Re: Concrete pond cracks~ links, can you help?

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 19:51:54 GMT, "tim chandler"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> puked

>Why, that's not so bad! It looks like you'd need less than ONE bag to fix
>it.  For my concrete pond I use Quikrete Vinyl Concrete Patcher, available
>at Home Depot and probably many others.  It's a fiber-reinforced cement that
>can be mixed to go on like spreading butter, all you need is a bag of that
>and a small trowel, just add water!

I'll check that out.  I went to HD yesterday, and they plopped no
fewer than three products in my cart, all that stated that they
weren't to be used under water.  Quikrete wasn't one of them.  One
product was a rubber 'swimming pool paint' that seemed a little
caustic.
>
>For the organic growth:  I'd buy some Roundup or other hebicide and spray on
>it.  Let it work until the growth dies and turns brown, then pull it out
>after a few days,wash it down to get rid of the chemical residue, let it
>mostly dry and start with the concrete.

The roots are all dry and crusty.  Problem is that there are a lot of
them.  The one pic may be misleading, but a lot of those whiskers are
really small.  I sliced out most that I could find, but the harder you
look the more you see.
>
>It's easy to do, don't be overwhelmed.  I used it as the final layer to seal
>up my concrete pond, 3+ years ago - no leaks, no lost fish.  I recommend
>after it's dried and mostly cured, you just fill it with water, let it stand
>for several days, empty, refill, add plants and fish.  No toxic chemicals
>will be left in any significant amounts to leach into the water.  I've got
>one koi (a Tancho, sold to me as a feeder!) and way too many goldfish,
>they've all been fine and reproducing like crazy.

The Quikrete?  Is it plastic enough to bridge the smaller cracks? 
>
>You can also then paint over it with a concrete sealant, Home Depot and
>others have that also in both water-based and oil-based, in different
>colors.  I've used both, and again, after drying and filling with water then
>emptying and re-filling, with absolutely no harm to fish or plants.
>
>I'd guess you've got less than a day's work, it'll just have to be spread
>out some to let the concrete cure a bit and the sealant dry.  And silicone
>as Rich suggested is also good for cracks where you don't want to put
>cement, or can't reach easily.  But the cement is a permanent repair and if
>done properly won't have to be done again - the fiber reinforced patching
>cement holds up really well to freeze-thaw cycles (naturally you want to
>make sure you don't leave puddles and crevices where water can get in and
>expand when it freezes).  For any really big holes, I'd also put in a piece
>of hardware cloth (really a large-grid metal screen, you can get it in
>various grid sizes) which further helps to reinforce and stabilize the
>cement.

Thanks for your input.  I'm going to check out your suggestions and
hopefully have my pond back together for the holidays.  I live in S.
Florida, so I don't have all those 'northerner problems'...  :)
--
lab~rat  >:-)
Do you want polite or do you want sincere?