Concrete Crack Repair in Naperville, IL

Naperville Epoxy Flooring repairs cracks in concrete floors in garages, basements and businesses across Naperville. We look at each crack with you, tell you how we plan to fill it, and send you a written quote before any work starts.

How we repair a crack

We start by opening the crack up a little with a hand grinder, so the filler has clean, solid concrete to grip. We vacuum out the dust and then fill the crack. Once the filler is hard, we grind it flat so it sits level with the rest of the floor.

We also fill cracks before we lay a new coat, such as our garage floor epoxy, a basement epoxy floor or a flake epoxy floor.

Keeping the dust down

OSHA's silica rule for building work says a hand grinder used indoors needs a shroud and a dust collection system. The shroud on the hand grinders we use is a cover around the spinning wheel, and the vacuum hose connects to it.

OSHA says concrete contains crystalline silica. It says grinding concrete creates very small particles of it, at least 100 times smaller than ordinary sand you might find on beaches and playgrounds. OSHA says workers who breathe those particles in are at higher risk of serious diseases, including lung cancer and silicosis, an incurable lung disease. So our vacuum stays on the whole time we open up a crack.

The filler we use

NIOSH, which is part of the CDC, says epoxies and resins are chemicals that can combine to form a hard, strong surface when they cure, or dry. NIOSH says that before they cure, some epoxy parts can be harmful, and that as epoxies cure they generally turn into much less toxic materials. We mix the filler on site and ask you to keep kids and pets out of the room until it has set.

Cracks and radon

The EPA says radon is a radioactive gas that comes from uranium found in nearly all soils. It says radon moves up through the ground and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation, and that your home can trap it inside, where it builds up.

The EPA lists sealing the cracks in a concrete floor as one of the basic ways builders keep radon out of new homes. But it also says it does not recommend sealing alone to limit radon, because sealing alone has not been shown to lower radon levels by much or every time. So we fill the cracks in your floor, but we never sell that as a radon fix.

Cracks outside

OSHA's silica rule for building work says a hand grinder can use a steady feed of water on the spot being ground, but only for work done outdoors, or else a cover around the wheel with a dust collection system. We grind some outdoor cracks wet, and the water and concrete dust mix into a gray mud we call slurry.

The EPA says storm drains drain directly to lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands. So we pick up the slurry. We never hose it into the street or a drain.

Cracks in business floors

OSHA says falls on the same level, on a working surface, are among the leading causes of serious work-related injuries and deaths. Its rule for floors at work says a hazard on a floor has to be fixed before an employee uses that floor again, and if it can't be fixed right away, it has to be guarded so no one uses it. We can fill a crack in one area while the rest of your floor stays open.

What to get in writing

Ask for these in writing, whoever you hire:

• Which cracks will be filled, and how many.
• What the cracks will be filled with.
• Whether the filled cracks will be ground flat with the floor.
• How the dust will be kept down and cleaned up.
• Whether a new coat goes over the floor afterward, and if so, which one.
• When you can use the room again.

Questions about concrete crack repair in Naperville

Get a quote for concrete crack repair

Call us, or send the quote form with your ZIP code and a note about your floor. We'll look at the cracks, go through the options with you, and give you a written quote. To see the other floors we coat, go to the Naperville Epoxy Flooring home page.