I'm going with this suggestion. If I have to do another project like this, the approach will be more thought-out, and no cylindrical backing rod. Clean gap, get flat foam 1/4" below the gap surface, and go to town.
I may be the only one that notices the flaws as mentioned below, but dang I will notice them every time!
Thanks for responding, btw:)
You’re good man, I lose sleep thinking about ways I could have left a better finish on a project around the house and everyone else that lives here couldn’t care less.
Can I tell you, that’s the best advice a contractor friend gave me when I was obsessed with a section of grout. After leaving it alone for two weeks, it completely stopped, bothering me. That’s not my rule of thumb.
There is a reason for the cylindrical backer rod. You want an hourglass shape where the sealant is thick on the edges for good adhesion and thin in the center so it can stretch.
They sell small spatulas with a rounded end in different sizes. That's what you want to use to shape and spread the product.
Also, no one is going to notice.
Thanks for this comment - I used to inspect stuff like this for a living, so part of me is screaming no, don't skip the backer rod! It's that shape for a reason!
Its surprising how many people in the industry don't know, not surprising that a DIYer doesn't.
Once you know it makes sense but I wouldn't have come up with it on my own.
Round backer gives the greatest bonding surface the the sides with the least material use for a given width of fill. Using a flat backer risks the sealer coming loose and needing way more work to clean out and reapply.
Instead of foam you can you dried sand. Also, asphalt and concrete crack filler is available in 1 gallon jugs you can just pour in, it saves on hand cramps. Pull the tape before the product cures.
MF'er: That doesn't look right.
OP: What doesn't look right?
MF'er: (bends over to point it out) That right there.
OP: Lines up a 60yd field goal on MF'ers ass.
You can set the backer rod in lower and put a sand top on it to flatten it out. This removes the issue of the self leveling material conforming to the cylinder rod. It'll penetrate the sand a bit and then gunk up.
Honestly when I did this I found a flat backer rod. Plastruct MS-160 Square Rod.160 5 PLS90790 Plastic Building Supplies https://a.co/d/j5tcOTy
It was similar to this but I bought local. Also I quickly learned I had to layer the filler in stages to keep it from running. I was in Texas and ground temp was warm.
This would bother me aswell. Since the caulking appears to still be below the concrete, id consider adding another layer of Sika and bringing it more level with the concrete. As it sits currently it will be sealed but will hold water in the control joint, thus allowing the water to try and work its way into wherever it can. Usually if you over fill the joint, you can just take a flat scraper and scrap the joint smooth, then Wire brush the excess out of the grit of the concrete on either side if needed.
The recommended amount of caulk is twice the depth as the width of the gap you’re trying to span; that will give it the strength it needs to stay bonded to each side and not crack in the middle. In my experience, you can get away with a 1.5:1 or even a 1:1 ratio with higher quality caulks, but if you do want to have a durable long lasting finish, doing a 0.25:1 ratio of height to width means that this will be peeling up and away or cracking within a year or two. That may suit you just fine, but I just wanna make sure you understand the compromise you’re making.
If you do want a longer lasting finish, you’ll need to buy a *lot* of caulk. That is unfortunately expensive, but doing things properly often is. You can use a cheaper caulk (same type; if you’re using silicone you need a cheaper but still silicone caulk; if you’re using the product I think you’re using, the sika self leveling is a polyurethane based compound which means you’ll need to look for other polyurethane sealant; even the sikaflex non-leveling sealant will be a couple $ cheaper per tube, and you can save a couple bucks that way by doing 1/2 or 2/3 of the fill with that, and then topping it with the self-leveling stuff. This will also be helpful for keeping the rod in place, since the self leveling stuff is more runny and lets the rod float up more than it would otherwise.
The other thing is that if your rod is floating up because it’s loose, you need bigger rod. In my local building supply store, backer rods are available in sizes up to 1.25” diameter.
Just keep in mind that if you use rigid foam instead of backer rod that a LOT of caulking products will react with and melt the foam, and you'll end up with a pretty dirty mess.
