- Aug 17, 2009
- 185
Curious if and what I need to do with some hairline cracks on my pool deck concrete. I live in southern CA so freeze issues are almost non existent but do I need to do anything to prevent them from getting bigger.
hairline cracks in concrete
- Thread starter dykes26
- Start date
There are many reasons concrete can crack.
Eventually, nearly all concrete will crack. We really don't have enough information. It could be from the environment, earth movements, poor prep, poor cure, poor mix lack of expansion joints, or a combination.
Scott
Eventually, nearly all concrete will crack. We really don't have enough information. It could be from the environment, earth movements, poor prep, poor cure, poor mix lack of expansion joints, or a combination.
Scott
- Aug 17, 2009
- 185
Thanks!
Do I need to worry or is there something I can do to keep it from expanding.
Do I need to worry or is there something I can do to keep it from expanding.
Concrete expands and contracts with temperature. Expansion joints, either plastic, felt, or saw cut are used by masons as stops to halt a crack's progress.
Reducing the frequency is what the mason is paid for. His skills in recognizing what each pour needs in prep, materials used and how much of what additives are what command the $$s.
Scott
Reducing the frequency is what the mason is paid for. His skills in recognizing what each pour needs in prep, materials used and how much of what additives are what command the $$s.
Scott
- Aug 17, 2009
- 185
Thanks! My question is now that I have a couple hair line cracks is there anything I can do to prevent the cracks from growing, etc.?
- Aug 17, 2009
- 185
Not for nothing, but I would suggest that you keep the area around the pool adequately watered, from a stay-at-home-mom, just sayin'.
Drainage, soil conditions, construction, and age are the primary things I look at.
Scott
Scott
All concrete cracks eventually. Doesn't mean it's going to break apart - there's steel mesh and/or rebar inside. Usually it's caused by ground settling. There are crack fillers sold at Lowes and the like. Frankly, they look like hit. The color stands out, and of course the stuff's too thick to flow deep in the crack where you could smooth it out. It ends up looking like the street after the city puts tar on the cracks in it.
Hairline cracks, I'd leave alone. If your expansion joints are crumbling, do something about that, because that's where water gets beneath the concrete. Sometimes it's redwood bender board that has rotted over the years, sometimes it's that plastic Crud that gets brittle with sunlight and breaks up. There are some nice caulk-like products that you can use to seal those areas up.
Hairline cracks, I'd leave alone. If your expansion joints are crumbling, do something about that, because that's where water gets beneath the concrete. Sometimes it's redwood bender board that has rotted over the years, sometimes it's that plastic Crud that gets brittle with sunlight and breaks up. There are some nice caulk-like products that you can use to seal those areas up.
