Nosotros recently faced a challenge; a few pavers had broken off the edge of an elevated pathway and fallen. They were mostly intact but this wasn't a clean interruption which meant big gaps and a highly irregular fit when we put them back in. This video shows how nosotros went well-nigh fixing these broken pavers with our Concrete Repair Stick.

The video is only about 3 minutes long and probably the virtually informative manner to come across the process and results. Nosotros likewise expand on it below.

Why we chose Physical Repair Stick

This particular job presented a few different challenges for whatever production we used.

  1. It needed to bond well to the pavers. Anything less than a loftier forcefulness bond meant that it was likely we'd just be repeating this process again in the future.
  2. Information technology needed to be able to cover large gaps. Equally you see in the above demonstration video, some of the gaps we were working with were upwardly effectually 15mm across.
  3. It needed to be easy to apply to irregular petty crevices and gaps. The intermission-lines on the pavers were anything simply clean. Some concrete was still stuck to them in parts. This meant we needed something we could, I believe the technical term is "shove", into those spots as required.
  4. It had to be ok to use outdoors.
  5. It had to look ok. Something that matched the surrounding concrete would exist ideal. White would be ok as we figured it would become dirty over time and be alright.

Information technology was when we looked at all these considerations that Concrete Repair Stick was chosen. Information technology ticked all the boxes and, all-time of all, was also uncomplicated to use at a expert price. Next pace, getting things set up.

Preparing the PuttyCutting off and preparing concrete repair stick putty

Getting things ready was simple but we're mentioning it because of how important it is to the outcome. Obviously, giving the expanse a brush to remove excess debris is important and this was our first footstep. After that, cleaning the surfaces to exist bonded.

In our experience, this is where an awful lot of bug can arise. Skipping the cleaning can exist fatal to the chances of any glue, adhesive or putty properly adhering. To remedy this, we gave the pavers a good spray with Weicon Cleaner S. This is a high powered cleaner and degreaser and information technology's very fast-acting. Similar we said, a uncomplicated step only one that all also ofttimes gets forgotten.

Finally, we but made sure to put on some rubber gloves and then got to work.

Applying the Repair PuttyUsing concrete repair stick putty to bond bricks and pavers back together

One of the benefits of using Concrete Repair Stick was how easy it is to work with. One of the downsides is that makes this section a footling boring. No keen challenges were overcome. No dragons slain or pavers saved from sure doom. The feel was far more mundane.

All we had to do was remove the putty's plastic cover, cut off bits (we used the blunt border of a Stanley knife), knead it until it had a single, consequent color, and stick it in. That was it. We repeated the process many times as our feel has taught u.s.a. it'south easier to work with smaller, more manageable bits of putty but there wasn't much else to it.
A couple of quick notes though.

  1. If you do determine to cut off a larger portion (or even mix the whole tube at once) be aware of pot life. Pot life is a measure out of how long you have, later the putty is mixed, to work with information technology before curing beings. For Concrete Repair Stick, pot life is 6 minutes just this can be faster or longer depending on temperature and surroundings.

    Y'all want to have the putty in place before pot life is up.

  2. Wetting your gloves a little can be a great help. Nosotros're not advocating drenching them only just dampening your gloves a tiny bit can assistance reduce friction with the putty equally you're mixing it. Information technology tin can also brand the epoxy a picayune easier to smoothly utilize.

    We can't say whether this is true with all two-part epoxy putties but a tiny amount of h2o has never hurt our ability to work with any of the Weicon Repair Sticks. Epoxy putties naturally give off heat while curing anyway as a past-production of the exothermic reaction which takes places so chances are the water won't concluding long just by then it volition have done its task.

Testing the ResultsTesting the strength of fixed brick pavers that have been repaired with concrete repair stick

Later applying the repair putty, we left it for a few hours. This was done in December in Brisbane so it was probably about xxx°C with 80% humidity. When nosotros came dorsum to check, the results were great. High bail force had been achieved (when nosotros tried to pull the pavers the whole row started to move alee of the ones nosotros'd just repaired) and the colour was good.

Overall, the results were exactly what nosotros'd hopes for. Gaps covered, an adhesive/filler that fit in with the mortar on the other pavers and, almost importantly, pavers that were now very secure and unlikely to come loose again any fourth dimension soon.

What nosotros'd do differently next time

Despite the positive consequence, there are a few things we'd do slightly differently next time we accept a similar chore to exercise. In the promise of saving you all some time, we thought nosotros'd go right ahead and include them:

Buy amend gloves.
Nosotros used home brand ones we had lying around and managed to rip one within 10 minutes. It evidently didn't terminate the job, but it was incredibly annoying.

Exist faster to sprinkle h2o on our gloves.
We probably waited a little too long to dampen our gloves and fabricated the outset batch of putty a little harder to apply then it had to be.

Have more putty on hand.
For those of you who watched the video, you lot'd know we repaired these pavers in two separate sessions. The reason for this was maddeningly just, we ran out of putty. Yeah, the guys who sell the stuff didn't accurately anticipate how much they'd need for the chore. We were pretty proud of the states.

Obviously, we did what we could with what we had, picked some more than up from our warehouse and finished the last paver next fourth dimension. Would have been better if we'd grabbed 1 of the 115gm tubes rather than a single 57gm though equally at to the lowest degree nosotros could have finished and just kept any left overs.

Is Concrete Repair Stick right for you?The full range of Epoxy Repair Sticks and Putties from Weicon - Swift Supplies Online Australia

If you're looking for a flexible, elementary and permanent repair putty for stone, bricks, pavers, concrete, granite, sandstone or marble – quite possibly, yes. It bonds very well to these surfaces (and many, many more), cures rapidly and has a concluding advent that matches that of concrete.

Concrete Repair Stick is merely one of the styles in our range though. Nosotros also offer ones specially made for wood repair, plastics, stainless steel, copper, aluminium and even one (aqua) that volition work underwater. Believe information technology or not, that's not all of them. The table below very briefly summarises the available styles:

Repair Stick Adhesion Compatibility with Diverse Material Types
Repair Stick Type Concrete Aluminium Aqua Copper Plastic Stainless Steel Steel Titanium Wood
Metal (due east.g. stainless steel, brass, bandage atomic number 26, aluminium) + ++ ++ ++ + ++ ++ ++ +
Hard Plastics* (e.g. epoxy laminates, rigid PVC) + + ++ + ++ + + + +
Wood (due east.g. oak, beech, spruce, balsa) + + + + + + + + ++
Derived Timber Products (due east.g. plywood, MDF) + + + + + + + + ++
Fibre Reinforced Materials (e.g. GFRP, CFRP, Fibreglass) + + + + ++ + + + +
Glass, Ceramics + + ++ + + + + + +
Rock (east.g. granite, brick, concrete, marble) ++ + ++ + + + + + +
Safe Elastomers - - - - - - - - -

++ = Highly Compatible
+   = Compatible
-    = Not Uniform

*Functioning will vary depending on the verbal type of plastic existence bonded. Mostly, low surface free energy plastics will be much harder to bond to then loftier surface energy (such as rigid PVC).

Of class, each of these is bachelor now for fast commitment. If you would like assist in selecting the best epoxy repair stick for your application, or have any other repair or maintenance piece of work you demand help choosing a solution for, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're happy to assistance.