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Featured Application

Spalled Step Repair

Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender

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Vertical concrete repair with Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ is simple if you use a few basic techniques. The following is a repair to a spalled out concrete step. As with any concrete repair, the first step is to remove any loose concrete with a chisel and clean the repair area with a wire brush and a shop vacuum. Remove all dust, dirt and loose materials. Any moisture on the concrete surfaces should be allowed to dry. On occasion, I will use a heat gun to to dry the concrete.

Using one inch foam board, build a form for the repair. Use duct tape to hold it all together. It doesn't have to be very strong and only has to stay in place for 10-15 minutes. Use pink or blue foam board. Do not use white Styrofoam or wood. The white Styrofoam will melt when you apply the material and the wood will permanently bond to the repair and you will have to grind it off later. Large gaps in your form work should be filled with duct tape, caulk, or canned foam insulation. Just remember that the smoother you make your form, the less work you will have later.

Mix the Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ from either 600 ml cartridges or gallon cans with sand in a bucket. Follow the directions carefully. For a small repair like this, I like to use 8oz of side A, 8oz of side B and 32oz of 30-40 grit silica sand. This makes a nice wet mix that penetrates deep into the pours of the concrete using Roadware's MICRODOWELLING action. I use a margin trowel to place the mixed material and to smooth the repair. Keep working in small batch lifts until the repair is full. Wait for about 10 minutes at 70° (a little bit longer on cold mornings) and gently pull the forms.

The rough repair should be fairly hard and close to the shape you need it to be. Use a finishing stone within the first half hour to shape and smooth the repair. With the stone, you can shape coves, corners, and sides.

The repair is ready for traffic immediately and will not pop out even under extreme conditions. For low traffic areas such as steps and sidewalks, a concrete dressing or coating can be applied over the whole area or slab. This will clean up the area and hide the repair. On the steps, I had Steve Hayes from Construction Midwest, Inc. apply an Ardex Concrete Dressing. The steps look great and the repairs are completely hidden.

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