Repair frost damage on balcony

[Tjorloff]

Hello everyone!

I have bought a house that has a cast balcony on the second floor. During the winter, there have been some frost heaves that have worsened, and the beam has become exposed in one spot. Otherwise, no other damage is visible on the balcony.

Is this something one can fix themselves, and if so, how should one go about it?

 

[bygging_1919]

Depending on how extensive the repair needed is, you might be able to fix it yourself. I would start by tapping the entire top and underside to determine if the whole slab needs to be replaced or if it can be repaired. If only the outer edges are bad, you can remove the loose concrete and patch it spotwise. Or better yet, make a saw cut 15 mm around the entire outer edge, then chisel that off and cast a new edge. Possibly with some reinforcement + recessed triangular strip along the underside (drip nose). Then apply concrete impregnation on the entire top surface plus the edges. Alternatively, you can apply leveling compound to the surface after the edge has been recast. This will give you a durable and neat surface.

If you only do spot repairs, there will be a big contrast between the new and old concrete, and you will probably need to continue with repairs in 3-10 years.

 

[prototypen]

Are you sure it's frost-sprängning? I think it's rost-sprängning.
Protte

 

[bygging_1919]

Are you sure it's frost cracking? I think it's rust bursting.
Protte

Flaking from corrosion certainly helps to accelerate the deterioration, but frost cracking/weathering seems to be the main issue. This is particularly evident in the third picture. The "skin" that is peeling off, could it be an old cement-based slurry?

 

[Tjorloff]

Depending a bit on how extensive the repair needed is, you can probably fix it yourself. I would start by tapping the entire top and underside to then decide if the whole slab needs to be replaced or if it can be repaired. If it's just the outer edges that are bad, you can remove loose concrete and repair patch by patch. Or better, make a 15 mm saw cut around the entire outer edge and then chip it away and cast a new edge. Possibly with some reinforcement + embedded triangular strip along the underside (drip edge). Then apply concrete impregnation on the entire top plus the edges. Alternatively, apply leveling compound over the surface after the edge has been recast. That way you get a durable and nice surface.

If you only repair patch by patch, there will be a big contrast between new and old concrete, and you'll probably need to continue with repairs in 3-10 years.

Thank you so much! I had completely missed this reply. If you chisel first and then repair patch by patch - can you then apply leveling compound over it afterwards to achieve a more uniform and durable surface? I'm also thinking that if you were to cast a new edge, a scaffold up to the balcony would be required?

 

[Plupp 170696]

Blast the metal clean and apply a proper rust protection before repair.