How to Repair Leaking Concrete Deck

Quick Column Summary:

• Cracked concrete roof deck is leaking
• Are silicone and hydrolic cement needed
• Do not use silicone, use Epoxy
• Then a concrete overlay

Libbie, a handy woman hailing from Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada - our northern ally - emailed me with a great message. Read it for yourself:

"Tim,

Love your videos: I am a pensioner (gal) with limited physical ability ~ BUT ~ consider myself able to do a lot of handy work, the house (1967) has a concrete deck on the second floor (! yes) and I have water ingress issues into the garage area below (through the joists I think) via  one minor crack on the surface and  crumbling flashing at the edge of the deck. This seems to occur when the snow melts on the deck (yes, I have gone out in the middle of the night to brush the *#*# white stuff off!)

 I need to know if I have to inject silicone into the cracks (some approx. 12" deep) and then use a hydrolic cement patch product. I do not have the $ to remove the cement and replace with a wooden deck: I live in a rainforest area. Help me OBeWan!  I LOVE your website and concise way of teaching. Thank you so much."

Libbe, the LAST thing I would inject in that crack is silicone.

I've written extensively in the past about EPOXY injection materials for concrete cracks.

Type: CONCRETE EPOXY CRACK INJECTION into my search engine.

To get these magic products to work, you need to make sure the crack is wide enough to accept the material. Hairline cracks don't play well with the epoxy injection materials. The epoxy manufacturers will tell you the MINIMUM crack width.

There are MANY epoxies to choose from.

Now, here's another option, and this one may push your personal handy envelope.

After you've repaired the crack, what about putting an asphaltic membrane on the concrete and then pouring a 1-inch concrete overlay on the deck to ENSURE you now have great positive drainage away from the house?

Type: concrete overlay into my search engine and read all my past work on this topic.

Think about it.....