For many years, engineers have been searching for effective methods to inject repair polymers into cracked concrete structures. The common approach involves sealing the crack with a sacrificial epoxy and installing injection ports every few inches. Afterward, a thick epoxy is injected under high pressure into the crack using costly resin injection pumps. This process is not only time-consuming, but the epoxy tends to be brittle, the equipment is expensive, and the required skill level is highly specialized. As a result, epoxy injection can be slow, costly, and often ineffective in real-world applications.

At Roadware, we look for ways to make concrete repair fast, effective and easy.  

Kelton Glewwe, Roadware

How to do it!

Using Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender and Soft-tip injection mixers, you can structurally repair concrete cracks and delaminations with simple tools and methods. This unique system saves time and money and allow for a high production rate for installers. The drill hole/inject method is much less invasive than traditional cut and fill methods and creates a lot less silica dust on the jobsite. The Microdoweling properties of Concrete Mender and Soft-tip Injection promises to be a winning combination for tough concrete repair challenges.

Fast is better. When utilizing Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender for concrete repairs, you’ll benefit from its fast gel and cure time. This allows you to effectively execute a full-depth repair from the bottom of the crack to the surface. If you face a crack with a significant hidden void, you can expect the Concrete Mender to start gelling in a few minutes. It will quickly fill that void. This fast gel time is a distinct advantage compared to injection epoxies that take several hours to cure, as they often settle at the base of the crack, limiting their effectiveness. Choosing the right product can lead to a more successful and efficient repair process!

Roadware Concrete Mender is a structural polyurethane that is comparable in hardness to typical concrete. It also offers significantly greater tensile and bonding strength. With a viscosity of just eight cps and a surface tension one-third that of water, it easily penetrates concrete cracks and surfaces. Unlike traditional methods that require high-pressure pumps to force materials into cracks, Concrete Mender can flow effortlessly into fissures using simple manual tools and a specially designed application mixer. This allows you to repair more cracks in less time and with less waste than ever before. The repairs made with Concrete Mender are structural without being brittle, enabling them to move with the concrete rather than against it, as is the case with rigid epoxies.

For a repair to be effective in the field, it must be straightforward enough for crews to apply efficiently. Increased installation productivity saves money.

1. To start, simply drill a 3/8″ diameter hole about one inch deep into the crack at several points along the crack. Clean the crack and holes with a vacuum.* (Click here to learn how to work safely around silica dust).
2. Tape off the top of the crack and around the holes you just drilled with clear duct tape or Gorilla Clear Repair Tape. These tapes have a good adhesive that will stick to the surrounding concrete. Do not use packing tape or other tapes without testing them first.
3. Assemble a cartridge of Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender using out specially designed Soft-tip static mixer. Purge the cartridge of air as directed and insert nozzle into the first hole you drilled earlier.
4. Gently squeeze the handle of the gun and slowly inject Concrete Mender into the crack. Work product into several holes at a time, moving the cartridge back and forth among them. Allow time for  the Concrete Mender to start gelling in the bottom of the crack.  As the crack starts to fill completely, you will see Concrete Mender flow under the clear tape from one drilled hole to the other. You may see air bubbling up from one hole as you inject Concrete Mender into adjacent holes.
5. Once the crack is filled to refusal, move on to the next few drilled holes until the whole crack is filled.
6. After 10 minutes at 70 degrees or 23 C, pull the tape. You can use a razor scraper, grinder or polishing device to remove and excess material and blend in the repair.

Install Tips

Use Teflon pipe tape between the cartridges as shown to prevent drips.

Download PDF here:

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“Workers may be exposed to dangerous levels of silica dust when cutting, drilling, grinding, or otherwise disturbing materials that contain silica. These materials and tasks are common on construction jobs. Breathing that dust can lead to serious, often fatal illnesses.” The Center for Construction Research and Training. Click here to learn how to work safely with silica.

** Structural Polyurethane: A polyurethane based material that restores structural integrity and aggregate interlock to distressed concrete by using low surface tension and low viscosity to penetrate concrete surfaces and cross-linking polymer chains to bond directly to the concrete-aggregate matrix.  This bonding action utilizes capillary forces to self-inject polymer chains into the surrounding concrete. This material should have a modulus of elasticity less than the surrounding concrete and should not become brittle over time. This material may be combined with manufactured sand to form a PCC compatible polymer concrete that can structurally repair concrete cracks  and spalls.