How do I repair the concrete in my back yard?

Question

I have a very small yard, the concrete is old and uneven and unsuitable for my toddler to play out on. I just want a nice, level surface with no weeds. Do I just buy a bag of concrete, mix it up, apply it with a shovel to a couple of inches thick and level it off with a piece of wood? Can you buy bags of concrete which you just add water to? How long would the concrete take to set? Thanks.

Answer 1

Patching concrete in the manner you suggest is rarely satisfactory: the patched concrete tends to crack and come away from the surface easily.  If it's only a small area, you'd probably be better off having it re-concreted entirely.  Money permitting, of course.

However, if you still want to attempt to patch the surface, you'd usually buy a bag of ballast from Wickes or somesuch (ballast is sand and gravel mixed in the correct proportions) with a bag of cement (such as Blue Circle, or Castle) and mix it in a 3:1 proportion for general concreting work.  It will form a skin and set 'hard' in approximately 24 hours, but will take several weeks to reach maximum hardness.

EDIT: given your edit on the yard's dimensions, I'd say you'd be much better off re-concreting it entirely.  a 5' x 9' yard (1.52m x 2.74m) at 150mm thickness will require roughly 0.5 cubic metres of concrete, which is not very much.

Answer 2

have your friends tear it out and put in some 2x4 forms...you will need to buy 25  80 pound bags of quikrete concrete mix...mix them 2 at a time in a contractor size wheelbarrow and have someone screeding them off as they mix...float it then broom it...take back what you dont mix...

Answer 3

If you just put new cocrete on top of the old, it will soon crack, it needs some sort of foundation, such as sand or 'Duff' which is powdered rock.

The alternative if the old concrete isn't too thick is to break it up with a sledge hammer, this would make a perfect foundation for the new concrete.

You can buy ready mixed concrete in a bag that you just add water to, but it's a very expensive way of doing it, far better to buy the ingredients and mix it yourself, you don't say how big your very small yard is, you might consider hiring a small electric cement mixer.

You might also consider buying ready made concrete which is poured straight from a mixer lorry ready to lay, it's a matter of pricing up each alternative.

Concrete will set hard enough to walk or play on within 3-4 days depending on the weather.

Edit: In resonse to your edit on the dimensions, I would prepare the base as explained and get a couple of mates round to mix and lay the new concrete from the ingredients by hand.

Answer 4

Sand and Cement mixed Overnight,,sets,,,Ask,,at DIY Shop..How Big the Area Is you Want Concreted,,,

Answer 5

You may want to consider something other than concrete.  How about building a wooden platform/deck directly over the old concrete?  Look better, feel better, be a little cleaner.  With uneven concrete as the base, you will want to scribe a line on the supports to make it even.  This is not hard at all.

Answer 6

Here are some sites that can probably explain it better than I can:

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/rm_driveways_wa...

http://www.rusticgirls.com/masonry/concr...

http://www.ehow.com/how_118674_fix-crack...

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/i...

Answer 7

Okay first depends on what your looking at...open cracks you can fill with sand and it will keep the weeds out and fill the crack.  Uneven yes you can buy concrete but remember since you are adding new material to an already existing concrete area it will not easily hold in place.  I would buy Quickret and concrete glue.  Clean the area well wait till it is 100% dry.  Once dry mix the concreteee in a bucket not too runny you want it a bit on the thick side (think of oatmeal when mixing the concret)and wear rubber gloves (dish gloves will do just fine concret has a high acidic level so it will dry the he** out of your skin).  First coat the area with the glue i would do a 1/4" glop over the entire area.  Purchase a trowel and a leveling trowel if a large area like a few feet buy a floater trowel.  Apply and even out but get it right the first few passes of the trowel the more you work the concrete the more water comes to the surface and makes it hard to shape.  So don't be too picky you can always go back and add another layer just repeat the same steps.

Answer 8

don't just apply a bandaid.

a thin layer of concrete will crack within a year from the same forces that caused the original concrete to crack.  Does it have to be concrete?  You could just cover the area with sand. fun at the beach!

Or you could demolish the current slab, have it hauled away and lay a new slab.  fairly easy to do but a lot of work.

FYI they do have just add water bags of concrete but the weigh 80lbs and have maybe 2 cubic ft in them, it would take a lot of bags to cover even a small patio. eg, 2 cubic ft would cover 12 sq ft 2 inches deep

Answer 9

you can buy self levelling screed

Answer 10

Making your own concrete,  you should use a mask, safety glasses, and heavy gloves.

Best in a water tight wheel barrow, dont add too much water

Use a Hoe for mixing.  |------------------

Most hardware stores sell the concrete.

DO NOT BREATHE THE DUST, there will be lots of it.

If you mix it right then within 24 hours, it's ready to stand on, if thicker than 1 inch.

If you dont mind a little heavy work, buy some bags of sand, make a 1/2 inch deep layer, and place bricks over the sand.    Place a wide board over the sand as you lay down the bricks.

Answer 11

Why not lay down on a mortar mix paving slabs over the concrete it would be cheaper & easier in the long run