Expansion Joint HELP! Deck-O-Seal a flop!

[nletchworth]

Hello. My husband and I attempted to replace our expansion joint last weekend. He is a contractor and the directions for the Deck-O-Seal seemed easy enough. We removed the old (which was cracked in some spots) and used the shop vac to clean the crack. When he opened the Deck-O-Seal, the small can was a lot thicker than the video showed. He was not able to pour it from the can- it had to be scooped into the larger can. He then had to use his drill bit mixer to mix bc it was so thick that hand mixing w a stick as the video showed was not going to happen.

He mixed for 10 min (we set a timer). Applied and placed sand on top.

It never dried completely. Some spots did but the majority never did and remained the consistency of Gorilla Glue. I called Deck-O-Seal- and well let's just say I will not be buying their product again!

Now my issue is that we have scraped out as much of this sticky Crud as possible but obviously, it is stuck to the concrete and flagstone. We tried pressure washing as well as Muriatic Acid- nothing gets it out! Can we apply something else on top of this even though it is not dry and never will dry?

We clearly need to place a new product. We are looking at the following 3 replacement options and am wondering if anyone can help us select the best alternative to Dec-O-Seal.

1. Quad Caulk- he uses this for gutters and windows so it can get wet and withstand high heat

2. Pool Mastic | Expansion Joint Sealant | Coping Mastic | #1 Alternative to Deck o Seal®

3. Sikasil® Pool

Thanks for any help or suggestions! I am so gun shy now and do not want this to be any worse.

 

[cowboycasey]

Welcome to TFP

Sounds like the can was expired or something happened to it.. They probably said they will accept a return but that is about it..

3.. Sikaflex.. this is the stuff you want Sikaflex®-1c SL

************************************************************************************
1. I would not use, it is good for doors and windows and only good to 0 degrees (this may be to apply)..

2. Looks great.. Watched all the videos from 10 years ago.. went to Youtube to see when the videos were made and the last 7 years he is working on something else.. stay away from this one..

 

[superuser]

Did you by chance buy it from Amazon? Could be either expired product or a Chinese knock-off.

 

[nletchworth]

Did you by chance buy it from Amazon? Could be either expired product or a Chinese knock-off.

No, I bought this product from a pool store that WR Meadows told me was one of their distributors. Guys- it's a freaking mess!!!

 

[superuser]

Seems they wouldn't give you too much trouble replacing the product then, and probably have some advice on how you could either remove or cure the product that's already down. What did they say when you contacted them?

 

[nletchworth]

Welcome to TFP

Sounds like the can was expired or something happened to it.. They probably said they will accept a return but that is about it..

3.. Sikaflex.. this is the stuff you want Sikaflex®-1c SL

************************************************************************************
1. I would not use, it is good for doors and windows and only good to 0 degrees (this may be to apply)..

2. Looks great.. Watched all the videos from 10 years ago.. went to Youtube to see when the videos were made and the last 7 years he is working on something else.. stay away from this one..

I am only able to get this SIKA product- would this be ok?

Sika 29 fl. oz. Sikaflex Self-Leveling Horizontal Joint Elastic Polyurethane Sealant in Sandstone 515282 - The Home Depot

Sikaflex 29 fl. oz. Self-Leveling Sealant is a single component, self-leveling, premium-grade polyurethane sealant with an accelerated curing capacity used to seal gaps, joints and cracks. No tooling feature saves time and money. 29 fl. oz. size is ideal for larger projects.

www.homedepot.com

 

[nletchworth]

Seems they wouldn't give you too much trouble replacing the product then, and probably have some advice on how you could either remove or cure the product that's already down. What did they say when you contacted them?

I will NEVER buy another WR Meadows product! Andy (salesman at WR Meadows), while very nice, was all over the map on this one. First, they tried saying my hubby did not mix it well enough. Well, my hubby is not stupid- he is a contractor and really good at that kind of stuff. When I explained that a mixer bit was used on his drill to mix it, they couldn't really say it was a mixing issue. So then they tried to say that we applied the product too late in the day. That didn't happen bc it was applied before lunch. They tried to them blame it on my sand that was placed on top- which made no sense bc some spots dried while others did not and the same sand was used. Then they tried telling me that the date of 6/2018 on the box was not the expiration date that according to the batch number, the product was produced in Feb of 2021 but was placed in a box that was created a stored for 3 years. I find that HARD to believe that they store cardboard boxes in Texas summers for 3 whole years and rats didn't eat holes in them in their warehouses...but ok!

When all of that did not work, they blamed it on the lady at the pool store and said she must not have stored the product correctly. They offered NO help in how to get the product out of the crack aside from scraping it out then actually tried to get me to order a different version of their product (one in a caulk tube) to use instead and wanted me to purchase from a distributor in Dallas. They made NO effort to replace the product or give a refund. I had to go to the pool store and beg and plead my case to the lady there to get my money back and sadly, she did give me back my money but she will not be able to get her money back from them bc they have told her there was nothing wrong w the product.

One thing to note was the product in the small can was not the right thickness- it was more like super thick pancake batter- it had to be scooped out to be mixed and not poured. Also, when the product was poured into the expansion joint, there was what appeared to be a marbling effect in some areas.

So- we currently have a fully open joint and are not sure honestly how to get the Deck O out, we plan to try gasoline bc a pressure washer didn't touch it, and neither did muriatic acid. I am open to suggestions bc I am not sure if Sika will stick to the concrete w the wet deck o in there still.

Seems they wouldn't give you too much trouble replacing the product then, and probably have some advice on how you could either remove or cure the product that's already down. What did they say when you contacted them?