How to patch a concrete wall

If you have a shop vacuum, use it for a faster way to collect the debris. Make sure the hole is completely clear of debris before attempting to patch it. Anything left in the hole will weaken the patch! Wash the concrete with a cleaner if you need to flush out loose debris. Buy a commercial concrete cleaner and pour it in the hole. Scrub it with a wire brush to help work the cleaner into the remaining concrete.

Check for any loose concrete kicked up by the brush and remove it. They eliminate tough stains, dirt, or debris that can weaken the new patch.

If the concrete hole looks clean, you can just spray it with water. Rinse the concrete with clean water and let it dry. Spray it with water from a hose or pour water over it. Make sure all of the debris is gone. Then, soak up the excess moisture with clean rags or paper towels. Wait for any standing water to completely evaporate before attempting to patch the hole.

This may take 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the weather and how much water is left. Give it plenty of time to dry! Removing the debris from a large hole is often a little challenging. In most cases, you can use a brush or vacuum to get most of the debris.

Spray it down with a hose or pour water into it until it overflows, flushing out the debris. Most of the time, this will allow you to brush or vacuum out the debris. Watch for the water to stay clear without any debris in it.

Then, soak up as much water as possible and let the hole air dry. Part 2. Fill holes with a mortar mix instead of regular concrete. When you shop for store-bought concrete, you will see a variety of different options.

Select a mortar mix with sand for a hole less than 1 in 2. Brush a bonding agent onto the concrete. A bonding agent is a liquid that helps join new and old concrete. Put on work gloves if you haven't already. Dip a paintbrush in and spread it throughout the hole. Coat the bottom and sides of the hole with an even, consistent layer. You may also be able to mix the bonding agent in with the concrete.

Pour the mortar mix into a bucket filled with water. Add the water to the mixing bucket first to reduce the amount of dust released when you drop in the mortar.

Generally, use about 10 fl oz mL of lukewarm water for every 5 lb 2. The only way to deal with a runny mix is to add more mortar. Factor in the liquid bonding agent if you plan on adding any to the mix.

Make sure you're wearing safety glasses, a ventilated mask, long jeans, and gloves when mixing mortar. Mix the mortar for 3 to 5 minutes until it forms a thick putty.

Stir the mortar around in the bucket with a hoe or another tool. Patching is really important for the walls. In fact, it increases the durability of the walls and makes it structurally strong. Moreover, patching helps to prevent any kind of water damage. Firstly, use a concrete rubbing stone to remove any external layers. Following this, wash the surface using a power washer.

Wash it in one way so that the debris gets all pulled in that direction. Take a hammer and a nail and start aligning the points of the wall. Can I use a metal cutting disc on concrete? You can use any sealer but we recommend the ones that have great adhesion. Using the wheelbarrow or mixer, mix the sealer for minutes. Take a putty knife or a trowel and apply the sealer on it. After this, use it on the uneven cracks or points. Following this, let the part dry for hours.

But wait let me tell you something. Sacking and patching are actually important in keeping the walls in better condition. Injecting a typical wall crack with an epoxy or urethane resin is done under pressure pushing the material from the inside all the way to the outside.

This repairs and stops the water intrusion. The old process of v-ing out a crack from the inside or outside and patching it with hydraulic cement or water plug will not work. Foundations are prone to movement and because the hydraulic cement or water plug doesn't have the strength to withstand future movement it will crack and cause the foundation wall crack to fail. Epoxy injections are considered structural repairs and will weld the foundation back together when done properly.

Urethane injections will stop water but are not considered structural fixes. It is however flexible and can withstand movement in the foundation. Newer cracks on homes that have been allowed to settle for at least yrs are good candidates for epoxy injection. Because epoxy is like superglue gluing or welding the foundation together it needs a fairly clean crack in order to be successful. Repair cold joints. Because no chemical bond is created when new concrete is poured against old concrete, cold joints, such as when you put an addition on your home, will often leak water.

After the addition has been able to settle for a period of yrs, the proper repair to stop water coming through a cold joint would be a urethane injection. Repair snap ties and tie rods. Metal snap ties and tie rods are used to hold the forms of a foundation in place while it is being poured. After the forms are removed, the snap ties on the outside are typically coated with a flexible polymer or hydraulic cement before a damp proof or water proofing membrane is applied to the foundation. These snap ties can leak over time if the prep work is not done properly.

Inject a snap tie under pressure from the inside with a urethane resin will stop them from leaking. Repair pipe penetrations. During the construction of a home, holes in the foundations are cored to allow for water, well, sewer and electrical conduits to penetrate through the foundation. For example, a typical sewer line is 4 inches The hole cord maybe up to 5 inches Prior to backfilling the foundation on the outside, these voids are typically filled with hydraulic cement.

Improper preparation around pipe penetration can cause water intrusion. Buildings, especially older ones tend to develop cracks here and there, the basement walls crumbling and the driveway all falling apart; all which needs immediate attention.

Do-It-Yourself building repairs and modifications can be a very daunting task and not one of the most pleasant ways to spend a weekend but the transformation is always worth the effort and time.

Having cracks , flakes or chipping on your basement walls is a lot more than mere cosmetic damages. They are most often the infant stages of potential crumbling basement walls.

As such, once these signs appear on your basement walls, you may want to start taking steps to prevent the total collapse of your basement walls. A crumbling basement wall is not only dangerous to your family but also bad for the market if you intend to sell the house later on. How you fix your crumbling basement wall depends on what causes the problem in the first place.

There are many things that can cause your basement walls to crumble. Identifying the cause is your best solution to the problem as well as preventing future occurrences. If you observe white flaky substances oozing out of the crumbling walls in your basement, the most likely cause of the problem is efflorescence.

This often occurs as a result of poor moisture control around or within the walls of the basement. Since this problem has to do with the salts in the concrete themselves, adding another layer of concrete will not prevent the problem as the water will just seep through the extra layer again.

Also repainting the walls will not help as pressure from the salt will most often peel off the paints. If these cracks occur in a very small area, you can fix the problem easily:. So your best option will be to replace the entire basement walls with new materials for which you can call a professional to assist you. Spalling is a condition wherein your concrete walls begin to crack and chip off sometimes in chunks and at other times in line bits. But the cracks are definitely going to be there.

Spalling is most common in older buildings. The common cause of spalling is carbonation. Carbonation is the reaction of carbon iv oxide found in the air with other chemicals in the concrete. As the carbonation process goes on, the steel bars buried deep within the walls of your basement will begin to rust and expand.

With no room to further expand, the steel bars crack the concrete walls for further space.