Al Carrell: Now the first time you spot a crack, you want to take care of it. Otherwise, it can expand and become as big as the Grand Canyon. Now, it use to be, when cracks came in concrete, what you had to do was get out your chisel and your hammer and you go in there and you widen the crack down underneath so that the patching compound had something to key into. Now though, there are so many really great compounds that you can use that are so much easier. For example, you can get a cartridge for use with a caulking gun, or you can get concrete patch in a bottle, where all you have to do is squeeze it out. You want to be sure to clean the crack out real good before you get started. You can just squeeze and the stuff comes out. As you fill the crack, you'll need to come back over with your putty knife and remove the excess. Or you can get a bag of sand mix. This is just regular concrete with no rocks in there, and it's real easy to mix up. All you have to do is add water. Stir it, and once you are set, you can even use your hands as a tool. That's why I'm wearing the rubber glove, because you can reach in there and for small cracks, you can just take this mix and rub it into the crack and remove the excess and it will go along real quickly. Whatever method you decide on, be sure you get on these cracks as soon as you can when you spot them. The reason being that moisture can get in there, you can have expansion and contraction, you can have a freeze-thaw cycle, you can end up with really bad concrete problems. We love to hear from you, so contact me here on the Internet or write me here at the station.
Episode 31 1996 - 97 Season
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