We have a covered entry way where the previously installed tiles have failed/broken up.

Yung W
by Yung W
Tile area measures about 4'x5'.
As I cleaned/took the tiles off, the sharp edges of the surrounding concrete broke off leaving ragged edges that need to be trimmed off in order to re do the tile or even just to fill the area with concrete. Want to know:
1. Is it possible to clean-cut the existing concrete?
2. Is it possbile to patch(repair) the existing ragged concrete edges?
Would greatly appliciate any comments and/or suggestion.
Yung
Attachement: a picture showing the area.
Entry area tiles. See the edges on close-up.
  5 answers
  • Hi there, Repairing just a ragged edge with concrete is going to be a tough job. You might be able to get a saw with a cement cutting blade and slightly angle the cut so as to chop off the broken bits and make it a smooth edge. How far are you going with the new tile (you mentioned redoing the tile)? Just on that one section or more? How badly is it chipped? Can we get a close up photo of the damaged sections?
  • You are best served to remove the damaged cement section and replace it with new. By the photo it looks as though there was some reaction from the cement slab to the tile that was installed. Although not an expert in this area I would think that perhaps water has seeped under the stone facing and caused the cement surface to spall due to salts released in the cement when they come into contact with moisture. Any patching would eventually fail in any case. With the amount of work it takes to get the job done right its sometimes better to go that little extra mile and make it last.
  • Itsreally C Itsreally C on Aug 10, 2011
    its not difficult IF its your specialty but, for the avg diy'er, its not easy. 1st, you need specialty materials; 2nd, diamond blade & grinder, 3rd, knowledge & experience. patch the spalls w/white cement concrete dusted w/some coloring agent & quit hitting the adjoining slabs w/your hammer - that's why they make brick chisels ;-)
  • Yung W Yung W on Aug 10, 2011
    I though one can have a close up of the picture I attached. if Not I will take a closeup of the edge and forward it to you as needed. Edge is about an inch deep defining a 3'x5' area or a hole, and the edge is irregularly broken off !!! So we need to trim off to made a clean edge for tile job.
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Aug 11, 2011
    Yung...You wouldn't happen to be a software engineer per chance? The layout of the removed tiles are screaming "order and precision" Is this in a finished garage? it looks like an epoxy coated floor in the foreground. One option that is somewhat DIY friendly would be to add tile to the face of the "riser" Then tile over this new edge. Using a cement based thinset will provide a "concrete" like surface. It look to me like maybe the old install used a latex mastic that was somewhat compromised. The adhesive or mastic residue on the stoop will need to be ground off, smoothed or removed before new tile can go down.