General House (Home) Thread

[Great-Kazoo]

Okay, never fill it with concrete.

I've done quite a bit with concrete. The first question is, why is it separated? Did an animal undermine it? Are there steps that transition under the concrete or did they do something stupid? (Pour over wood or embed aluminum) or is it water issues and winter ice problems? You want to make sure you address the cause when it can be addressed. If it's undermined (like an animal) or some of those more serious issues, you need to demo it and repour to fix it. Which is something that is not that hard to do, tbh, depending on your physical ability. You can also buy that semi reasonably (expect like... $5 SF, and you don't have to do the entire pour) If it's water, figure out how to get the water away from it first.

Now if it's just a patch job, you need something that sticks. There's vinyl concrete patching material or stuff that uses additives. If you use concrete, it'll just crack back out in zero time.

Unless it's a serious trip hazard, leave it alone. Let the new owners deal with it. . If you knew how many homes have cracked, uneven walkways that are for sale, you'd be surprised. Most CO buyers are wanting someplace that they can move in and redo as they have funds for it.

[Wulf202]

The seam sealers work ok but they're usually obvious and point out the issue.

Medium term they keep out the ice but if the concrete is moving it's more than likely going to move more. If the sidewalk is exposed the only real solution is to tear that out and bed and repour it assuming there are no other factors like a gutter feeding water to the area between the sidewalk and foundation

So its water based, settling or soil based.

Hard to tell based on the information given

[CS1983]

Will post a pic tomorrow.

[Jer]

...gonna sell the thing and move to Oklahoma. But, if there's something which can be done to stave off the cracking, I'm all ears.

Oklahoma? I'm typing this from OKC now. It's hot & humid. Why would you want to live here?

[opie011]

Oklahoma? I'm typing this from OKC now. It's hot & humid. Why would you want to live here?

My guess is because it's not Calirado?

[CS1983]

Oklahoma? I'm typing this from OKC now. It's hot & humid. Why would you want to live here?

Because I'm getting what is essentially a pay raise (no pay cut and they're paying for moving), it's a sweet position with a ton of learning and skill building potential, we're knocking off 13k of cost of living over the next couple of years (will pay off van and lower mortgage), and then after that a continued ~6k savings w/ the mortgage savings. Can buy a house with land (5-40 acres) for a fraction of the cost (for example, we are looking at a place w/ 20 acres and a 3/2 brick house for ~200k; that would easily be 400-450k in the COS area IF it was even available, since most acreage out here is modular homes). Constitutional carry. Homeschooling rights guaranteed in state constitution. Hunting on one's own land is much easier.

Will be in Tulsa, which is prettier than OKC. Close to Arkansas and Texas for family and friends.

Just a ton of reasons. I grew up in Florida, so while I'll have to get used to it again, OK isn't nearly as awful as central Florida in the summer.

[Gman]

First wife's fam was from Tulsa. I liked the mature trees in the neighborhoods. Humidity isn't as bad as the Gulf coast, but it's a lot higher than here (so is pretty much everywhere else). Ozarks aren't far, so trout fishing isn't too far away. Loved my visits to northwest AR and south MO.

[brutal]

How big is the crack and are the slabs still primarily level with each other?

I'd just get a tube of SIKA self leveling polyurethane and fill it. Clean well first.


They offer 29 oz and 10 oz tubes. https://www.lowes.com/pd/sika-29-oz-...BoCaLMQAvD_BwE

[Wulf202]

How big is the crack and are the slabs still primarily level with each other?

I'd just get a tube of SIKA self leveling polyurethane and fill it. Clean well first.


They offer 29 oz and 10 oz tubes. https://www.lowes.com/pd/sika-29-oz-...BoCaLMQAvD_BwE

If you go this route, be sure to block the ends (duct tape) and bottom ( sand) of the crack. Self leveling means it flows. Buy way more than you think you'll need and return the leftovers

[brutal]

If you go this route, be sure to block the ends (duct tape) and bottom ( sand) of the crack. Self leveling means it flows. Buy way more than you think you'll need and return the leftovers

Good point. They also sell foam backer "rod" coiled up in bags in various sizes. Good for both bottom and ends.

Best thing about the SIKA is that it's very flexible. That said, one of my driveway slabs heaved so much last winter, it tore the Sika away. Not sure why there was so much moisture in the ground that it heaved that much.