How to fix a cracked concrete porch permanently?

Don't know what you have used but there is concrete caulking in caulk tubes you can buy to fill in the crack. It stays flexible so the crack may not come back.

Do you open up the crack and fill with concrete patch, or do you try to fill the crack without opening it up, cleaning it out and then adding patch? You have to chisel out the crack so it is wider at the bottom then the top. Lots of work and then it looks patched, due to the different color / texture of the concrete.

A quick fix is to float a new concrete surface 1" thick or so.

My self I would either float the surface with a thin set mortar and put a nice exterior tile over it, exterior tile is made to resist the moisture and temperature swings. I prefer a nice porcelain tile with a non slip texture.

If the porch is small enough you can get the tiles cheap when they are being closed out and there are a limited #. I check the clearance sections. I also hire a person to lay the tile by the hour instead of the piece. Much cheaper.

It is much easier and quicker to either float a new surface or install tile, then it is to clean up a crack as shown in picture. Which will look patched when you are done.

the best way would be to tear out old cement and replace with new. someone said tile over it. if you choose the route the tile will more than likely crack also. the reason its cracking is because it is a stress area where the concrete expands when hot and contracts when cold. it needs an expansion joint or a cold joint when it is replaced you could use some quick set repair cement also know as hydraulic cement it set up fast but it will probably crack out too. take the money you have spent and save enough to have a contractor replace for you or u mught have a friend who knows how.

The people who bought my grandmother's apartment building did a very clever thing about the several cracks in the parking area in front. They used a black substance (might have been that black roof paint) to cover the cracks and then made an attractive design all over the area so that you didn't realize this covered some of the cracks. It looked as if it had been planned this elegant way. The black lines were just a bit raised. I can only compared it to stained glass with the black lines running through it.

Can you share a photo of the finished parking area?

I filled mine, looked filled. Finally bought outside Italian tile and tiled over it. Go opposite direction of crack with tiles so it doesn't bleed through.

make the crack larger and either mosaic it or just fill with beautiful glass stones or whatever you like (placed in cement or whatever you like) ....I'm going to do this to my patio and can't wait to see the transformation

I have not found a way to repair a crack in concrete and have it stay repaired. I thought about painting mine and making my patio appear to be stones.

I agree, they should have correctly fixed the cracks and then you would have a beautiful deck. Probably they failed to fix the crack or there are serious problems with the support of the slab.

The sure fix would be to chisel out the crack, wider at the bottom and fill with new concrete, or concrete repair mix, maybe even an epoxy filler, then the top coat. Personally I like stain, paint not so much it flakes off after a while. Did you use masonry paint, it is made for exterior concrete and similar materials, it is not exterior house paint, which will not have the wear and tear resistance.

I do use the concrete caulk if it is inside and I am covering the floor as I do not like how it looks, it looks like caulk, totally different color and texture.

Hmm!

As I look again, your "concrete" in the photo looks a lot like a coating that is applied over wood or similar products. Probably just the appearance of the photo.

There is a thing called mudjacking. What they do is drill a couple of holes in the concrete and pump concrete under the slab to level the concrete slab. It works real well, call around to see if anyone does it.

Japanese repair broken pottery this elegant way turning it into a treasured family memory. Yeah, fill in those cracks with something beautiful.. small colored rocks is one idea...

Hi Julie, These cracks are best to be patched and sealed with a concrete patching compound. Smaller cracks, less than 1/4 inch wide, can be repaired with a concrete caulk or liquid filler. Patching compounds typically are mixed with water and applied with a trowel. For larger cracks this video will help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zjZ47z4mFA