Low spot in garage can be repaired

22.11.09

Q. We have a realistic garage floor that has minor cracks and is slightly out of level. The problem is that the lowest places are integrity by the door leading into our house. It can accumulate about one-half inch of water over about 4 square feet. Top-grade there is more common in winter because of melting snow falling from the car's wheel wells. We would like to level the down to stop this accumulation of water. We inquired with concrete men and they said it would have to be broken up and repoured. Any recommended fix would be appreciated. We don't keeping what it looks like. We just want to rid ourselves of that water.

A. There are products made specifically for this problem. After thoroughly cleaning the feigned area with a mixture of 1 cup of TSP-PF, 1 quart fresh Clorox bleach and 3 quarts clean drinking-water to remove all dirt, oil, salt, mildew and other pollutants, thoroughly rinse. Then, trowel on a vinyl-reinforced weld mix such as Sakrete's Top'N Bond Concrete Patcher or Thorocrete Concrete Patch, following the instructions carefully. These products have need of to be applied in thin layers, which can be troweled over each cured layer as needed. If the existing concrete is hard-troweled and bland, it should be etched with muriatic acid. Under these conditions, if you decide to use Thorocrete, it would be wise to add Acryl 60 to the mix to demand additional bonding strength. Because muriatic acid is a very potent chemical, it must be handled with extreme heed, by people who have experience with it. You might let a mason take care of the repair.

Source: Chicago Daily Herald