Price of silicone caulk, omg

[Brian Runau]

I need to seal cracks in the expansion joints in a 3-4 year old concrete driveway. I was going to use silicone caulk on the larger cracks to keep the Sika from going through thecracks, then go over everything with Sika self leveling concrete caulk. Before pandemic $3.60 or so, now $12+/tube.

[Lee Schierer]

Get some backer rod for your Sika. It works well and should prove to be less costly that silicone caulking.

[Alan Rutherford]

I just installed a new kitchen sink. It was $14 at Ace and they're comfortable enough with that price to put tubes of caulk at the end of the aisle with the price on oversize tags.

[Brian Runau]

I need to seal cracks in the expansion joints in a 3-4 year old concrete driveway. I was going to use silicone caulk on the larger cracks to keep the Sika from going through thecracks, then go over everything with Sika self leveling concrete caulk. Before pandemic $3.60 or so, now $12+/tube.

Cracks are too irregular. Thanks brian

[George Yetka]

A commercial account somewhere may get you a steep discount

[Thomas McCurnin]

Expansion joints are, at least in theory, supposed to be straight and perpendicular to the edges of the slab, so I am confused why cracks in an expansion joint would be irregular. Any self leveling product will also crack given time, so you will likely be redoing this in a year or two. Indeed, expansion joints and its cousin, control joints, are supposed to crack, but along those joints, usually placed every four feet for a typical 4" slab, and an expansion joint every eight feet. When I did concrete, we cut or troweled them to a depth of about a quarter of the thickness of the slab and left them exposed, although in fancier neighborhoods, a grey silicone was applied on top.

[Brian Runau]

Expansion joints are, at least in theory, supposed to be straight and perpendicular to the edges of the slab, so I am confused why cracks in an expansion joint would be irregular. Any self leveling product will also crack given time, so you will likely be redoing this in a year or two. Indeed, expansion joints and its cousin, control joints, are supposed to crack, but along those joints, usually placed every four feet for a typical 4" slab, and an expansion joint every eight feet. When I did concrete, we cut or troweled them to a depth of about a quarter of the thickness of the slab and left them exposed, although in fancier neighborhoods, a grey silicone was applied on top.

Thomas, I thought about doing nothing, but small investment should make this driveway outlast me, so a good investment. Almost 67 with cervical spine issues so I have to choose where I spend my energy. Worst cracking is over where they replaced the culvert and probably did not pack it well enough prior to the pour. Brian

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[Thomas McCurnin]

I found Sika Concrete Caulk Crack Filler online for $10 a tube. Caulk outdoors is a temporary answer. You might get a year or two out off it, and then it will have to be dug out and re-applied. The knock on these it is either too thick or too thin. I'd leave it out in the sun for a couple hours or wrap in an electric blanket to thin it out. The general instructions are to use a backer rod or sand so the product does not go into the abyss. I don't know how deep your cracks are.

Another option is urethane adhesive especially designed for concrete cracks which fills and sets without expanding and sets hard, so one could drive a fork lift over it, way stronger than caulk. And it is designed for garage floors, warehouses, etc in lieu of pouring concrete which will of course crack again. It's 3M 600, but it avoids re-pouring and eventual re-cracking and is way better than caulk. Then again, its $100 a tube.

An easy approach would be powdered self leveling cement, which would be applied in a thin coat, would sink and fill the cracks, then trowel off and be done with it. Yes, it will shrink and crack, but easy to reapply every year or two.

I think I'd leave the cracks alone myself, and enjoy the woodshop rather than a driveway. Its concrete after all.

My masonry driveway contractor had a 100% money back crack guaranty.

That's right, his driveways are guarantied to crack or money back. Expansion and Control Joints force the cracks to those areas, but still, concrete shrinks and cracks and when water gets into even a small crack, it cracks way worse.

[Brian Runau]

I found Sika Concrete Caulk Crack Filler online for $10 a tube. Caulk outdoors is a temporary answer. You might get a year or two out off it, and then it will have to be dug out and re-applied. The knock on these it is either too thick or too thin. I'd leave it out in the sun for a couple hours or wrap in an electric blanket to thin it out. The general instructions are to use a backer rod or sand so the product does not go into the abyss. I don't know how deep your cracks are.

Another option is urethane adhesive especially designed for concrete cracks which fills and sets without expanding and sets hard, so one could drive a fork lift over it, way stronger than caulk. And it is designed for garage floors, warehouses, etc in lieu of pouring concrete which will of course crack again. It's 3M 600, but it avoids re-pouring and eventual re-cracking and is way better than caulk. Then again, its $100 a tube.

An easy approach would be powdered self leveling cement, which would be applied in a thin coat, would sink and fill the cracks, then trowel off and be done with it. Yes, it will shrink and crack, but easy to reapply every year or two.

I think I'd leave the cracks alone myself, and enjoy the woodshop rather than a driveway. Its concrete after all.

My masonry driveway contractor had a 100% money back crack guaranty.

That's right, his driveways are guarantied to crack or money back. Expansion and Control Joints force the cracks to those areas, but still, concrete shrinks and cracks and when water gets into even a small crack, it cracks way worse.

Tom, thank you for the informed opinion. Sika tech guy told me to use urethane not epoxy. Really 3 years and a redo? Thanks brian

[Brian Elfert]

My masonry driveway contractor had a 100% money back crack guaranty.

That's right, his driveways are guarantied to crack or money back. Expansion and Control Joints force the cracks to those areas, but still, concrete shrinks and cracks and when water gets into even a small crack, it cracks way worse.

There is a local concrete contractor that has a lifetime no crack guarantee on their concrete. They have been in business for many decades. My co-worker has a concrete driveway done by the company years ago before he bought the house and the driveway has zero cracks after several decades. They are very expensive and they charge a $25 fee just to do an estimate that is applied to the cost of any work they do. They want prospective customers to be serious about it by charging the fee.

[Thomas McCurnin]

I've never seen a slab that didn't crack. I wonder how he does it. Lots of control joints, troweled very deep? Corresponding expansion joints more frequently? Or you pay extra and he hopes you move before the slab cracks.