We have cement sidewalk that's crumbling in places around our home.

Luv1862629
by Luv1862629
Some sidewalk squares are in good shape but others need repair. We can't afford to have the entire sidewalk replaced.
The top layer of cement is gone leaving the aggregate exposed.
  9 answers
  • Cailín Cailín on Jul 04, 2015
    I would love to hear about this as we have the same problem too.
  • Mandy Brown Mandy Brown on Jul 04, 2015
    You can rent a concrete saw and cut between the square(s) that are damaged and the good squares to make sure when you bust them out you don't damage the good ones too. Clean out all the old concrete and level up the ground underneath. Depending on how thick you want your sidewalk and how many squares you have to replace, you'll have to do some math to determine how much concrete you'll need. You'll also need a layer of stone under the concrete (at least 4"). Build your forms from 2x6 lumber using rebar to keep them in place. Put expansion joints (thin strips of material they sell at the hardware store) between the new and old concrete so it gives it room to expand/contract over the seasons. If you have a long run (over 10') you'll want to put a groove in every 5' or so. This is in case the concrete were to break it gives it a natural seam instead of breaking in the middle of a square.
  • Carol Labate Carol Labate on Jul 04, 2015
    We had this problem at our last house, and a solution given to us was to clean the entire surface, using tape mask off a design (like 20 inch squares) and with the product Behr deck over (for concrete) paint the surfaces different colors or the same color on all the squares. The product helps stop the concrete from getting worst, and the different paint squares trick s the eye, so you don't notice the damaged concrete. We loved it and hope you do too.
  • Lisa Lisa on Jul 04, 2015
    I used to work in concrete industry, android there are many solutions to your issue available now. http://www.colormakerfloors.com/products.shtml They make a thin cementious overlay that a homeowner can do (I have) that is only 1/4" thick, Home Depot and lowes carry newer products that are self leveling cement overlays. Do some research before spending a lot, solution might be fairly easy
  • Linda Gibson Linda Gibson on Jul 04, 2015
    You may have to patch after removing the crumbling part. I did that to cement stairs and painted them with a colored filler for cement with Benjamin Moore or Lowes has it good luck
  • Pat Pat on Jul 04, 2015
    My son just broke out part of our driveway....he took a saw and cut a straight line separating the good from the bad. Then he took a sledge hammer and went to work on the bad part. We found wire mesh in our driveway and we have rebar in our sidewalk so it was hard work....Patching your sidewalk can be done but plan on plenty of time and hard work. We will be laying cement in ours this coming week when we get the forms ready. You will also need a form for your sidewalk patch before you pour the cement.
    • Cailín Cailín on Jul 10, 2015
      @Luvabeagle Thank you for this post. This looks like what I need .
  • Denise Denise on Jul 09, 2015
    If it's in the public right of way, call your local street maintenance dept,. Such as city or county. If you have a homeowners association, mention it to them. If yours is not the only one in your area, get the other addresses or locations, then call it in. Make note of your work order #,fr reference if you have to call more than once. Good luck.
  • Darrel Rose Darrel Rose on Aug 26, 2015
    Make your own, make the forms the same size as you need, then pour in the redi mix concrete which you have mixed with proper amount of water to concrete mix and pour into the forms and allow to dry, make sure you don't pour the concrete to thin or else it will break apart too, you might even have to do some digging in order to make the concrete the same height as the others, you will also need a float to smooth out the concrete, you could even fashion one if you don't have one out of wood by making it T shaped or borrow one from a friend/relative