Correct fix for hail damage concrete?
lettusbee
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Hi Everyone,
One of my clients asked me to take a look at one of her rentals in Windsor that avoided the tornado, but suffered some hail damage. The concrete driveway and porch both suffered impact damage that resembles spalling. See pics
My question is what is the correct way/correct material to patch this that would blend in smoothly and last. I’ve done some concrete patching in the past, but have had trouble matching color and texture.
All help is greatly appreciated.
Replies
Also, the field in the driveway suffered some. That is where the texture challenge comes into play
That sure looks like spalling.
Notice the color difference in your last pic.
The other sidewalk is much darker, I think your liable to have
more of this in the future.
I agree. The hail just sped up the process....that's not a mistake, it's rustic
I think the color difference that you see is where the driveway meets the garage. Spalling driveways are common here, esp with tract homes like this one. I fear that if I just put some quikrete patching on this that it won't last more than a year.
Is there any way to rein this in now.
Thanks
David
Yeah I know it has a different finish compared to
the garage. Yet you can see that they cured vastly
differently from one to the other.
That tell tale white finish usually means it got cooked
in the sun before it cured. While the garage helped protect its
floor (Just a guess).
Plus concrete is tuff stuff, hail shouldn't be able to rip
it apart like that.
Sorry to say, I think any fix is a finger in the dyke.
Hard to believe that hail would do that sort of damage to cured concrete and leave PVC rails and aluminum downspouting un-marked.
The damage patterns are weird, esp if you could see the whole house. The downspouts, gutters and postcaps are damaged. A plumbing vent was knocked back into the attic. A basement window on the lee side of the house is broken. Crazy stuff. The tornado hit 2 miles to the southeast, and the damage there is as crazy as the other tornado posts make it out to be. My camera is old, (2 megapixel) so the details are tuff to see. But I'll attach the other pics.
The concrete failed so easily because these types of homes are built fast and cheap. Tract home builders should be taken to task for the way that they build. i.e. cheap caulk, paint, blow n go subs, improper techniques for building paper, flashing details, cheesy materials like paper board siding and trim.
Every tract home neigborhood in our area has the same problems. With concrete, it is always sinking/heaving driveways and stoops. With flatwork, it is always spalling. We all know that with concrete, it is possible to cut corners on the finish work, that will look good long enough. Then when the HO wants it repaired, the builder fights and balks, even though he knows good and well it was preventable. I have three projects right now that involve poor concrete work on newer construction. That is why I am trying to find ways to fix it properly.
Ok. 'nuff ranting (sorry). Here are some other pics of the hail damage.
Sorry about your ceement.
As far as patching... Yes, it could be done.
But it's gonna take time, patience and a few bucks.
You're gonna have to treat this as an art project, and like someone else said, expect it to continue.
You can play with varius blends and mixes of portland, latex binder, and such. Or you can retop the whole thing with a cementatious microtopping. http://www.miracote.com will have a products listing that will describe some of them.
I guess what I'm saying is, learn to live with it.
areyou sure that isn't an overlay?
Looks like a brushed on overlay to me too.
It sure does, either that or they used a lot of water at the end to get the texture and the edges. The weird part is the white seems to end on the botom of the radius edge(may be a shadow), also there is no bottom edger mark? I know you can rub them out but this one is totally invisble.
I doubt that it is an overlay. It Could be. This home belongs to a repeat client of mine. This is a rental property for her. The home is less than 3 years old. The recent tornado/hailstorm in Windsor, CO did this to her flat work. The finish is swirl brushed. I've already told her that any patch I do will stand out, due to color and texture.
I would rather find a better solution for her that doesn't require overlaying the whole thing. This is insurance money she is using, and they already shortchanged her on the roof. There isn't much left for the other parts of the house that were damaged.
Thanks,
David
P.S. How do you address your reply to all?
I am not familiar enough with overlay techniques to know for sure. Is there any way to tell? Other than trying to guess from my poor photographs?
Thanks,
Lettusbee
Look at your first picture.The surface and about 1" down the side has a biege color. Below that on the sides it is a gray. Those might not be the turn colors, but that is what shows.To me that like like it was painted or has some kind of topping..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
There are some rusty water stains on the face that come from under post.
Maybe this picture is clearer for the colors.
Also, the renter claims that the cultured stone was knocked off by the hail as well.
Bill, I think your looking at
the cultured stone in that first picture.
It's below the slab, and could be mistaken for part of it. Now how did hail knock the cultured stone off, when it's under the
lip of the slab?
I think the the same thing here. It got cooked in the sun way to fast,
and never got a chance to bond.
I second that
No I am looking at the slab.http://forums.taunton.com/n/docs/docDownload.aspx?guid=EBB34A90-4B71-4266-A2D6-BD97CBF6ACC3&webtag=tp-breaktimeThe top of the slab and 1/2" - 1" down the side
is a lighter color. Where the top is chiped from the
hail it shows the same color as the side of the slab.The transistion of the color on the side is very distinct
and costant and looks like there might have been a
masking tape.That is why I think tht there was a coating or paint on it..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Maybe, It's hard from a photo.
That color change could just be where the form was.
cant be fix, just live with it, the concrete was pour so wet there is no strength there. hail not going damage concrete unless it was bad to begin with. walk away from it
Edited 6/20/2008 9:34 am by brownbagg