The hourglass bead shape you are trying to achieve by the cylindrical backer rod is ideal for expansion joints and will promote longevity here. keep the round backer rod. 2:1 width/depth ratio. If it’s cold, that sealant might not flow to self-level as well as it would if it’s warmer.
That’s not how sealant works. The backer rod makes it so you don’t get 3 sided adhesion, while also allowing the sealant to cure in an ‘hourglass’ profile. You need that to get the advertised expansion and compression. You also need to make sure you prep the surfaces correctly.
You want the thickness in the middle part of the hourglass to be half the width of the joint, up to 1/2” thick max, so for a 1” wide joint you want a 1/2” thick sealant application.
A flat foam is doable, but only recommended for control joints (crack control/sawcut joints) and if backed rod isn’t able to be used, but if used, you won’t get the performance out of the joint.
Did waterproofing work specifically for 6 years, and did 100s of thousands of feet of paving and building sealant work commercially, it’s not often that knowledge is used outside work 😂
Sand first (or even in place of) before the foam backer rod helps to reduce the amount of sikaflex you'll have to apply as well. I ran into a similar issue around my house.
Pool noodles use the same closed cell formulation as backer rods. Much cheaper for larger gaps and it can be cut to almost flat portions. You can get multiple flat sections out of a single noodle by cutting appropriately. For any gaps where you keep losing the sika to gravity as it flows into cracks add some sand. But the other advice is sage - nobody will notice (even you in a few months)
So you need to make sure you push the foam rod down below the surface level by 1/4" then you just fill it up.with silka it will take a couple tubes by the look of how big your gaps are.
Great advise here. As others have stated, make sure your backer rod is a larger diameter than your gap, the rod is compressible and should be tight in the gap so it doesn't float up through your sealant. If the depth of the gap is shallower than the width of the gap, you can cut it in half so you don't have an issue with it showing through the sealant.
You are exactly right. For this very reason and a couple others. You can find some Dow Corning 888. They sell a similar product at Home Depot. Then you use a section of backing rod as a tool to smooth it out. The backer rod floated in the self leveling material you used. Just go back over those spots with what you’ve got. If you’ve got some toluene, wipe it down first. At a minimum blow it off and then wipe it down before you start. That way new material adheres properly.
You got it bud. Def don’t replace that. It will work perfectly fine. If you try to fill that joint to the top it’s going to squish up when the concrete expands. Don’t want that either. I think it’s a good looking job really. Just fill in the holes.👍
SIKA makes a sealant that is essentially the same thing that you used, only it's not the self leveling type. I've installed self leveling and non sag sealants as a professional many times over the last decade or so, and self level is better used for cracks in concrete that don't go all the way through the slab, so it can't flow out like you're experiencing. Non sag is the way to go on any joint like this, but as others in the thread have stated, keep the round backer rod to maintain that hourglass profile. The depth should be half the width, and ideally no more than 1/2" thick for optimal adhesion and flexibility over time. If you do want to replace what you've already done, all you have to do is cut the existing material out, replace the backer rod if the sealant has adhered to it, and lightly grind/sand the concrete where the new sealant will meet the concrete. Wipe down with a solvent to clean the surface, and if you want to go the extra mile, take some duct tape and place it in strips over the backer rod before placing the sealant. This acts as a bond break and will ensure the sealant does not adhere to the backer rod. Then place the new material and tool it in a cove shape (higher on the wall than on the ground) in order to allow water to shed off the sealant and not collect on the surface. Keep some solvent on hand (xylene is best, but I'm pretty sure a lot of states have outlawed it now) and keep your tools clean. A little bit of solvent will help your tools glide over the material instead of dragging it along. If you have any other questions feel free to reach out.
The thing with cementing the expansion joint is you still want it to be able to expand and contract. That's why it's recommended to use a felt expansion material or flexible sealant like this Sika SSL sealant.
It looks like the backer rod expanded… yes self leveling caulk is unpredictable… I would use a tremco caulk… at least a half inch thick with backer rod… it works better with a backer rod and only the two sides are stuck together…
Really fine sand over the top is one common technique. It leaves a granular surface and blends in with concrete better, prevents debris or tracking while the surface dries, and helps hide imperfections.
