We cut open this cracked concrete porch expecting a simple repair—but the real failure was hidden beneath the slab.
The front edge had broken apart, the corner had dropped, rusting rebar was expanding inside the concrete, and the porch posts were beginning to lose support. Before replacing anything, David had to brace the overhead structure, remove the damaged concrete and determine why the original porch failed.
Once the concrete was opened, the underlying problem became clear. Loose fill sand had been placed beneath the porch, but the thickened edge did not extend completely down to firm native ground. As material washed out from beneath the edge, the unsupported concrete settled and cracked. Water then reached the reinforcing steel, causing the rebar to rust, expand and fracture more of the surrounding concrete.
For the repair, David removes the loose material down to undisturbed ground, drills oversized holes into the existing slab and installs 1/2-inch rebar dowels with anchoring epoxy. The damaged edge is then rebuilt with approximately one yard of bagged concrete, new post anchors and a finish designed to match the original porch.
Tools and materials shown include:
Milwaukee 14-inch battery-powered cut-off saw Battery-powered water supply Milwaukee cold-cut metal saw Simpson anchoring epoxy 1/2-inch reinforcing steel Quikrete 60-pound concrete bags Tapcon concrete screws Electric pressure washer Battery-powered generator
What do you think caused the failure first: the washed-out fill, the unsupported concrete edge or the rusting rebar? Leave your diagnosis in the comments.
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