Your concrete walks, pathways and steps are used and abused on a daily basis. These will serve as your access points where household members will pass through, and what your guests will use to check the different rooms and points inside the house. And because these are regularly used, there will come a point when the edges and walks will crack and get damaged. Now, this is normal since concrete will also crumble and wear over time. The best thing that you can do is to repair the cracked edges, and you can do this without tapping into the help of the professionals. You can restore the steps and walks to their respective profile by checking out the following steps and by using patching compound or by mixing your own cement.
Start by removing loose concrete and materials
Restoring the edge of the steps and walks is similar to repairing a crack; the only difference is that you need to use a form to complete the project. For a start, you need to remove first any remaining portion of the damaged concrete on the steps or walk. You can undercut the edges of the steps and walks.
Make sure to clean the area from remaining sand and cracked concrete using a broom or a wire brush. Complete the clean-up process by washing the area with water.
Use a form to bring it back to its original profile
To bring it back to its original profile, you may need to use a piece of wood as your form and secure this against the side of the area of the step you want to correct. You can use a heavy object to secure the wood in place. Another trick is to nail a piece of wood against the side of the step you want to repair.
Complete the repair process using ready-mix sand concrete and fillers
There are ready mixes and fillers available in the market that you can use to repair the damaged edges. Simply follow the manufacturer instructions when preparing the ready mixes. Just pour the mix into a wheel barrow or an open area, add the recommended amount of water and mix using a shovel. When the mix is ready, flush some water into the area you want to repair. Spread the mix and bonding agent into the damaged area and work quickly but safely. Smoothen out the texture using your trowel or another wooden material. Once the patch has dried out, then you can now remove the form and brush the surface if needed.
The area should be off-limits until the mixture or filler sets in, depending on manufacturer’s recommendations.