When concrete is created with too much water, its strength is reduced significantly depending on the volume of excess water. By the time the concrete hardens, its excess water will be dried out gradually which will result to shrinkage. Cracks will develop eventually and it will almost be impossible to control the damages. For help with concrete cracking, call a local concrete specialist, find one here.
Concrete cracking is quite complicated in nature. It is caused by a number of different things, most of which are natural phenomenon. Extreme weather conditions, applied loads, and drying are just some of the reasons why concrete cracks.
Applying epoxy resin injection is the professional way to resolve concrete cracking. With the use of epoxy injection, you can easily repair cracks from concrete walls, columns, floors, slabs, and beams. However, it can only be used on cracks in wet, dry, and damp conditions. Actively leaking cracks may be harder to treat and are better left as they are until they fully harden.
The injection is normally used on horizontal and vertical cracks. The traditional repair methods for such cracks may be too costly, especially if the condition is already worst. Before using epoxy injection, you must determine the cause of the crack first. If the cracks compromise the durability of the structural foundations, you may need to use other types of injection, such as polyurethane grouts.
Epoxy injection can successfully bond cracks that have an opening of not more than 0.05mm. It may not be very effective for cracks with large openings. If water leakage is present on the cracks, epoxy injection is not applicable. The root cause of the crack should be targeted when using this method. Cracks will just reoccur near the original crack if the cause has not be corrected prior the injection. Read this!
If there is a need for major structural repairs, you must proceed with it first before applying epoxy injection. A moisture tolerant resin must be used if the crack does not dry out. If the crack is non-structural, you should consider using low viscosity polyurethane hydrophilic resin for the best results.
There is a wide range of viscosities available for epoxy injections. You can choose from ultra-thin epoxies to paste-like solutions to bond cracks of different sizes. Epoxies are considered to be more effective in fixing cracks than traditional repairs due to their compressive strength. Engineers highly recommend epoxies in repairing structural cracks.
Low-pressure injection of an epoxy material can be used to fix poured foundation cracks. Cracks on thick create can be repaired by applying certain epoxies and polyurea materials.
Epoxy and Polyurethane Products
You might be wonder on which material is more effective in repairing concrete cracks. Epoxy and polyurethane are effective crack injection materials. However in some cases, one is better used than the other. If the cracks require structural repairs, epoxy injection is more recommended. The area needs to be stronger than the concrete around it so a stronger bonding material should be used.
For cracks that need to be fixed in order to prevent water leakage, polyurethane is a wiser choice. If the crack needs to be repaired only to prevent water leakage or the crack is actively leaking, polyurethane is usually the best choice. You can view more online on how one bonding material is more effective than the other in some situations.
Repairing cracks does not have to be expensive. You do not necessarily need the assistance of experts when doing so because it can be done on your own. Most contractors for crack repairs can be quite costly, especially if there are multiple visible cracks on your concrete. Fortunately, with the use of epoxy injection, anyone can already repair concrete foundation cracks. Epoxy injection can make your concrete stronger and look better.