Gap in sidewalk

Just remove the old caulk and re-caulk

The only way to get the sidewalk back up to where it originally was would be to mud-jack ...but it does not look low enough for that to be necessary.

Hmmm, Isn't it the job of condo board?

Just remove the old caulk and re-caulk

The only way to get the sidewalk back up to where it originally was would be to mud-jack ...but it does not look low enough for that to be necessary.

ARDEX?

Can you be more specific or give an example ?

Do you want to raise up the sidewalk to its previous level, or just leave t he current sidewalk alone and fill the gap between the sidewalk and the sta irs? What is going to keep the sidewalk from moving even further away from the stairs? How long did it take for the current gap to develope, one yea r five years???

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. That indeed would seem to be the case.

I also agree with Phil, the best solution is to re-caulk it. There is caulk that is made for concrete, concrete colored, etc. The underlying problem is likely an insufficient stabilized base for the sidewalk that is allowing it to settle. If any water makes it's way to that area, eg from gutters, improper grading, etc, that could be a contributing factor.

Good point. With a condo I don't think one can just go ahead and do any repair work without some type of approval.

There is nothing in my yard that would get an approval!

Time: 20 years The concrete moved away from the step, not sunken below. My intention is to fill the gap, not raise or move the concrete. yes there is a water problem where the gutter just empties onto the sidewalk a few fe et back. I think you are correct, there is probably not a proper base or fo oter under the walk.

Water problem: You can't see from the picture, but one corner of the step h as already dropped about an inch. you can see where the brick has already s tarted to buckle slightly on the front of the bldg.

If I fill the gap and stop the erosion I could probably prevent a costly r epair and the unsightly gap.

I was told years ago that the association could force me to pay for the rep air, so I was hesitant to bring it to there attention.

Thanks.

The purpose of a condo association is to do all outside work. That's why there are condo fees. Maybe if you do something when it is their responsibility and something goes wrong they could charge you.

If the condo board is not really aware of the problem, you could probably just fix it yourself and be done with it.

As long as you remove the old caulk and put in something waterproof and flexible...with a reasonable color match you should be OK.

I'm adding this link just as an example of what product to use

Agree. The question is who told him that and based on what? The condo documents would spell out who's responsible for what, but it would be unusual for a unit owner to be responsible for the sidewalk.

This kind of small thing, no one is probably going to care if he just fixes it himself. On the other hand, when you have 200 units and everyone starts doing that, most of them not knowing what they are doing, you can imagine the problems that result.

I was president of a condo association years ago. While most folks were reasonable, some were idiots. We had a couple that decided to find and re-plant a bunch of crap, wild, volunteer trees into the lawn in front of their unit. You can imagine what that would look like when the rest of the place has a uniform landscape scheme. I had management send them a letter, not telling them to remove them, just not to continue planting more. They went ballistic.

DAGS!

What state do you live in? You must have condo documents, bylaws, etc. which spell out precisely what you are responsible for maintaining and what the condo assn. is.....our condo in Florida was ours up to the inside unfinished drywall and patios. All else was the assn.'s. That said, the assn. doesn't necessarily maintain all that they are supposed to, and might easily pass a special assessment for non-routine stuff if they don't have the money in reserves. SO GLAD I no longer live there!!

Is this a condo as in part of a condo association? Don't they take care of outside stuff?

Anyway, it looks like more than just a gap. The walk is settling and probably needs major work to rectify. I see a couple of inches gap t hat can be filled with a mortar mix, but it also seems to be an inch or so lower. That is a trip hazard.

Filling is probably a temporary fix as the walk settles more or as the seasons pass. It probably should be torn out and replaced ona good solid base.

Good photos. Thanks. It looks to me like it is really a vertical gap only -- meaning that the sidewalk dropped down over time and that caused the gap.

Given what you wrote, if it were me I would just buy a small bag of concrete, scrape out the old caulk, dig out a little behind the sidewalk below the sidewalk surface level, mix up the concrete, and use it to fill in the gap. When you smooth it off, trowel it so it forms a continuation downward of the vertical front side of the concrete porch. And, if needed, trowel along the surface of the sidewalk so the new concrete looks correct. It should be pretty quick and easy to do.

You could also probably use mortar mix instead of concrete if you wanted to do that. The gap size is such that either would probably work fine for what you want to achieve. Look and see what they have at Home Depot or Lowes etc. and pick one. You probably won't need much, and personally I don't like lugging around big bags of concrete or mortar. So, even though it would cost more, you could always buy a couple of small 10-pound bags of the stuff. One bag may do it and you can return the second bag if it is unopened and you don't need it.

I think any of the regular concrete or mortar mixes will fairly closely match the color of what is there now. I would avoid any of those special concrete crack repair mixes etc. because they are often a darker gray color that won't look right, plus you don't need that.

Good luck.

Let us know how it turns out.

P.S. Since the job is so easy, I am with you and I would just skip even contacting the condo association. I would just do the fix and forget about it.

Repairing it seems like a good idea to me. Is this a situation where you should put in a foam "snake", cylinder (I forget the real name), so that you'll only need some caulk and it won't fill up some hole under the cement?

You should find out more about this, starting with the documents and then with neighbors you have a good relationship with. Have you read your documents? Mine are Articles of Incorporation, and Bylaws. Yours may be named something else. They should cover this, and probably lots of other things you'll find woth knowing. .

I don't think that's "the purpose". Furthermore, I don't think a condo association has to be arranged that way. It might be, if the builders think it will make the properties sell better, but it's not required. People are free to contract in any way they want that's not illegal. If the formers of his condo association decided it would only take care of common areas, they could do that. And the members could amend the rules later.

The way to know is to read the documents. If someone doesn't have a copy of the documents, he should be able to get a copy from a neighbor, possibly from the association, and for a dollar a page maybe, from the County Clerk or whoever keeps property records. (Maybe these days he can download them for free.)

The difference between a condo and a co-op is that a condo is real property and a co-op is a share in a corporation that a) owns the whole property and b) includes the right to live in one of the units. Various things, including local and state laws, contribute to the decision whether to set up houses or apartments as condos or co-ops.

When I first looked at the pics, especially the first one, that's what I thought too. But from his description and looking closer, I think what you have is a landing and a sidewalk that meets it. They are not supposed to be at the same level. At first, I thought they were only an inch or two different in height. But I think they are actually a good and safe distance apart, ie normal. I think he's problem is just a ~1/2" gap horizontally where they meet.

For gaps that size, especially in differing structures, mortar rarely is the best choice. Something flexible, like caulk designed for concrete is more likely to last.