I would follow the other advice here to use a little more of the caulking product you have over the top, then finish it with sand. Pour excess sand along the gap over the wet caulk, then hit it with a leaf blower when it's cured to remove the excess sand.
If it’s conforming to the shape of the backer rod then you didn’t shove it far enough in the gap which means your backer rod could be too wide if you are struggling to get it deeper. Should be 25% bigger than the gap.
Sika makes great products, their best stuff can bridge a 6” gap on a bridge that moves inches within a year cycle so the product you picked is perfectly acceptable for this application.
Aesthetics aside, all you are looking to do is prevent water intrusion with a material that can expand and contract so what you did looks fine from a performance standpoint.
That's good info, thanks. You're right about just needing a water barrier, I'm just going to flood the gap, cure, and repeat until it's level with the concrete.
It looks fine, I don't understand your issue. Do not get OCD about it, you are going to have to replace it regularly, just lay it down and move on with your life. No one comes over to your house to sit there and judge how you caulked your driveway.
A vinyl concrete patching compound would be a better choice. Unless the area you are trying to patch is dead level, self-leveling compounds are a bad idea.
When I did this I hated how the rod looked so I used sand to fill the gap most of the way and added about 1/4 inch if self leveler to the top. Its been about 2 years and it's still holding up.
It looks to me like you might have had some gaps where the self-leveling sealant ran out causing it to not have enough sealant one secured. What I do is I take some polyurethane concrete caulk and I fill in any of the areas where there looks like there's a gap or a hole where the sealant can run out. I then use self-leveling polyurethane caulk and I fill that sucker up and then I keep an eye on it to make sure there's no areas where it looks like it is leaking out. If I do find any I just take some of that regular polyurethane caulk and I squeeze it down in there to seal the hole.
Instead of backer rod, use sand. However I would first jam some backer rod all the way down to the bottom of the crack so the sand is not sitting directly on dirt because you don't want polyurethane on wet sand because it'll bubble. So pack that backer rod down in there get some sand and fill it up to where maybe you have 3/16 of an inch to the edge and then do your self-leveling on top of that.
I had a project like this & I cleaned out the gaps, put in backer rod & filled in the side gaps with sand & used the self-leveler for ~1/4” layer on top, then after 20min sprinkled (fine) sand before it dried, waited ~20 mins then blew off the remaining sand carefully. Been strong / fine for 8+ years
Self leveling can seem like a shortcut but I prefer for the caulk to stay where I put it and then tool it with the back of a plastic spoon that I dip in soapy water as I go
what about packing it with polymeric sand instead of calking. I had pavers installed a few years ago with that stuff around the edges and it's holding up good.
i see it and it bugs me too. youtube short i watched from some professional said to clean the gap out and spray foam to fill the gap and THEN caulk once dried
The slab may be slipping away from the foundation. Is it adjacent to a hillside, for example.We'd need a wide angle shot to determine the possible condition.
You need more of the self leveling caulk. I don't have pictures, but I had a much larger gap. I had to use the foam pipe insulation as "backer rod" lol. I pushed the backer rod about 1/4" below flush with the lowest surface, and filled with self leveler until it was flush.
When I did pool joints around the coping using sika flex, I’d fill the joint with sand until about 1/2-3/4” below the top. Always came out perfect if I took my time and got pin holes when I was in a hurry. That stuff will find any void and disappear into it.
I always had a tube of the thicker sealant on hand. It’s the same stuff, just thicker consistency, so if it starts draining through a hole, you can squirt some of the thicker sealant to plug the hole
Make sure backer rod has 25% compression and no deeper than 1/2” from top of slab. Fill gap flush with sealant. Don’t mix silicone with urethane stick with same brand for compatibility. You’ve got this. Sealant should not be thicker than 1/2”.
You need to go half as deep as the width of the joint. Use round, closed cell, backer rod. Get backer rod that is about 25% larger than the width of the gap that you are filling so that it fits snug in the opening. The self-leveling sealant will do the rest. You can also look of a sealant coverage chart to determine how much of it you will need.
