Cracks after appearing

bungaro79

Hi
Hoping to get some advice on cracks which have appeared in the patio out the back. Not sure if they are potentially something bad we need to get checked out and if so who we would call to look at them for us?
Thanks

onrail

Looks pretty minor and commonplace to me.

brisan

Looks like foundation is not good enough
Is it a newish build

10-10-20

A few controls would not have gone amiss.
https://www.cement.org/learn/concrete-technology/concrete-construction/contraction-control-joints-in-concrete-flatwork
At least the cracks would have routed themselves out of sight.

madmac187

brisan wrote: »

Looks like foundation is not good enough
Is it a newish build

I agree either crap found or poor compaction.

tedimc

10-10-20 wrote: »

A few controls would not have gone amiss.
https://www.cement.org/learn/concrete-technology/concrete-construction/contraction-control-joints-in-concrete-flatwork
At least the cracks would have routed themselves out of sight.

Have these cracks just appeared? By the state of the dye on the concrete I would expect this patio to be in10 years plus. It’s common for cracks to appear coming off the corner of the house like that if not laid properly. But I would have thought it would have happened within a couple of years of being laid.

Apart from cut out the affected section and relay trying to match up the pattern, I’m not sure there is much more you can do. However - I would bite the bullet and relay the whole thing if it bothers you. It may nearly be as cheap depending on total area.

I do like patterned concrete, but it does not age well. I’ve never seen it done properly where the dye is mixed through the concrete as opposed to only sprinkled on top. And you are supposed to reseal regularly- which again I’ve never seen anyone do....

bungaro79

Thanks for the replies so far. We're in the house 3 years now and these cracks are all around the added on sunroom extension at the back which is there at least 10 years now. Its only in the last few weeks we've noticed them to be honest so I'm not sure if they have been there in some shape or form the whole time! But they do seem to have become more noticeable in the last month or so whatever the reason

muddle84

They don't look new judging on the pictures. Not clean enough.

They look like contraction cracks to me. Judging on the photos there doesn't look to have been any joints put in?

bungaro79

Hi Muddle
only saw your reply now. Yeah the top layer of the patio is drawn on if that's what you mean??

muddle84

bungaro79 wrote: »

Hi Muddle
only saw your reply now. Yeah the top layer of the patio is drawn on if that's what you mean??

I do indeed! Would i be right in saying the patio is sand and cement with the stencils applied on top of a concrete footpath or slabs? If that is the case then it looks like the sand and cement has cracked ontop of the joints of the footpath underneath?

Nothing that can be done about that except put joints in the sand and cement too. I used Silkaflex for sealing joints before, does a good job!

https://irl.sika.com/en/construction/joint-sealing/expansion-joint-sealants.html

bungaro79

That makes sense! Not sure what's underneath to be honest as it has been there for years from talking to neighbours. I'll look into that sealant so thanks for the heads up