Repairing A Neglected Driveway Crack | The Ultimate Solution! 

This is a good way to make it blend better. But it will also significantly shorten the life expectancy of the sealant. It severely restricts the sealants ability to stretch. In fact as a professional caulker if I do this I void the manufacture’s warranty. Having said that , for most homeowners aesthetics are more important than ultimate performance. But in the future if you do decide to use sand, try to use very fine sand and just dust it on top. The more it sinks into the sealant the more damage you do to the lifespan. My suggestion is don’t do it. As the sealant ages and dulls it will blend better

@@genecarden780 I assumed those were probably the trade-offs by going the more aggressive route that I did. You are spot on though: I'm more concerned about the appearance and general effectiveness than having maximum longevity. I'll see how it holds up, but I'll likely need to replace my driveway at some point in the next few years so I knew this was only a band-aid solution for my particular situation

@@benjaminwells3233 this is a crack and I totally “get” trying to make it blend better as long as you understand the trade off. You obviously do. But many, probably most ,don’t understand that. About 95% have no idea how sealants actually function.There is so much misinformation about sealants on RU-vid that I kinda feel I should at least try to give homeowners the correct information.As a professional caulker I would never put sand on wet sealant. As a homeowner I have done it.But never in a situation where I was trying to stop water infiltration

@@benjaminwells3233 The best approach is to wait for the surface to begin to skin, then lightly dust the surface with fine sand and powdered colorant, and immediately blow it off. The net effect is a pre-aged appearance with minimal impact on the elasticity of the sealant.

@@genecarden780 Good luck with your manufacture warranty! Not worth a s***.

You bet, we are here to help!

Why a dad?

@@evhvariac2 Because, ummm…..I am a dad…………………..?

Thanks for the feedback 🙌

Thanks for watching!

You bet!

I was thinking about doing that on mine, but due to time constraints and lack of access to a concrete grinder, I did have to resort to the "pool noodle method" which works surprisingly well!

Did it start to crack again

I am a professional caulker. We use Sika products all of the time. It was an excellent choice

@@genecarden780 when you have a crack in peice of concrete, I had now because 2 peices of concrete. In the same day there is enough temperature change between night and day to make the 2 peices of concrete to move due to temperature change causing it to expand and retract. Is Seka strong enough to hold 2 large slabs of concrete together . I don't think so.

@@drmidnight680-kz2le It does not hold them together. The slabs will still move thermally but the sealant will stretch when crack is bigger and compress when the crack is smaller. That is actually exactly what sealant is designed to do. If you actually “hold them together” it will most likely just crack somewhere else. Depending on why it cracked in the first place.

@@genecarden780 temperature changes from different months will higher causing the adhesive to fail and the crack will come back after several months. It may not take long at all if you drive car over it.

Not a bad idea, thanks for the feedback.

Yes, good thinking.

I have done this professionally for over 45 years. This is actually the correct way to repair this type of crack. It should always be ground open. In fact professionals use a “ crack chaser” diamond blade. It is “ V” shaped and makes it very easy to follow the crack. It is more expensive ( about $45) but will last a homeowner several lifetimes no matter how many rental properties he has

Plus you can "reshape" the crack with the grinder so it looks better and more uniform, thats what i did.

@@drumswest5035 the crack chaser wheel makes this very easy

Pulverize the chips you remove? Have another beer. You must be retired government employee.

@@extraart1 he means any concrete chips or stones that you may end up finding in the crack itself. If you smash them into sand it will match the color of the driveway and will look much better after sprinkling over the sealant. Otherwise, like most of these videos, it comes out looking like absolute garbage.

What a stupid reply- it’s a great suggestion to get a good color match

@@extraart1you should not “ sprinkle” anything o top if the sealant it WILL shorten the sealants life significantly

BLet me tell u sand(or pulverized concrete)is almost a must. If u dont use it when cone back you'll have ants, flies, garbage stuck to the sealant making it look awful. The sand trick is also usefull in high traffic areas so it doesn't get stuck on shoes. A Little Sand on top has no affect on longevity of the sealent. Your getting this info from the crackmaster himself.