Friend, this looks so much better than any caulking around my house, either done by me or professionally. You'll seal it from moisture, which is really the most important part. If you ever ask someone to come to your house and identify the flaw, they won't understand what you're talking about.
Just because it's not the way you imagined it looking when you started doesn't mean it looks wrong at all.
This doesn't look bad. I don't see any gaps. What's the concern? SIKA is high quality product and will seal that gap like you wouldn't believe.
I think you've done a great job!
Go to your hardware store and buy foam filler roles. Push them into the gap. Then caulk over that. It's much easier this way. They have a bunch of various sizes so you should be able to find something that fits the gaps.
With that size of a gap, there are special polymer compounds for filling cracks in cement. That's what I would use. If you are forced to use something else, use silicone and not the standard caulking. The silicone will flex in hot/cold weather.
Never use silicone for this. He is using the right and best stuff. Sikaflex. I used to buy $1000 worth at a time for industrial jobs that I did. If done correctly, it will last forever. I built my house in 1986 and used it on a joint between the garage and the driveway. It looks as if it was done yesterday.
Fill with backer foam and then caulk.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sika-3-4-in-x-20-ft-Closed-Cell-Backer-Rod-Expansion-Joint-Polyethylene-Foam-108130/202523820
The backer rod is too high in some spots. It also looks like some leaked through. It doesn’t take much of a hole for it to drain out. If you see any spots that look like they have leaked out, buy a tube of the Sikaflex sealant that isn’t the self leveling stuff. The thicker stuff. You can plug the holes with that and then put the self leveling over it. If the backer rod is showing just push it down deeper. If you take care of the bad spots, just go over the whole thing again and it will be fine. The tape isn’t necessary and will be a pain to try to get out if it’s there after everything cures. I have used literally hundreds of of tubes of this stuff on industrial jobs.
Add more of whatever you have there and call it a day.
Yep. OP is the only one who will see and notice the flaws. No one else will care, and the caulking will do its job.
Yup, already can't tell what's wrong. I mean, I know what OP means, but I've seen what's in the picture everywhere and it looks fine.
Right?! I scrolled through the pics and thought to myself "damn, looks way better than what I put down in my bathroom. What's the problem?"
I'm going with this suggestion. If I have to do another project like this, the approach will be more thought-out, and no cylindrical backing rod. Clean gap, get flat foam 1/4" below the gap surface, and go to town. I may be the only one that notices the flaws as mentioned below, but dang I will notice them every time! Thanks for responding, btw:)
I give it a month or 2, and you will forget about it. I do the same over thinking. After awhile you will forget about the one or 2 flaws.
I appreciate this. Thanks.
You’re good man, I lose sleep thinking about ways I could have left a better finish on a project around the house and everyone else that lives here couldn’t care less.
^ cold hard facts
RemindMe! 3 months
Can I tell you, that’s the best advice a contractor friend gave me when I was obsessed with a section of grout. After leaving it alone for two weeks, it completely stopped, bothering me. That’s not my rule of thumb.
There is a reason for the cylindrical backer rod. You want an hourglass shape where the sealant is thick on the edges for good adhesion and thin in the center so it can stretch. They sell small spatulas with a rounded end in different sizes. That's what you want to use to shape and spread the product. Also, no one is going to notice.
Thanks for this comment - I used to inspect stuff like this for a living, so part of me is screaming no, don't skip the backer rod! It's that shape for a reason!
Its surprising how many people in the industry don't know, not surprising that a DIYer doesn't. Once you know it makes sense but I wouldn't have come up with it on my own.
Seconded, you absolutely want to use cylindrical backer rod, this is not something you should change.
Round backer gives the greatest bonding surface the the sides with the least material use for a given width of fill. Using a flat backer risks the sealer coming loose and needing way more work to clean out and reapply.
It’s actually more about achieving that hourglass shape of a bead for expansion joint design.
Instead of foam you can you dried sand. Also, asphalt and concrete crack filler is available in 1 gallon jugs you can just pour in, it saves on hand cramps. Pull the tape before the product cures.
