The pre-requisites for performing Epoxy injections for concrete crack repair are:
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- Make sure the cause of the crack is fixed, else new cracks will appear near the original one after some time. If the reason for crack is due to water leakage, make sure to stop it before repairing the crack. In simpler terms, the crack must not be active.
- The crack opening must be at least 0.05mm.
- You will need Epoxy injection ports and an epoxy adhesive in addition to an epoxy resin.
The repair process depends on the size and length of the crack and must be dealt with accordingly, but the basic steps to do so are listed below:
- With a brush, thoroughly clean the crack to make sure there is no debris stuck in the crack. Blow out the dust from the cracks using compressed air.
- Use the epoxy adhesive to seal the crack on the outside, leaving a place for the injection ports. This is a paste that cures in about 15-20 minutes. It provides a surface seal that can handle the injection pressure wonderfully.
- Apply epoxy adhesive generously on the outer base of the injection ports and place them on the crack surface. Generally, the distance between the two ports is between 8-10 inches. Use a putty knife to smoothen and secure the ports in the adhesive.
- Start injecting the epoxy resin from the lowermost part of the crack. When you see the epoxy oozing out of the adjacent port, stop injecting from the present port, plug it and move on to the adjacent one. Inject in the adjacent one till the resin oozes out from the neighboring port. Continue the process to fill all ports completely.
- Let the arrangement sit for 24-48 hours, depending on the size of the crack. Remove the injection ports once the epoxy is fully cured. This can be done using a hammer.
- If you want the surface to look more presentable, use a sanding disk to get rid of the epoxy adhesive to obtain a clean, smooth surface.
You can obtain results as that of a professional by taking the following precautions:
- Use safety gear like an eye mask while injecting epoxy.
- Epoxy is temperature sensitive so maintain room temperature while curing.
- While applying adhesive to the base of the injection ports, make sure not to block the opening with the adhesive.