Thanks so much for the feedback. I had good luck with Sika in the past but never used the Masterseal SL-2 for any of the jobs. 👍

I have installed miles of SL2 ,very seldom use anything but slope grade. You are absolutely correct that it is a better product. I can give many examples of it lasting 20-30 +years when installed correctly( it will fade )For one thing it has to be tooled to insure 100% contact with the substrate.But 2 component ( actually 3) is out of the skill and equipment range of 99% of homeowners. And the bubbles on very hot days are usually ( not always) because of not properly preparing the joint. 1. Not grinding the sides of the joint, when talking about jagged cracks, leaving small voids that trap air. Tooling can help 2 .leaving gaps in the backer rod.again leaving air pockets. Again tooling can help 3. Using sand as a backer. Sand is never acceptable. Doesn’t matter if you tool it there will always be air trapped in the sand. I have seen it many times. Even with multi component sealant and lousy workmanship. Often if you cut out sealant that was installed over sand you will find it filled with small air bubbles. It appears fine on the surface but will fail prematurely. I have been a professional caulker for over 45 years and spent a lot of those years proving why sealant and waterproofing systems failed, for a group of architects and attorneys that would hold incompetent contractors accountable. (BTW it wasn’t always the contractors fault) And your comment about backtooling. Back tooling alone is never sufficient. It needs to be tooled in both directions. No Exceptions. Not saying you meant backtooling was all you need just clarifying for homeowners.

I have this situation but it is asphalt. Some of the gaps are approaching and inch. Any recommendations?.....thanks....

For asphalt cracks there's a material called CIM, or CIM 1000. You can get it in side by side cartridges. It's expensive, but it will stick to asphalt REALLY well. You have to apply it when the substraight is cooling in temperature or it will bubble. Also the working time is short, so be fast. That's the best stuff, but if the job doesn't support the material cost you can use an asphalt based one part material that will do the job. It just won't last as long. I hope this helps.

You bet, thanks for the support 👍

let's start this way, the backer rod supports the semi-self leveling sealant, else it would just get sinking down and down into the crack. The sand would fill that void and allow the sealent to brdige the gap. That is my final answer, you should be fine.

wait, down below a guy says no polymeric sand ! IDK

Using polymeric sand is a very bad idea for several reasons. 1 backer rod gives the sealant the proper profile. 2 the sealant will bond to the polymeric sand creating a 3 sided bond. THE WORST CARDINAL SIN YOU CAN CREATE WHEN INSTALLING SEALANT. The addition of sand on top of the sealant , while it may look good shortens the lifespan even more. As a professional anyone did any of these things I would be fired.

@@genecarden780 I don't get #2: At worst the polymeric sand will shear at the point of contact with the sealant, and there goes your 3 sided bond. Also, won't the sealant bond to the closed cell foam 'rod' and create a '3 sided' bond?

@@luisderivas6005 no it usually won’t shear,it will usually pull free from the sides first. It takes surprisingly little restriction of movement to cause sealant to fail. Just being slightly too thick will cause the sealant to fail prematurely. There are always exceptions. But that is only a matter of luck. No,sealant does not bond to backer rod.

Excellent suggestion! I've done the same on a previous project however the sand didn't adhere too well to the self-leveling caulk, not sure why. Thanks

@@arminius301it does come at a cost. It WILL shorten the lifespan of the sealant. But unless you are good at caulking it can look like a mess, and VERY LIGHT dusting can make it look better.

YOU should have made the video!

I use Quickrete straight out of the bag after angle grinding to minimize slope, adding backer rod, and filling with sealant. Definitely makes it far less obvious!

Grinding the high side with a diamond cup is a good idea everything else you said ud plain ignorant

Happy to help!

Absolutely bad idea.I have been a professional caulker fir over 45 years. If I use anything as a filler other than backer rod the warranty is void. Backer rod provides 3 essential functions in caulking. It provides depth control. It prevents a 3 sided bond but probably most important function is it provides the proper profile for the sealant to perform correctly. ALWAYS USE BACKER ROD

Some water will still accumulate along the crack. However, the sealant will prevent it from going straight down under the crack. He indicated there was only 1/4 inch difference in height, so it shouldn't be too much of a trip hazard, but a possible solution would be grinding down the high side or lifting the lower side.

You bet 👍

For this one I was more concerned with minimizing future settling by stopping the water draining into the crack. You could grind the lip down (prior to adding the sealant) so you don't have the lip/edge. The section that you grind down will be noticeable but depending on your situation might be a good move like removing a trip hazard on a sidewalk.

The concrete patch is a very bad idea on any active ( moving)crack period. This joint is obviously active. Very few concrete cracks are static

Grind it down as it was only 1/4 inch, it will look whiter for a while but eventually start to match.