Any tips for repairing hole in concrete stable floor please?

[mytwofriends]

I wonder if anyone has had this problem and could give me some advice? One of my horses is stabled in a lovely old stable with a somewhat uneven concrete floor. I foolishly put my rubber mats down without thinking of the consequences, and was somewhat surprised when, a few days later, there was a squelching sound coming from beneath one of the mats. Of course, the teeny little gaps in the joins were more than sufficient to let the wet seep through ...... so the offending mat is up, but obviously the hole is still there. It's not deep, but it's deep enough to collect a nice puddle, and I'm wondering what the best filler would be? Silicone??? I've been told concrete itself doesn't hold that well. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Bosworth]

concrete will hold perfectly well if you put the rubber matts back on top. I would pull out and fill with a small amount of self levelling concrete ( available in a premixed bag from builders merchants) allow to dry then replace matts. Concrete won't normally work as small patches but you are not going tobe putting lots of direct pressure in that area. If you can actually dig out some more concrete and make the hole deeper it will be better but thats not the end of the world as long as it is covered.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Depending on the depth/size of the hole there are a couple of ways of sorting it out. If it's shallow then self leveling concrete would probably do the job. It's available from any builders merchants & id used for screeding over floors to level them up.

If the hole is fairly deep, a few inches or so then I would fill it in with cement, possibly the quick drying type that is used to seat toilet pans to solid floors. Before you do this though paint some watered down UPVA adhesive around the hole as it will ensure the cement sticks better to the concrete hole. If you don't do this the cement may well not bond to the old concrete. I mention quick drying because it will set within 30mins & you'll be able to put your mats back & have your horse back in.

Good Luck

 

[BigRed]

The important thing, is to make sure this hole is really clean, and there is no bedding etc in there. Drag the mats out, flush the hole with water and sweep it out. It does not have to be bone dry, in fact the cement will bond better if it is damp. To make a really good bond, you should brush the existing cement surface with Unibond, which is a builders glue. Trouble is, I don't think you can buy it in small quantities, so you may not want to go to the expense.

 

[Dubsie]

We used post-fix , the quick drying cement you put fence posts in with. You can but it in small bags too.

 

[mytwofriends]

Thank you, those are all very useful and valid replies! Wish me luck this weekend. I quite enjoy a project

 

[Kub]

I actually had exactly the same problem as this a couple of weeks ago! Not very even concrete flooring in my boy's stable and a couple of holes have started to develop. OH suggested filling them in with concrete, so bought a bag from Focus for £4 and we did it that afternoon.

There was one big one under the mats that we filled and two smaller ones at the front. Quick drying stuff, all done in 10 minutes and looked fab teh next day. It's nice and solid, can't pick bits off and Harry has been on it a few times since and it's standing up well.

Would recommend it and will be doing it again if any more develop lol