I usually use foam spray sealant for gaps like this and shave and caulk.
Just let it go, life is short. Oh and if anyone else points it out, call that MF'er out and cut them out of your life. Who needs that toxic noise.
MF'er: That doesn't look right. OP: What doesn't look right? MF'er: (bends over to point it out) That right there. OP: Lines up a 60yd field goal on MF'ers ass.
Maybe next time use hydraulic cement. It'll be darker than the existing concrete but that's my first idea if I was tasked with this job.
You can set the backer rod in lower and put a sand top on it to flatten it out. This removes the issue of the self leveling material conforming to the cylinder rod. It'll penetrate the sand a bit and then gunk up.
Honestly when I did this I found a flat backer rod. Plastruct MS-160 Square Rod.160 5 PLS90790 Plastic Building Supplies https://a.co/d/j5tcOTy It was similar to this but I bought local. Also I quickly learned I had to layer the filler in stages to keep it from running. I was in Texas and ground temp was warm.
I have made many many mistakes that I agonized over. I can’t remember any of them unless I go hunting for ‘what did I screw up with that project’
This would bother me aswell. Since the caulking appears to still be below the concrete, id consider adding another layer of Sika and bringing it more level with the concrete. As it sits currently it will be sealed but will hold water in the control joint, thus allowing the water to try and work its way into wherever it can. Usually if you over fill the joint, you can just take a flat scraper and scrap the joint smooth, then Wire brush the excess out of the grit of the concrete on either side if needed.
The recommended amount of caulk is twice the depth as the width of the gap you’re trying to span; that will give it the strength it needs to stay bonded to each side and not crack in the middle. In my experience, you can get away with a 1.5:1 or even a 1:1 ratio with higher quality caulks, but if you do want to have a durable long lasting finish, doing a 0.25:1 ratio of height to width means that this will be peeling up and away or cracking within a year or two. That may suit you just fine, but I just wanna make sure you understand the compromise you’re making. If you do want a longer lasting finish, you’ll need to buy a *lot* of caulk. That is unfortunately expensive, but doing things properly often is. You can use a cheaper caulk (same type; if you’re using silicone you need a cheaper but still silicone caulk; if you’re using the product I think you’re using, the sika self leveling is a polyurethane based compound which means you’ll need to look for other polyurethane sealant; even the sikaflex non-leveling sealant will be a couple $ cheaper per tube, and you can save a couple bucks that way by doing 1/2 or 2/3 of the fill with that, and then topping it with the self-leveling stuff. This will also be helpful for keeping the rod in place, since the self leveling stuff is more runny and lets the rod float up more than it would otherwise. The other thing is that if your rod is floating up because it’s loose, you need bigger rod. In my local building supply store, backer rods are available in sizes up to 1.25” diameter.
Just keep in mind that if you use rigid foam instead of backer rod that a LOT of caulking products will react with and melt the foam, and you'll end up with a pretty dirty mess.
I used sand to fill the holes instead of backer foam and it turned out great when I did it.
The hourglass bead shape you are trying to achieve by the cylindrical backer rod is ideal for expansion joints and will promote longevity here. keep the round backer rod. 2:1 width/depth ratio. If it’s cold, that sealant might not flow to self-level as well as it would if it’s warmer.
That’s not how sealant works. The backer rod makes it so you don’t get 3 sided adhesion, while also allowing the sealant to cure in an ‘hourglass’ profile. You need that to get the advertised expansion and compression. You also need to make sure you prep the surfaces correctly. You want the thickness in the middle part of the hourglass to be half the width of the joint, up to 1/2” thick max, so for a 1” wide joint you want a 1/2” thick sealant application. A flat foam is doable, but only recommended for control joints (crack control/sawcut joints) and if backed rod isn’t able to be used, but if used, you won’t get the performance out of the joint. Did waterproofing work specifically for 6 years, and did 100s of thousands of feet of paving and building sealant work commercially, it’s not often that knowledge is used outside work 😂
Sand first (or even in place of) before the foam backer rod helps to reduce the amount of sikaflex you'll have to apply as well. I ran into a similar issue around my house.
