Concrete repair

[JimDRIl]

I've got a piece broken out of a cement step on my house and want to get the right stuff to fix it. Menards has a vinyl cement patch and they also have a concrete bonding additive. Which would be best, or use both?
 

[ray hofstetter]

I've had pretty good results with the patch stuff. Brush a coat of bonding stuff on the hole you're patching and mix some in the powdered mix when you add your
water and you're good to go....
 

[Ellis Kinney]

I agree with what Ray said, I would wait a couple of weeks to let it cure and seal the joints. Ellis
 

[Rich_WI]

I have only used the vinyl patch from Menards once but I didnt care for it and dont think I would use it again. It just didnt hold up very well. You didnt say how big of a patch you need to do but most likely I would recommend Thorite. http://www.thoroproducts.com/pdf_appl/appl_thorite.pdf It works pretty good for thick patches all the way down to feather edges. It sets up quickly so you can work the patch into the profile you want or up a vertical surface. It does have a down side, its a pretty dark patch so it wont disappear when you are done but all patches can be seen afterwards.

If you have the broken piece or its a small/thin repair, just use epoxy.

Whatever you use, you might want to put in a few stainless pins to help reinforce the repair and keep it in place.
 

[Ultradog MN]

I would drill a couple of holes in the parent concrete and pin the patch with galvanized nails.
I have to do that on a sunken driveway apron next week. It's a little bigger patch so I will use 1/4" galvanized carriage bolts.
 

[jeffcat]

On patches like that you want to use stainless steel pins. you can buy stainless rod cheap enough at a metal supply place. cement NEVER stops curing! It will slowly eat at the steel. If you can sand blast the mate surface and build a little form to pour it should work. A stainless pin every 2 inches "use a cabide drill" should do it. When they repair hyways they have drill rigs that they use to dowl pin the concrete. It drills like 6 holes at the same time sideways into the main slab, and then they put in 1" steel pins. jeffcat