Hi Robert,

Is bonding agent necessary when using concrete to repair in small area of raised concrete in order to have repair concrete adhere well to both sides of repair area??

You previously mentioned cleaning out the area well using pressure washer and I would also typically rough it up some with wire brush but I have never done concrete repair of this type and I don't know if I need bonding agent with one of the products you suggested such as Quikrete 10 lb or Quikrete 20 lb.

Thanks.

Old Concrete holds surface and sub below surface dirt that if not cleaned, it's hard for the new material to stick. So using a wire brush and some TSP mixed with Concrete cleaner does an excellent job. So does using a pressure washer.

I use my pressure washer with a "whip rotary nozzle" that will lift all dirt and even some of the concrete surface away so there is a clean area for the repair to stick.

Some use the Quikrete 1 Gal. Concrete Bonding Adhesive and roll or paint it to the surface first to insure good bonding. But I find the wire brush method with TSP/Concrete cleaner works well instead.

If this were a step landing and 100's of people were going to walk all over it, then I'd use a diamond saw and cut grooves into the entire surface so the new lay of concrete repair will be locked in place. Good luck. Try a small area first and get good at troweling the surface evenly.

Robert, O.K. thanks.

To my memory you don't talk about having a CSLB C-8 Concrete license but you seem to know much more than I would have thought you would about concrete.

I remember reading about some attorney that had a goal of being admitted to the bar to practice law in every state.

Are you on your way to acquire a CSLB license in every classification they have??

I going in the opposite direction, getting rid of my large vehicles. Giving older tools to friends in need. And cutting down on certifications that require "X" number of hours of training each year to maintain them -- plus extra insurance.

Just for a laugh, a friend had a tree growing tall on the back side of his garage. Plenty of space between the garage rear and his property line. You could go behind he garage with a pick up truck if necessary. His garage slab was starting to lift, soon to have a major crack that could eventually lift towards they sky.

So I came over and with two Sawzall's trimmed the extra growth over the garage with my friend. I also took with me a telescopic ladder. After a while we had a large pile of branches on the ground in front of his garage. I left him a Sawzall with blades to cut up the branches, bundle them up and dispose of them thru the City trash collection service.

A year goes by and I look on Google Maps at an sky view of his lot. He still has around 80% of those branches in front of his garage.

Fast forward 10 years. I offer to come over to his house and correct his small crack and displacement of the garage slab. First I ask him to send me some pictures. Wow I respond. His telephoto lens makes the small crack seem a foot high. He responds, oh it's only 8 or 9 inches.

Some people that are lousy landlords don't do much better at their personal residence.

So how many CSLB licenses do you maintain???

Too many. I was at a meeting today with another contracting company and the client. They had 8 members of their company at this meeting, I was alone. The other contractor mad a remark, 8 against 1. I asked to use one of theirs computer and looked them up. Yep they had listed over 12 contractors on their corporate license, but I still maintained more contractor trade than their 5 classes. At the end of this meeting the client then asked, "Robert. Should I hire them"? I responded that I had recommended them for an interview, but they forgot to provide the requested document.

A contractor said, Robert we are not applying for one of your apartments, what do you mean documents. I had to remind them that they had 2 complaints filed against their license and I we wanted them to provide the summery how the fulfilled their reinstatement to the board. Which was they did not complete the job as promised, but instead handing over a check -- partial refund.

The client was a business friend whom I review all of his construction contracts and bids.

He knows that for every $100 he pays me, I save him well over $1,000. Meaning if I review a contract and it takes me a few hours, my billing will be justified. Not that any one wants to cheat him, but payment, performance, remedies and materials needed to be spelled out.