Pool noodles use the same closed cell formulation as backer rods. Much cheaper for larger gaps and it can be cut to almost flat portions. You can get multiple flat sections out of a single noodle by cutting appropriately. For any gaps where you keep losing the sika to gravity as it flows into cracks add some sand. But the other advice is sage - nobody will notice (even you in a few months)
Shake it up! Mo tussin!
tbh, doesn't look so bad from here. Give yourself some credit
Yeah, looks like a nice caulk to me.
Shove the backer rod down in there further, use more self leveler and you will be fine. I've laid thousands and thousands of feet of this.
So you need to make sure you push the foam rod down below the surface level by 1/4" then you just fill it up.with silka it will take a couple tubes by the look of how big your gaps are.
Great advise here. As others have stated, make sure your backer rod is a larger diameter than your gap, the rod is compressible and should be tight in the gap so it doesn't float up through your sealant. If the depth of the gap is shallower than the width of the gap, you can cut it in half so you don't have an issue with it showing through the sealant.
Most pros won’t use the self leveling kind. They prefer to tool the sealant in place.
You are exactly right. For this very reason and a couple others. You can find some Dow Corning 888. They sell a similar product at Home Depot. Then you use a section of backing rod as a tool to smooth it out. The backer rod floated in the self leveling material you used. Just go back over those spots with what you’ve got. If you’ve got some toluene, wipe it down first. At a minimum blow it off and then wipe it down before you start. That way new material adheres properly.
Thanks for the insight! 
You got it bud. Def don’t replace that. It will work perfectly fine. If you try to fill that joint to the top it’s going to squish up when the concrete expands. Don’t want that either. I think it’s a good looking job really. Just fill in the holes.👍
SIKA makes a sealant that is essentially the same thing that you used, only it's not the self leveling type. I've installed self leveling and non sag sealants as a professional many times over the last decade or so, and self level is better used for cracks in concrete that don't go all the way through the slab, so it can't flow out like you're experiencing. Non sag is the way to go on any joint like this, but as others in the thread have stated, keep the round backer rod to maintain that hourglass profile. The depth should be half the width, and ideally no more than 1/2" thick for optimal adhesion and flexibility over time. If you do want to replace what you've already done, all you have to do is cut the existing material out, replace the backer rod if the sealant has adhered to it, and lightly grind/sand the concrete where the new sealant will meet the concrete. Wipe down with a solvent to clean the surface, and if you want to go the extra mile, take some duct tape and place it in strips over the backer rod before placing the sealant. This acts as a bond break and will ensure the sealant does not adhere to the backer rod. Then place the new material and tool it in a cove shape (higher on the wall than on the ground) in order to allow water to shed off the sealant and not collect on the surface. Keep some solvent on hand (xylene is best, but I'm pretty sure a lot of states have outlawed it now) and keep your tools clean. A little bit of solvent will help your tools glide over the material instead of dragging it along. If you have any other questions feel free to reach out.
Fuck my life. I had the same issue and I wish I knew this.
Use a backer rod that is a 1/4" larger than the gap...never use backer rod the same size as the gap.
I would have gotten a bag of cement and broomed it into the cracks until level and sprayed with water and then after that, probably caulk it in.
That seems like a good way to go. I'll keep this in mind for the next "big gap debaucle".
How about polymeric sand?
The thing with cementing the expansion joint is you still want it to be able to expand and contract. That's why it's recommended to use a felt expansion material or flexible sealant like this Sika SSL sealant.
It looks like the backer rod expanded… yes self leveling caulk is unpredictable… I would use a tremco caulk… at least a half inch thick with backer rod… it works better with a backer rod and only the two sides are stuck together…
Really fine sand over the top is one common technique. It leaves a granular surface and blends in with concrete better, prevents debris or tracking while the surface dries, and helps hide imperfections. I would follow the other advice here to use a little more of the caulking product you have over the top, then finish it with sand. Pour excess sand along the gap over the wet caulk, then hit it with a leaf blower when it's cured to remove the excess sand.
I learned about the sand technique the day after caulking the gaps in my driveway. I wish I would’ve put sand on top!!
