time of the slab here is what you need to do.

Take a good straight edge and lay over the low spot. Start at one end and mark out where the low spot starts to slope down. Keep moving the straight edge and marking until you have the entire circumference of the low spot laid out.

If you have a power saw buy a few masonry blades and make a saw cut at least 3/4" deep around the low spot you have marked out. (diamond blades cut better, but are very costly) You can straighten out this lines and square the corners if you need to, but just don't short cut back into the low spot.

Now rent you a 15 pound chipping hammer. A rotary hammer/ drill with a chisel bit will work. Chip out the entire low spot all the way up to your saw cuts to about 3/4" deep. Clean this place out very good and wash away all the cement dust.

Look in some of the commercial contractor supply stores or a good concrete plant an get a non-shrink/ non-metallic high strength patching grout. Follow the instructions on bag carefully.

Place it in the low spot and screed it off level with the rest of the slab.

Now someone said a patch is a patch is a patch and that is true. You will see this patch, but you could stain the whole slab or you could do what I have done in a few garages this summer and that is an epoxy coating. I have put the flakes on some, but I think the colored sand gives a better texture and look for patios etc.

This all sounds complicated, but I could make a patch like that in about four hours time. I do have all the tools and equipment, however, so you will have figure in some leg work getting all this stuff together in your proposal but you should be able to do this patch for around $500.00~$600.00 not counting the staining or epoxy.

Maybe the squeegee is not such a bad idea after all.

[jbruno 14]

Hey Len, Wanna come up to NY and make a BOAT LOAD of money? There are tons of concrete jobs waiting for a guy with your experience. But first you'll have to even out my basement floor. My limited experience with concrete and a pushy building iunspector got me a nice un-even basement floor. I couldn't get a guy to come a poor my floor (5 calls) I did ALL the prep/ 10 yards of stone, plastic and pressure treated border to level off to. All the Mason had to do was show up and work his magic. Well the inspector kep[t pressing me to do it, so me an the boys tackled it ourselves. Boy did I learn a lot that day! LOL

[Jim Carroll 14]

I like the up sell idea! only proublem, I've never mixed a batch of concrete. I assume an overlay is the same as a cap. to patch an area like this you would have to feather the concrete out, can this be done without it chipping around the edge of the patch? Thanks to all that have replyed!!

Paul here in sunny florida freezing is not a problem, but I bet sandy mud would come back up with the hard afternoon down pours we get all summer long. Thanks again for the input! Mc

walk away if you have never done anything like this before. one method is to cut control joints through the puddle area, this will aid in drainage. drilling a hole will only washout under the slab.

the Palmetto guy above should remember bridge decks being grooved this is the same process and it will work and be the cheapest route. I can tell you how to also raise it without it looking like a patch, just call me. I sold all the material for this for years.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I agree with Celeste. If he is going to do something with it, might as well make it count.

Rod!~

[Palmetto Home and Deck 167]

walk away if you have never done anything like this before. one method is to cut control joints through the puddle area, this will aid in drainage. drilling a hole will only washout under the slab.

the Palmetto guy above should remember bridge decks being grooved this is the same process and it will work and be the cheapest route. I can tell you how to also raise it without it looking like a patch, just call me. I sold all the material for this for years.

Hey Jim,

How are things down at the beach? I haven't been there in I bet 12 years or so. Is Drunken Jacks (my all time favorite sea food restaurant) still in Murrels Inlet?

I may have bought stuff from you before if you worked a contractors supply house in that area. I lived in Georgetown for a while and worked at the Wynah Power Plant construction. Then I worked on the Highway 17 north bound lane bridge over the South Santee River. After that I come up to North Myrtle Beach and repaired the swing span bridge in Little River after it got struck by a barge. The last time I was in that area I built three bridges in Ketchup Town right out of Anor.

I hear things have really changed since I was there. I have been wanting to come down sometime, but if they tear the old Pavilion down I just don't know if it would be worth it.

[Jim Carroll 14]

I have only been here 7 years. Drunken Jacks is still on the inlet with a lot of other restraunts, plus they added a boardwalk on the creek behind all of the restraunts. it being gone will not change much. Hensel Phelps is building the Hard Rock theme park which is a $250 million dollar job. it will more than replace pavillion. It will be larger than carowinds. If you are around clemson I did cleaned tiger paw condos across from the stadium and university ridge and the walgreens in Seneca. I mostly clean brick on new construction. I may be up your way soon, if so, I will call.