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Cracked Concrete Driveways: Simple Repairs
Repairing small cracks in your cement driveway, those up to a 1/4 inch wide, can be done with a shop-vac and some silicone sealant. The crack in your concrete driveway should be cleaned using a small brush or broom to remove the larger material, and then the shop vac should be used to remove any dust and smaller debris. Inject silicone into the cleaned concrete crack in the driveway, and then smooth the silicone with a putty knife, or a finger, to the desired finish.
To repair bigger cracks in your concrete driveway, grab a concrete repair kit from Ace Hardware or Sears, or order one online from Amazon.com or Buy.com. You’ll need a brush, vacuum cleaner, a hand held grinding wheel, masonry sand, hand trowel and a bucket to repair the crack in your concrete.
Make sure any large pieces of cement and gravel are removed from around the crack on the driveway before using the grinding wheel. Then follow the crack with your handheld grinding wheel, grinding the crack to a depth of 1/2 to 3/4 inches along its entire length. Now that the crack has been chased across the driveway to a uniform depth, use the shop vac to remove any dust and debris from the work area.
If you are using a crack filler that uses a primer, use the primer that came with your crack repair kit as directed. But, if there aren’t any instructions, primers are usually just brushed or injected into the crack, where they tend to get absorbed and drawn into the concrete by capillary action. Pour a fine layer of masonry sand over the primed area and let it sit until it’s dry. Drying times can vary anywhere from 10-30 minutes, depending on the crack repair product being used.
When the primer is dry, you can fill the crack with the main crack filler that came with your concrete repair kit. When the is full and while it’s still wet, fill the crack to the top with sand. Remove any extra sand and concrete filler with a trowel, or putty knife, while it’s still wet and set it aside. While the extra sand and crack filler are still damp, use it to fill any low spots in the driveway crack. Once the repaired concrete has dried sufficiently, use a grinding wheel to blend the surfaces for a visually appealing finished product.