I have found the best way to clean out the crack space is with a
vacuum cleaner. I have never put any sand in, only the filler/sealer
material. Leave the larger pieces of crushed concrete in place. Yes,
kill and remove the weeds before you put in the sealer.



On 16 Jul 2007 01:52:45 GMT, (DA)
wrote:

DA had written this in response to
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/maintenance/--.htm :
Hello everybody,

Hope someone who knows the product well can give me some pointers.

I have an ugly crack across the entire 8' width of the concrete slab that
makes my back patio. I also got a bottle of the liquid Quikrete sealer
that should help. The directions on the back say it can fill cracks up to
1/4" wide. It also says that wider crack should be filled with sand before
the Quikrete is poured. In addition is says that all debris should be
removed first.

I do have some spots where the crack is much wider than 1/4" and it seems
to be sort of naturally filled with what seems to be the crushed concrete
from the sides of the crack. Should I remove that and replace with sand?
What do people use to remove stuff from such tight places, anyways?

Also, in some other places that crack is much smaller, maybe 1/8" or less.
I'm not even sure Quikrete will penetrate that because it seems a pretty
thick solution. Would it be wise to chisel the sides of the small crack
wider so the sealer can get in?

And, lastly, in the worst part of the crack some vegetation had already
rooted itself in pretty firmly. Should I kill the weeds first with a
herbicide or remove them as much as possible and hope that lack of air and
water that Quikrete provides should do the job? I mean, killing the weeds
might take a couple of days, and I'd like to do this soon because the
weather seems good for the concrete sealer, just as directions prescribe.

Any useful pointers, anyone?

Thanks!
D~


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