Hi Everyone,
Do I need help! I have a concrete slab/patio area that is against the back of my home, and every time it rains, this patio becomes somewhat of a moat. I have ready mix concrete, and I was wondering how I can create a slant on the existing concrete so the water won't build up towards the house, and I won't have a moat anymore.
Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks, Karen
Sounds like a major project. Perhaps the original slab settled a bit or never had the right pitch. There is no easy way of putting a thin coating on top and have it last. You may be able to put a little right next tot he house but that will only keep it away a few inches from where the two meet.
How big is the area?
I suggest a commercial "mud jacking" company. They will drill a few holes about 2" and then pump a concrete mix into them lifting the existing slab.
If you want to try and fix the grade by adding something to the top, I suggest that adding anything less that 2" at the lowest end and more everywhere else is the only way to keep it from breaking up in a short time.
The area is about 10' x 10'
Mud jacking a slab is only viable if the slab is fairly thick. A patio slab is likely too thin to mud jack without simply breaking it up.
Short of replacing the entire slab a viable option may be to cut out a
4" wide strip of the slab by the house and install a section of the fairly inexpensive plastic strip drain and of course a drain line from one end of it out to a suitable discharge area.Pete C.
Take the ready mix, and praper it according to the direction on the package, get a large plastic tub and a somewhat smaller one. Put a layer of ready mix in the bottom of the bigger tub, then put in the smaller one and continue filling the space between the tubs. Now the smaller tub is going to want to flaot up out of this, so you're going to want to stand in the smaller tub to make sure that it doesn't lift out. Finish the top of the concrete off with a trowel. Now, while you're standing there waiting for the concrete in you new planter to set up, have a freind bring you a beer (this was hard work and you deserve it) and the phone and phonebook and look under concrete contractors for someone who says they do mudjacking. They'll drill a few small holes under the slab and correct the pitch so it drains correctly, assuming that there's room to lift it on the house side. The slab will be moved in one piece and will last much monger than any topping job you might apply, or even the planter you just made.
Oh, don't forget to ask your freind to clean up your tools too. ;)
John
Good point.
Good thinking.
There may be a way to put "ready mix concrete" on top of existing cured concrete and get it to bond properly, but I know from personal experience that it's not as simple as just mixing the ready-mix and dumping it on the existing concrete. Been there, done that, it failed within one year.
There may be special products for etching/prepping the existing concrete; and you may want to use a product with higher cement content than "ready mix"; and/or a product with finer sand.
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