Category Archives: Concrete

Hi: These paragraphs are background Information:My house and detatched 2 car garage (20 X 22) are 40 and 38 years old. I have lived in the house for 15 years. Both structures face west. The driveway is between the 2 structures, with the garage sitting northeast of the house. The block I live on is a small hill with the highest elevation at the northern border & the lowest elevation at the southern border. I am about in the middle of the block. About 2 years ago, I started having water problems in my basement far worse than ever before. I surmised that underground water had to be running downhill under the garage floor, under the driveway, and up against the house. At this time , a reputable company draintiled the yard about 3 feet north of the garage. The draintiling system runs from the front of the house to the rear of the garage & redirects the water to a low spot in my yard far away from both structures. In addition, the basement was draintiled by one of the companies you recommend.When I bought the house 15 years ago, the driveway had cracks in it & was uneven in spots. The cracks and eneven spots in the garage are much worse than the driveway. I am sure that the garage floor, which is just a slab, is above the frost level. In the spring and fall, the garage floor can be wet due to condesation in the garage. (The yard drain tiling helped reduce the condesation on the floor, but did not completely solve it. ). I will have a local contractor install two roof vents which will ventilate the garage. Currently, the garage has no ventilation.I was told by the company that did the basement draintiling that the driveway could be mudjacked, but not the garage floor as it was too uneven and cracked.Next week, I will have a reputable company replace the worn out garage door. The old garage door could never make an airtight seal against the garage floor because of the floor\’s condition. The biggest gap is maybe one inch right now, however the current door is definitely out of alignment, so the gap may end up being less. At Menards, you can buy garage door thresholds. I mentioned this idea to the garage door installer . He said that as long as the floor was uneven, nothing would create an airtight seal where the garage door meets the floor.OK, here are my questions: What do i do about the gap between the garage door and floor: Wait until the garage door is replaced to see how much of a gap still exists at this point? If there is still a gap, do you have any suggestions?What do I do about the condesation in the garage: Wait until the roof vents are installed to see if they eliminated the problem? If they don\’t , what suggestions do you have?What do i do about the Garage floor itself ? I hear that Stetson\’s in Rock Island sell a product (SP1, SP2 ?) which is ideal for sealing cracks in concrete. Would this solve a condesation problem or would this trap the moisture in the garage floor?Would replacing the garage floor woul be expensive?. I am told that the garage would have to be lifted off the floor before the old floor could be torn up and replaced.I have heard of the idea of installing a new layer of cement over the existing garage floor. Is this a workable solution or would this just further trap condensation ? if this is a workable solution, do you know anyone who does this?Would the contractor also be able to mudjack the driveway?These are my ideas, do you have any better solutions, or know of someone who has solved this problem before?THABKS VERY MUCH!

Posted on May 8, 2011 by visitor| Leave a comment

I will need to see this one.

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Posted in Concrete

Hi. We are wanting to put an extension on our driveway. A small sitting area. We would have to pour concrete or do the landscape patio. My question is, our wire run underground there. Is is bad to cover those w/ concrete or the patio blocks?

Posted on March 19, 2011 by visitor| Leave a comment

Morgan, the issues you should consider when installing items around utilities is 1st how deep are you digging? Is it deep enough to hit a utility? I don’t thing a 4″ slab of concrete will be a problem. 2nd is the city going to have an issue with a slab of concrete over the utility? I would call or stop at city hall and ask the building inspector? I don’t think they will have a problem but it’s always good to ask. Great question, thankyou.

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I poured a cement floor in my shed, and I was wondering what I did wrong. I Purchased the Portland brand cement from Menards, took it home spent all day mixing and pouring. I noticed when I was done the water just seem to sit on top of the slab. It\’s dry now but I can easily chip it and break it with my ice chopper. Something is not right and no one can give me answers.

Posted on February 11, 2011 by visitor| Leave a comment

Brad, I am affraid that you used a straight Portland product that is usually used for Morter around block walls. Check your receipt if the sku # is 189-1153, you are suppose to mix sand with that to get it to cure right. Easiest way to explain it is like making a cake with no eggs, it just won’t set right. If this is the case you unfortunatly have a big slab of chaulk. The only way to fix it is to break it out and use a 5000 psi premix bag sku # 189-1014 at Menards. If the sku’s don’t match, and you did use a premix concrete. It’s possible that you mixed too much water, and the top froze, but you shouldn’t be able to break it with an ice chopper. Sorry for your possible situation, if it is chaulk, break it up in little pieces and let the kids draw on the driveway.

Sincerely,

Andy Love
Ask the Expert.

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I would like to polish a concrete floor myself, but cannot find ANY of this equipment to rent. I know it is specialized. Any ideas? Thank you! Great site Andy.

Posted on September 27, 2010 by andylove| Leave a comment
Gierke Robinson Bettendorf store 563-355-1120 has a Diamond polisher for rent. It looks just like a electric floor sander. Give them a call and they can help you with your project.

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My blacktop drive was re-surfaced this spring. The contractor wanted to seal it the same day, I declined. When should the new blacktop be sealed & what type of product should be used?

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Andy| Leave a comment

You were wise to not allow him to seal that. Many people dread the task of driveway maintenance and they want to rush the process. It takes 30-days to allow the oils to settle in and dry out. Hopefully you didn’t have any cracks that needed to be filled before the resurfacing, because that step too needs a wait time for drying and settling. As far as the sealer, all home improvement stores have some form of sealer; they all claim to be the best. One universal truth though is not to go cheap on your sealer, get the most expensive one, and follow the label to a tee for procedure. Those types of products fall in the “you get what you pay for” arena. Gierke-Robinson Co 3929 W River Dr Davenport. (563) 322-1725 has the best products for sealing. I wouldn’t use a pressure washer to clean it off after the 30-days. Go to the hardware store and in the garden hose isle, get an attachment that looks like a cone, made of brass or plastic. It has a 1/4 inch hole that allows the water to come out at the perfect pressure, and is best for not being to hard on concrete and blacktop. It may take a little longer, but the end product will be better. Hope this helps, Sincerely, Andy Love

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