Leveling A Cracked Slab Foundation for Under $60

Hey y'all!

Long time, no post.

The good news: I've been really busy dabbling in some DIY around the house, which means more things to blog about!

In the time I've been away I've managed to level out the crack in our concrete slab foundation and lay down new floor (which will follow in the next post).

When we originally bought the house this massive crack didn't exist. As the concrete settled, it decided it needed a little separation (... don't we all). After having a contractor come in and tell us that the crack is only superficial and quoting a hefty $1,500 to repair, I quickly declined the repair and decided I'd take this one head on.

After doing quite a bit of research online, I realized there weren't very many tutorials for taking on this type of project and the ones that did exist were more exterior (driveway/patio) type things. I also found a lot of information on products that no longer existed, which provided me ZERO help. 

So here we go, Amanda to the rescue!

Supplies:

• Ryobi 4 1/2"Angle Grinder ($39.97)
• Diablo 4 1/2 Masonry Grinding Wheel ($2.97)
• Face mask (I did not use one and I sincerely regret it. Do yourself the favor and learn from my mistake)
• Plastic putty knife
• Shop Vac (In my case, I used my Dyson - any vacuum with an extendable hose and attachments will work)
• Sakrete Concrete Crack Filler ($9.96 - The entire crack, with 3 applications, took me less than one bottle)
• Pry bar
• Floor Scraper
• Mallet or Hammer
• Level

After purchasing the needed supplies, including the angle grinder, the cost was less than $60!

STEP 1: CLEAR THE AREA

Like, completely clear it. Don't leave anything.
Dust will be EVERYWHERE.

STEP 2: Remove Molding and/or Baseboards

Using the pry bar, remove all of the shoe molding (if applicable). If you have no shoe molding you will either want to add some after laying the new floor (you won't need to remove the baseboards) or remove the baseboards.
Personally, I removed the current shoe molding that was in place as well as the baseboards behind the toilet and the adjacent wall. Since they both lined up to the tub they had some mold, were soft in areas and needed to be replaced.

STEP 3: Remove Flooring

 Now remove the current flooring to expose the cracked concrete underneath. I used a handheld floor scraper to get up the vinyl that was currently in place, but depending on your current flooring there are many different options for removal. On the stubborn parts, I used a hammer to hit the butt of the scraper for an extra push.

Here's a little something to laugh at; Paisley is apparently afraid of my camera.

STEP 4: Vacuum 

Vacuum out the crack in the concrete to get all of the little pieces out. You don't want them flying everywhere when you start the grinding process.

Step 5: Start grinding

BEFORE you start this process, put on that face mask!
Using the angle grinder and a level to keep track of where you are, start the process.

This was about half way through. As you can see, you're not only sanding the crack itself but blending it out to keep everything level. Now, continue the process until you've leveled the entire crack.

Notice the vacuum in the background completely covered in cement dust?!
Don't say I didn't warn you.

STEP 6: Vacuum ... Again

I know, I know. Not again.

Don't worry about making sure all of the dust is out of the bathroom but make sure you get all of the dust out of the crack and around the area that you plan on filling. We want a clean surface for the filler to adhere to.

STEP 7: Fill

Get your Sakrete filler (or whatever you decided to go with) and plastic putty knife and let's get to filling.

As you can see, the first coat is certainly not going to look perfect, we are applying 3 after all. So don't worry.

I let my first application dry and cure for about 2 hours. You will notice significant shrinkage of the product and it will look like you haven't done anything yet. This is good! It means the product is dropping down to the bottom of the crack and adhering to the old concrete.

After the first application dried for 2 hours

Repeat this process as many times as your floor requires. Mine took 3 passes but you could use more or less.

Once it's complete it should look something like this

Time to go get some rest! Let it cure overnight (or if you went with a different product, refer to the package instructions). When you wake up you should have something similar to this:

The filler completely dry and cured

I sanded it down a little to make it extra flush and then went ahead and put down the primer for the floor I am going to apply. This shows how level the floor is. It's a little hard to picture something as being flush when it's a mixture of colors.

Congrats on your level floor! As always, if you have any questions I am always here to answer.

Be on the lookout for Part 2 of the bathroom fix, the new floor. Post will be up soon!

Until next time, I'm dabblin' DIY.