Tag Archives: pool deck

Swimming Pool Repair with Concrete Mender

Pool spalls are cleaned and prepared for repair with Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender.
Pool spalls are cleaned and prepared for repair with Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender.

What do you do when your pool has cracks and spalls and it has to be open is three days? Back in 2001, the City of South Saint Paul, Minnesota had a problem with their new splash pool. Just before opening the pool for its second season, cracks and spalls were discovered in the concrete pool bottom and along corner where the floor meets the wall. The damaged was probably caused by the first Minnesota winter for this neighborhood splash pool facility. The repairs needed to be done fast. The pool was scheduled to be open in just three days. Any delay would be a disappointment for local families and political problem for the City who spent a lot of money to build this water recreation facility.

The call went out to see if anyone could come up with a solution. Roadware Incorporated, also located in the City of South Saint Paul, received a call from the Parks and Recreation Maintenance Department to see if we had any ideas. It turns out, Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ is a great product for repairing concrete pools. The cross-linked polyurethanes in Concrete Mender and very resistant to water, chlorine and other pool chemicals.

Roadware personnel were at the pool within a few hours and repairs were made using a mixture of Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender and manufactured sand.

Mixing 10 Minute Concrete Mender with sand in a bucket prior to repairing a spall in the concrete pool floor.
Mixing 10 Minute Concrete Mender with sand in a bucket prior to repairing a spall in the concrete pool floor.

 

Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender is flooded into the spalled ares and seeded with manufactured sand.

Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender and sand are applied to spalls in the pool floor.
Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender and sand are applied to spalls in the pool floor.

 

The Concrete Mender and sand bland can be troweled in place and will cure in about 10 minutes.

Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender mixed with sand is troweled into place.
Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender mixed with sand is troweled into place.

 

Vertical surfaces can be repaired by mixing Concrete Mender with fine manufactured sand and troweled in place.

Pool repairs at the pool edge are made with Concrete Mender mixed with sand and troweled in place.
Pool repairs at the pool edge are made with Concrete Mender mixed with sand and troweled in place.

 

Repairs can be painted using standard methods in 10 minutes after application at 70 degrees F (23C).

Finished Concrete Mender spall repairs in pool were ready for paint in minutes.
Finished repairs were ready for paint in minutes.

 

All the repairs took just a few hours to complete and the pool was ready for a fresh coat of paint in minutes. The pool was painted and filled with water the next day. The Concrete Mender repairs have largely been forgotten, but continue to perform to this day.

The South Saint Paul Splash Pool in 2017. Concrete Mender repairs in the pool still look good 16 years later.
The South Saint Paul Splash Pool in 2017. Concrete Mender repairs in the pool still look good 16 years later.

 

 

Products:

Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™

Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ 600ml cartridge item 80300.

 

 

Repairing Cracks in Driveways and Patios Updated

One of the most common calls we get is asking how to repair a crack in a driveway or patio.  We designed Roadware MatchCrete™ Clear with this in mind.  Roadware MatchCrete™ Clear is a UV stable clear polyurethane hybrid that makes effective repairs to most exterior concrete surfaces.  By simply leaving the repair clear, the color of the surrounding concrete shows throughout the repair.

The first step to a good looking crack repair is to rout-out or cut the repair open with a diamond blade grinder.  You only have to go about 1/4″ x 1/4″. This will create a recess for the material to rest as it soaks down further into the crack.  Skipping this step will allow the material to flow uncontrollably on the surface and will create a messy looking repair.

 

Apply cartridge mixed MatchCrete™ Clear directly to the crack. Small amounts of silica or quartz sand can be added to keep the material from flowing out the bottom of the slab.  If necessary, matching colored sand can be used to match colored concrete areas. Fill the crack to slightly below grade to prevent material from flowing on to the surface of the concrete.

After a year of service, the repair above still looks good.  Please note, MatchCrete™ Clear is not a soft expansion joint material and should not be used in joints that are designed to move.  Always give careful consideration as to why the concrete cracked in the first place and what the concrete is expected to do in the future before making repairs of this nature.

UPDATE:
September, 2013
We have a new video for driveway hairline crack repair:

Concrete repair under decorative coatings.

The advances in decorative concrete coating and finishes for patios, sidewalks, driveways and pool decks are amazing. All of these systems have one common element. They are all affected by the condition of the concrete underneath. We recommend and use Roadware Concrete Mender™ Off-white to repair cracks, spalls and surface defects prior to decorative concrete treatments and coatings.  Off-white Mender is just like the Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ except it cures to a neutral off-white color that has less chance of affecting the color of the decorative coatings applied over the repairs.  Take a look at the project below.

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Here is a church with a spalled and rough looking entrance.

 

Prior repair materials were removed revealing worn, but sound concret

Concrete Mender Off-white

Roadware Concrete Mender™ Off-white and sand mixed in bulk is applied and troweled smooth. The material appears brown due to the brown colored manufactured sand added to the mix.

 

 Cracks are cleaned and repaired with cartridge applied Roadware Concrete Mender™ Off-white and sand.

After about 15 – 30 minutes, the repairs are ground smooth and flat. The concrete is now ready to accept most types of decorative concrete treatments.

 

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Roadware  Concrete Mender™ Off-white is compatible with most high-build overlay or coating systems. It is also recommended by several top coating system manufacturers.