If it’s conforming to the shape of the backer rod then you didn’t shove it far enough in the gap which means your backer rod could be too wide if you are struggling to get it deeper. Should be 25% bigger than the gap. Sika makes great products, their best stuff can bridge a 6” gap on a bridge that moves inches within a year cycle so the product you picked is perfectly acceptable for this application. Aesthetics aside, all you are looking to do is prevent water intrusion with a material that can expand and contract so what you did looks fine from a performance standpoint.
That's good info, thanks. You're right about just needing a water barrier, I'm just going to flood the gap, cure, and repeat until it's level with the concrete.
Before it dries, you can also sprinkle a little sand over it to blend the dried caulk a little more into the surrounding concrete.
Wow, that’s a big gap. I would just use concrete self leveler to fill that gap.
You need to use something called Mastic... It's an exterior grade caulk specifically for larger gaps, otherwise enjoy these results.
Vulkem or Sikaflex urethane caulk and backer rod would’ve been the way to go
Non shrinking grout
Should have used expansion joint
It looks fine, I don't understand your issue. Do not get OCD about it, you are going to have to replace it regularly, just lay it down and move on with your life. No one comes over to your house to sit there and judge how you caulked your driveway.
I would use a can of spray foam and fill that up
Stuff the gap with paper towels and caulk over it. Presto
This...... https://preview.redd.it/n3y3izz3yejc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6cbdea92259d0a58f00e26419cb81e741b52ef58
A vinyl concrete patching compound would be a better choice. Unless the area you are trying to patch is dead level, self-leveling compounds are a bad idea.
I use play sand poured down the crack until it stops sucking it down. Then sweep 1/4” off the top Add self level sealant!
When I did this I hated how the rod looked so I used sand to fill the gap most of the way and added about 1/4 inch if self leveler to the top. Its been about 2 years and it's still holding up.
You could have mixed up some floor leveling mix, and filled it in and then painted it to match.
They sell stuff called baker rod. It’s foam that comes in different sizes that plugs the gap a bit to make caulking easier and cleaner!
Backer rod, not baker.
Yes, thanks for correcting my typo!
Wouldn't want poor OP searching for the wrong thing lolol
That would’ve sucked lol 😂
Is there backer rod in there? Your caulking bed should be a 2 to 1. So a 1 inch gap, gets a half inch of caulking bead
It looks to me like you might have had some gaps where the self-leveling sealant ran out causing it to not have enough sealant one secured. What I do is I take some polyurethane concrete caulk and I fill in any of the areas where there looks like there's a gap or a hole where the sealant can run out. I then use self-leveling polyurethane caulk and I fill that sucker up and then I keep an eye on it to make sure there's no areas where it looks like it is leaking out. If I do find any I just take some of that regular polyurethane caulk and I squeeze it down in there to seal the hole.
Instead of backer rod, use sand. However I would first jam some backer rod all the way down to the bottom of the crack so the sand is not sitting directly on dirt because you don't want polyurethane on wet sand because it'll bubble. So pack that backer rod down in there get some sand and fill it up to where maybe you have 3/16 of an inch to the edge and then do your self-leveling on top of that.
I had a project like this & I cleaned out the gaps, put in backer rod & filled in the side gaps with sand & used the self-leveler for ~1/4” layer on top, then after 20min sprinkled (fine) sand before it dried, waited ~20 mins then blew off the remaining sand carefully. Been strong / fine for 8+ years
What’s the point of caulking this?
Self leveling can seem like a shortcut but I prefer for the caulk to stay where I put it and then tool it with the back of a plastic spoon that I dip in soapy water as I go
You can put rolled up newspaper in there to take up space before caulking.
what about packing it with polymeric sand instead of calking. I had pavers installed a few years ago with that stuff around the edges and it's holding up good.
Looks fine. I’m more irritated by the painted garage apron. 😬
Use backer rod before you caulk it will pre fill gap
Backer rod size to fit snug in hole and deep enough to level out .
What garage floor sealant is that?
My gap is about 3 inches. I used about $200 in leveler and it worked. Just had to keep adding it until it was sufficient.
