Hi everyone, I was looking for some advice about how I can repair the edges of my tiled pathway that leads to the front door. I have attached some photos to give an idea of what has happened, but essentially since the house was built and there was settling over time, one section of the tiled path has dropped by a few centimeters resulting in a stepped crack along the edge that meets with the foundation of the house. It used to be level but now has dropped by about 4cm. In the past the gap was not as wide as it is now and was repaired with some gap filler and grey silicone. I was wondering if anyone would have a better approach to repair this and what materials I should be using. There are also some loose tiles with gaps starting to appear around the edges of the tiles that meets the rendered wall in the photos, is there anything I could use to fix that and seal the gaps? Any help is greatly appreciated!
Hi @Said01,
Because the tiled landing has physically moved and dropped in relation to the house slab, the only true long term fix would be to lift and relevel the base so it lines back up with the slab. As long as that height difference remains, any repairs would be cosmetic in nature and would not truly solve the issue.
There are companies that specialise in concrete lifting and relevelling, which would be your best bet to fix things long term. I'd say it is worth having a look online for companies specialising in this and having them come out to quote.
The other option, if this proves cost inhibitive, is to lift the tiles, cut out the existing concrete, stabilise the base, repour a new slab and then relay the tiles. This would be more achievable D.I.Y. and if you are looking for a long-term fix, I would certainly consider it. If you'd like to explore this option, please let me know and I will assist further with any questions you might have.
If you were looking for shorter term cosmetic fixes, the exterior grade silicone you've used is pretty much your best option. You can also use things like https://www.bunnings.com.au/products/building-hardware/steel-aluminium-sections/aluminium-extrusions-mouldings/aluminium-angles to help conceal gaps, but they may look a bit out of place.
Ultimately, I think the best option long term is to fix the subsidence issue and then then realign the foundation of the landing with the house foundation. It's a bit more involved, but it will certainly make things look much nicer.
Allow me to tag our helpful members @Nailbag, @Dave-1 and @Noyade for their thoughts.
Jacob
Good afternoon @Said01
I am in agreeance with @JacobZ, I would be sourcing a quote for how much it would cost to professionally raise the slab plus tiles. (also wondering why it has sunk like that)
Or plan B, remove and redo once fixing the reason for the slab dropping. Possibly water drainage so adding in a way for the water to run away.
I like Plan B for longativity.
Dave
Hi @JacobZ and @Dave-1,
I really appreciate the advice, I have started to look at some companies that do concrete lifting and leveling to get quotes. I will get back to this thread if costs will become an issue to look at DIY ways of removing the old slab and repour concrete to level it again.
Said
Hello @Said01
Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your outdoor path repaired.
Eric
Hi @JacobZ, @Dave-1, @EricL,
I just thought to keep you updated on the progress that has been made. Initially I had consulted a few concrete levelling and resin injection companies to try and lift the slabs back into position. They were either too expensive or the results would likely not be long term given the nature of these slabs.
So I went with Plan B which was to cut out the existing slabs and repour concrete. This was done with a professional landscaping company whose pricing was fair and a lot cheaper than the levelling option. The end result which I decided to go with was a continuous flat concrete path that gently slopes towards the front gate. I found out there was a large void under the slab connecting to the house foundation which was backfilled.
Overall I am very pleased with this result and hopefully it will be a long term solution!
There was one small cosmetic issue I was looking to get fixed as well - the crack along the front grey facade wall needs to be repaired and painted over (as seen in the pics). In the past this was filled with silicone and then painted over, but I was thinking this should be filled in to have a flush appearance with the rest of the wall. I was wondering if anyone had advice about how I could fix this myself or whether I should get a professional to do this as well.
Hi @Said01 ,
Many thanks for the update and for sharing the photos. That looks like a wonderful solution, and it's great to hear you were able to achieve it at a more reasonable cost than the levelling and resin injection options.
It's also reassuring that the void beneath the slab and adjacent to the house foundation was identified and backfilled. Hopefully, that addresses the underlying cause of the movement and provides a long-term fix.
As for the crack in the rendered facade, if it doesn't appear to be actively widening or showing signs of ongoing movement, you can repair it much like any other render crack. Remove any loose material, clean out the crack, and then fill it with a suitable cement-based render repair compound or exterior filler. Once cured, sand it smooth if required, prime, and repaint the area. Here's a helpful guide: How to repair exterior render.
However, if you suspect there is still some movement occurring, I'd recommend using a flexible sealant such as Sikaflex 11FC instead. This will allow the joint to accommodate minor movement without the repair cracking again. Sikaflex 11FC is also paintable, so once it has cured, you can paint over it to blend in with the surrounding wall.
Thanks again for keeping us updated. It's always great to see the outcome of a project and hear what solution ultimately worked best.
Mitchell
Afternoon @Said01
That has come on nicely and looks professional :) Also that was a fast turnaround :)
I havnt smoothed any sections of concrete so I would go with @MitchellMc's suggestions :)
Nice work!
Hi @Said01
Hope I'm not jinxing anything here but have you considered clearing away some of the soil along that edge to check whether there is a void forming under there as well. Best to find out now rather than later!
Thank you everyone for the feedback and suggestions! @R4addZ that’s a really great point, I will have a look into that as well.
@Said01
The reason I ask about the void being bigger is that whilst I was building my current house I had to move into a rental and one day, I felt the souil down the side of the house around the shed was a bit soft so I got out a piece of conduit and tried pushing it into the ground near the house where it would have been compacted. The conduit went in for about 1.5m with no effort. I contacted the owner and he had a specialist come round. It turned out that the previous tennant had had rabbits and they had escaped! The shed had to be demolished and the ground recompacted and back filled to stop the slab from cracking due to subsidance. Basically it saved the house from massive costs.
