[justincampbell]

Years ago(before my ownership) the approach to my garage was poured in several sections. When they poured the concrete, they put some of that black/dark brown board-like material between the sections(I don't have any idea what it's actually called). That's been long enough ago that the material between the sections has been long gone and the gaps had been filled with some sort of caulk or epoxy.

A couple years back the caulk/epoxy started to let go, leaving 3/4"+ gaps between the concrete sections. I cleaned the gaps out and tried a bit of Liquid Nails concrete caulk. It looked ok but was clearly not meant for large gaps as it takes next to nothing to make permanent depressions in the caulk.
Whatever the previous owner had used was not solid. But, it was relatively firm like an inflated tire.
I'm wondering if this would have been concrete epoxy?

I really need to figure out the best way to fill this gap. I thought about using Quikrete, but the space is small enough that I question if that would last for more than 1 season. The spaces a quite long, but only 3/4" to 1" wide and probably 1" to 1.5" deep.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Murf]

The material used originally was probably strips of asphalt impregnated fiber board. It was very common for expansion joints.

I would use concrete to fill those. The slabs will move and it will break out. On mine I used foam caulk backer rod available in rolls in different diameters. I then used Sikaflex brand urethane caulk over the top of the filler rod.

There also filler gaskets that come in rolls that you put in the joint & that’s it. I have never used them and you might have to go to a concrete supply place to buy them.

Murf


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[West Coast GTO]

Home Depot sells foam rolls( called chinking) in different diameters that have been used between the logs of a log cabin type house as well as self leveling concrete filler in caulk gun sizes. The foam rolls are used to fill the gap between driveway and garage so you don't have to fill the entire gap with self leveling caulking( expensive).

[justincampbell]

If I am just looking for something to help fill the gap so as to not use up so much caulking, could I just rip some pieces of wood or even some old masonite to fill the bulk of the gap before I Caulk over it?

[Murf]

Originally Posted by justincampbell

If I am just looking for something to help fill the gap so as to not use up so much caulking, could I just rip some pieces of wood or even some old masonite to fill the bulk of the gap before I Caulk over it?

Yeah, you could but the backer is cheap & easy, doesn’t rot out or attract bugs. The backer will last much, much longer. Pick your battles.

Good luck!
Murf


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[TAKerry]

Murf is 100% correct. Backer rod (roll foam) comes in a variety of sizes. A commercial contractor supplier should have a variety. Home Depot has it as well. If the gap is too big, weave a couple of strands together. Pack it in fairly tight. Leave it about 3/4"-1/2" lower than the slab. Home Depot also sells Sika Flex, get the self leveling stuff. Put tape down on both sides of the joint, and as soon as you caulk smooth it ONCE with a putty knife. They sell buckets that you need a special gun for and also small tubes for the regular caulk gun.
What you have is an expansion joint. It is intended to move.

[stags]

Agree on the backer rod/ Sika or equal commercial caulk. Local pool store might have both as well. It's used between concrete decks and coping blocks on many pools.

[justincampbell]

Thanks for the pointers.
I've had trouble getting motivated on this chore because I hate the joints with the board in them and I'll admit that when I'm PO'ed it often slows me way down as far as getting things accomplished. I don't know when "they" decided doing the joints this way was a good idea. Personally, I'll take the old "no maintenance" joints(slabs right next to each other with maybe 1/16" or less gap) over this new way. I let this go for a couple years because I originally just figured I'd have some extra weeds to pull on occasion(shortsighted on my part). After a couple of years of freezing and thawing the slabs with the newer type joints(poured in '94) are quite uneven(1/2" height difference in some spots). Meanwhile, the concrete poured in the "old way"(1967) is much better off. In fact, the only place the old concrete has more than an 1/8" height difference is where a large tree has grown right next to it. So why on God's green earth did "they" decide having boards in the joints was a good idea? Sorry, just venting a little.

[Murf]

I’m not sure what your dealing with. Around here you couldn’t get away with a 1/16 or 1/8 expansion joint on a slab. I suppose on sidewalk joints, maybe. A large slab is going to move a lot. Have fun with it!

Murf


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[justincampbell]

Originally Posted by Murf

I’m not sure what your dealing with. Around here you couldn’t get away with a 1/16 or 1/8 expansion joint on a slab. I suppose on sidewalk joints, maybe. A large slab is going to move a lot. Have fun with it!

Murf


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I'm certainly not a builder. I just know what I can see with my own two eyes. The sections of the original driveway which are close together and have held up remarkably well(with the exception of the tree root issues) are each about 10' wide by 18' long. The newer(wider) area with the bigger joints is in 4 sections which are each roughly 8' x 8'(the approach widens as it nears the garage, so these are not exact measurements. But you get the idea).
As I said, I'm no builder. But, I suspect the newer pieces moving so much may be due to in large part to the fact that I didn't address the caulk issue sooner. It would seem to me that these large, (now)partially open joints would be the ideal place for late rains and melting snow to be "funneled" into which of course would have the potential to cause trouble when the temp drops again. Also, I am in the city. So, I suspect the specifics of the ground freezing and thawing may be different than they would be in a rural area.

[Murf]

Yes, they are a great place for water infiltration . Depending on the situation, water can get in and wash out the sand. Causing or at least , contributing to the misalignment problems. A good reason to stat on top of the problem.
It doesn’t help you any but I haven’t seen the fiberboard expansion strips used in quite awhile. I’m not sure what the preferred method is nowadays.

Murf


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[justincampbell]

Originally Posted by Murf

It doesn’t help you any but I haven’t seen the fiberboard expansion strips used in quite awhile. I’m not sure what the preferred method is nowadays.

Murf


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I hadn't seen this in any of the new construction around here and assumed it was no longer done. However, when I recently hired a company to replace the area of driveway affected by the tree roots(huge tree had jacked the edge of the concrete up probably 3") I arrived home and found this to be the way they had butted up to the old concrete. More fun(not).

[Murf]

I assume nowadays they pour, cut then maybe put epoxy in the cut. Of course they can’t do that when replacing a section.
If I were in your situation, I’d digg enough of the builder board out to get some backer rod in & epoxy it up good. I think it’s about the best you can do.

Have fun!
Murf


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[TAKerry]

There are 2 types of joints for concrete. Expansion joints have a board, foam, or some type of propietary material. This is to allow for movement in the slab. Then there is a control joint. Which is usually just a saw cut. Its there to tell the concrete where to break. Different joints, and different uses, but a typical slab or sidewalk should or usually have both present.