Learn me on closed cell foam backer rod

walter

walter

Fourth Party
The wooden expansion joists on my concrete patio are just about rotted away, would like to repair before the winter gets here. I was going to go the sand/backer rod/self leveling caulk route. My question is this- the gaps are slightly different, ranging from 1 inch to about 1 1/4 inches. Do I use 1 inch backer rod in both, or do I buy size specific for each gap or do I buy a bunch of 1 1/4 and smoosh it into the 1 inch gaps?

Any other tips/tricks/ideas?

thanks.
 
You can usually get away with smooshing it in and it usually works better if it is a tight so you can avoid the backer rod coming loose and pushing out the caulk.
 
1 1/4" is a pretty big gap to fill. You may want to try going with an expansion joint grout or similar product vs typical caulk. It sounds like your on the right track. There are self leveling products that can fill that big of a gap but I suggest doing it in stages or layers. Don't try to fill the entire crack all at once. You'll go through a ton of sealant that will bleed down between the backer rod and the concrete. Here's a couple of links for you with some different options. Hope this helps.

https://www.handymanhowto.com/how-to-repair-a-cracked-concrete-patio-part-1/

 
Try the Sikaflex I posted in the previous post. You may have to get that wood out of the joints. Depending on how deep the wood is vs the concrete surface you may not want to go over the wood with the sealant. The wood may deteriorate over time and the sealant in the joint might fail.
 
terrabike01 said:
Here is a pretty good product I've used before. The trick is with cracks bigger than 1/2" you have to do it in layers or stages until you get to the desired level or the crack is filled to your liking and I would use the appropriate sized backer rod for each crack or as close as possible.

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/00/001f9d38-bbf5-4a11-bb6c-d210c9ad6697.pdf

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Sikaflex-29-fl-oz-Grey-Self-Leveling-Sealant-106711/202523824
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Cool, this was exactly the stuff I was looking at today. I'm looking to do this soon, my only issue is finding the backer rod big enough. Amazon has 1 1/4, but Im gonna check some local landscape and contractor stores.
 
terrabike01 said:
Try the Sikaflex I posted in the previous post. You may have to get that wood out of the joints. Depending on how deep the wood is vs the concrete surface you may not want to go over the wood with the sealant. The wood may deteriorate over time and the sealant in the joint might fail.
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Plan is to remove all wood, thanks!
 
Love this discussion...I have 13 concrete pads in my driveway, each about 9ft x 9ft that I need to remove the rottin' wood and replace...the last 2 winters I almost killed myself with snowblower catching the wood...ugh. Also have a cross thread pollination as the weeds in my joints are the same ones @BiknBen mentions earlier today...
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Awesome! Get the wood out of there, buy a big caulk gun, some backer rod and get some 29 oz tubes Sikaflex and your all set. Make sure you buy the 29oz size tubes. On big projects you get some for your money vs the reg size tubes. Make sure you get the big caulk gun that fit them. Send some pics when you guys are done!
 
terrabike01 said:
Awesome! Get the wood out of there, buy a big caulk gun, some backer rod and get some 29 oz tubes Sikaflex and your all set. Make sure you buy the 29oz size tubes. On big projects you get some for your money vs the reg size tubes. Make sure you get the big caulk gun that fit them. Send some pics when you guys are done!
Click to expand...
I think that's the same stuff I see all the guys in the city put down on the new sidewalks, and cover them for a few hours with cardboard strips, right? Almost every week I see this somewhere in Gotham...
 
rottin' said:
I think that's the same stuff I see all the guys in the city put down on the new sidewalks, and cover them for a few hours with cardboard strips, right? Almost every week I see this somewhere in Gotham...
Click to expand...
Yes. It's probably a similar product or some type of grout. They use grout a lot of bridgework, sidewalks, etc.. And I forgot to mention the Sikaflex is not water based and may not be that easy to cleanup. Make sure you tape off any areas you don't want the sealant to touch or get on.
 
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