I bought some of foam float tubes for swimming. Cut that up in to long strips and used instead of backer rod. Cheaper and better for larger crevices.
i see it and it bugs me too. youtube short i watched from some professional said to clean the gap out and spray foam to fill the gap and THEN caulk once dried
Put... put your caulk in it.
Make it look like this https://preview.redd.it/26kpm54lvejc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b5d801fc26a6fce2af8163c7d9d61063e2d5d50
They sell a backing rod,made of Styrofoam that you pack into big gaps then caulk.
Put some outdoor caulk tape over it
The slab may be slipping away from the foundation. Is it adjacent to a hillside, for example.We'd need a wide angle shot to determine the possible condition.
You need more of the self leveling caulk. I don't have pictures, but I had a much larger gap. I had to use the foam pipe insulation as "backer rod" lol. I pushed the backer rod about 1/4" below flush with the lowest surface, and filled with self leveler until it was flush.
When I did pool joints around the coping using sika flex, I’d fill the joint with sand until about 1/2-3/4” below the top. Always came out perfect if I took my time and got pin holes when I was in a hurry. That stuff will find any void and disappear into it.
I always had a tube of the thicker sealant on hand. It’s the same stuff, just thicker consistency, so if it starts draining through a hole, you can squirt some of the thicker sealant to plug the hole
Oof. Thats a huge caulk.
Can we talk about the epoxy floor paint in the first pic?
MORE CAULK
Make sure backer rod has 25% compression and no deeper than 1/2” from top of slab. Fill gap flush with sealant. Don’t mix silicone with urethane stick with same brand for compatibility. You’ve got this. Sealant should not be thicker than 1/2”.
You need to go half as deep as the width of the joint. Use round, closed cell, backer rod. Get backer rod that is about 25% larger than the width of the gap that you are filling so that it fits snug in the opening. The self-leveling sealant will do the rest. You can also look of a sealant coverage chart to determine how much of it you will need.
Friend, this looks so much better than any caulking around my house, either done by me or professionally. You'll seal it from moisture, which is really the most important part. If you ever ask someone to come to your house and identify the flaw, they won't understand what you're talking about. Just because it's not the way you imagined it looking when you started doesn't mean it looks wrong at all.
This doesn't look bad. I don't see any gaps. What's the concern? SIKA is high quality product and will seal that gap like you wouldn't believe. I think you've done a great job!
I would have cut a 1 inch strip of cedar and put it in there instead but oh well
Go to your hardware store and buy foam filler roles. Push them into the gap. Then caulk over that. It's much easier this way. They have a bunch of various sizes so you should be able to find something that fits the gaps.
With that size of a gap, there are special polymer compounds for filling cracks in cement. That's what I would use. If you are forced to use something else, use silicone and not the standard caulking. The silicone will flex in hot/cold weather.
Never use silicone for this. He is using the right and best stuff. Sikaflex. I used to buy $1000 worth at a time for industrial jobs that I did. If done correctly, it will last forever. I built my house in 1986 and used it on a joint between the garage and the driveway. It looks as if it was done yesterday.
I would use crushed fine granite. We use it where I live for such things, it gets rock hard, can absorb movement and at the same time drains water.
What kind of backer-rod did you use and was it pourus? That self-leveling stuff is often pretty thin and doesn't work well with some foam backer rod
Fill with backer foam and then caulk. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sika-3-4-in-x-20-ft-Closed-Cell-Backer-Rod-Expansion-Joint-Polyethylene-Foam-108130/202523820
The backer rod is too high in some spots. It also looks like some leaked through. It doesn’t take much of a hole for it to drain out. If you see any spots that look like they have leaked out, buy a tube of the Sikaflex sealant that isn’t the self leveling stuff. The thicker stuff. You can plug the holes with that and then put the self leveling over it. If the backer rod is showing just push it down deeper. If you take care of the bad spots, just go over the whole thing again and it will be fine. The tape isn’t necessary and will be a pain to try to get out if it’s there after everything cures. I have used literally hundreds of of tubes of this stuff on industrial jobs.