DIY: Cement Sidewalk Repair

If you are proud of your yard, but your sidewalk just has so many cracks that it makes the area look horrible, don’t worry, it’s an easy fix. It is very easy to reapir it yourself and won’t put a hole in your pocket, depending on the damage. If it is just little cracks here and there, you could easily do it yourself. If it’s a bunch of huge cracks, then it would be best to get it professionally done.

The best way to understand how the sidewalk got cracked in the first place is by looking at the control joints. They are the little lines between each set of concrete. A lot of different things affect them such as weather, water, and temperature.

Step - 1 Clean the Cracks

The first thing that needs to be done is cleaning out the cracks you are going to fill in and fix. You can use a water hose or any high-pressure hose that can push all of the debris from the crack. Any pebbles, broken cement, or anything lodged in the crack can completely mess up any way of fixing the cracks to make it look good. You can also use a stiff brush to clean away and scrub the spot clean.

Step 2 - Put up a Barrier

It is always a good idea to put up a barrier so pedestrians do not walk into wet cement and ruin their clothes, and the cement finish. Do this by placing the cones on all four corners of the work area and tying the rope to connect the four cones, making a barrier.

Step 3 - Start Cutting

The crack you are going to be fixing needs to be cut into a V-shaped piece with your chisel and hammer so it can be properly fixed.

Step 4 - Reclean

Make sure there were not any debris left behind by the chiseling and hammer and rescrub where the crack used to be.

Step 5 - Use Sand

Fill the hole with sand if the hole is deeper than half an inch as to keep the cement level with the ground and the other part of the sidewalk.

Step 6 - Mix

Now for the fun part, which is mixing the cement into water and making it a good, thick constitute so that it will stick well and be flush with the sidewalk.

Step 7 - Water the Area Around the Old Crack

The area around the hole where you put the sand in needs to be hosed down to keep it good and moist until you are ready to start on it.

Step 8 - Use Cement Mixture

Fill in the area with the cement mixture. Make sure that is completely filled in. If there are a few cracks, use the cement caulking gun to clear them out and the putty knife you purchased to fill in the holes you may have missed.

Step 9 - Fill

Make sure the cement is filled above the rim a little so it will settle.

Step 10 - Finish up

The next few things are vital. Scrape away the excess cement, and then wait two hours for it to dry. Come back to spray it down, and then put a plastic wrap over it for two days, occasionally coming out to spray it back down.