help me with my crack!

[auntiebling]

it's more of a fissure
i have this broken slap under my garage. eventually, the whole thing will be demolished and rebuilt in a less shitty manner than it was originally constructed in 1947, but i digress

i want to mitigate the effects of this crack on using the garage for rolling things around in it, like dollys, and other things with small wheels that don't like discontinuous surfaces (car jacks, my feet, ya know...)

budget is "as cheap as possible"
i'll need at least 6 months of service.

options i'm considering:
-grout/concrete. it'll crack again, but at least i can roll stuff easily-ish over it

-fill with some combination of gravel i can compact. pea gravel? decomposed granite? a non-rigid option is appealing because i can just jam more in there as the crack continues to change

here is the crack with my hand in it. ~4" deep

here you can see it largely cleaned out, before i thought "hey, i should see what fun ideas BARF has!" but after i'd already put stuff back in the garage

here is what it looks like partly cleaned out, and will soon look like again

 

[DucatiHoney]

If it's just temporary, get a back of quick-crete from 'Depot and call it a day. You won't lose tools or small pets down it for a while at least.

 

[dravnx]

Short term, vacuum it out and fill with Quikcrete.

 

[mean dad]

Quickcrete

 

[mikev]

I'd fill it with 1/4 minus cause it compacts down super good and sorta hardens when you wet it down.

 

[augustiron]

I was going to suggest suspenders until I read the OP. Disappointed.

 

[BURNROPE]

After you vacuum and clean out the gash, get a product called Concresive and apply to each side of the gash. It'll help the concrete you put in adhere to the sides of the gash. Concresive looks like white Willhold glue that's been thinned down.

 

[auntiebling]

I was going to suggest suspenders until I read the OP. Disappointed.

you know me better than that

 

[Maddevill]

Now THAT is a crack. I am impressed.

Mad

 

[cheez]

Quickcrete

+1. Any of those "concrete patch" solutions with epoxy mixed in are going to be suuuuper expensive to fill that big an area. If nothing else fill it to 90% with quikrete and then top with an epoxy filler like DAP concrete filler for longevity.

 

[rcb78]

Definitely use a bonding agent as mentioned above. Your biggest issue will be the old concrete pulling the moisture out of your mix and preventing it from hardening properly. Keep it wet and keep a plastic liner over it and about 4' to either sided to keep the moisture in for a week after the repair.
It looks like the slab has moved that whole distance vs the gap opening thru erosion, how's the structure?

 

[wannabe]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but is that just the concrete in the garage, or is that part of the house's foundation that's cracked?

 

[auntiebling]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but is that just the concrete in the garage, or is that part of the house's foundation that's cracked?

detached garage, single slab constitutes foundation and floor and it's un-reinforced so this was as inevitable as a potato chip fracturing trying to scoop a pile of 7 layer dip

 

[NorCalAthlete]

detached garage, single slab constitutes foundation and floor and it's un-reinforced so this was as inevitable as a potato chip fracturing trying to scoop a pile of 7 layer dip

I mean, ~70+ years is a pretty good run for that still. Right?

 

[auntiebling]

I mean, ~70+ years is a pretty good run for that still. Right?

Don't tell the romans...

It's been cracked for decades. Long enough that the stuff on the walls has been repaired from the walls splaying out. I wouldnt be surprised if it cracked initially within a few years.


Its unreinforced, no control joints. It was a cheap starter house when built. Corners were cut. I'm pretty sure there are sidewalks in the neighborhood that are similarly as old (lots of date stamps) with no visible wear.

 

[DannoXYZ]

That's a lot of work for 6-months. What happens after that? Are you moving?

 

[auntiebling]

That's a lot of work for 6-months. What happens after that? Are you moving?

rebuild, hopefully. 6 months minimum.

concrete won't be that bad, easier than some of the other yardwork i've been upto for quarantine

 

[mikev]

for that short term you could really do it the half ass way like I've seen some people set fence posts -- just fill it with dry quickrete first and then soak the hell out of the top.

 

[auntiebling]

that is the recommended procedure for some of the fence post mixes

this is kindof a government short term situation, where a temporary building has a design life of 25 years.

 

[Eldritch]

Typical BARF. "Fill your crack with goo and send us pics when complete!"