I worry that there is no bonding agent to adhere the new mud to old dry concrete. Just a little water needs to get between the new and old concrete, freeze in the winter, expand and then crack your work. Each thaw and freeze will eventually find you needing a new repair.

Thanks so much! Videos like these are saving me from crazy small job prices. Plus I get the satisfaction of learning a new skill.

It's all about the rebar. You give me inspiration to work better. My concrete gets big cracks that I have pounded in big nails and lay rebar but never wired them. I filled joints in the spring that have already cracked and its the fall. My concrete problems stem from living on a river that has flooded in the past over my concrete patio. We even had an earthquake. I have watched videos of how Mt. Rushmore is maintained where they use caulk and have thought about doing it for my cracks which are ever expanding.I want to thank you for an informative video series.

Very simple yet very effective method and very simply explained. My kind of guy. Thank you sir for taking the time to make and explain this video. 👍👍👍👍👍

Great videos... I don't have this particular issue but I am watching because your great personality and the tips and tricks you know. Books only say so much but the real time saver is in the experience. Thanks for sharing!

all the internet experts in the comments section judging a little harshly. give the guy a break, he did a pretty good job. dont like his technique? click on a different video - oh and since many of you are self professed pros - what are doing here in the first place? here to be negative, toot your own horns & get some desperately needed attention,i guess. i suggest you start your own youtube pages. he is not repairing the sistene chapel here...did you see the condition of the stairs? nothing fancy...and the repairs are largely cosmetic and do not include any contact surfaces. the fact that he didnt wet the opposing surface - and possibly may have used a little too much water in the mix, as others have said here - actually worked out..some water will be drawn out of the mix - and onto/into the old structure - and boom...he wet the opposing surface! lol - and the steel reinforcement was great.

Always formed and poured but hey man that is another good way . nice vid man i too have worked as bricklayer for over 40 years !

My house is no older than 15 years yet the stairs outside look a lot more awful than here. Previous owner tried to cover the stairs in tiles for a few times but they kept coming off. I wish I would have the confidence of this man to repair them myself.

Mr. Howard, I can certainly tell that I will see you in heaven some day. God bless you too, and thanks for the video.

Thanks for the repair video old timer, I wish you'd make more videos and share some more of your knowledge with us.

Mike Hadock would always say, “If you want it to stick, wet it”

great vid what type of concrete? I need to put down a threshold at garage door approx. 1 1/2 high 6" wide and 16' long any suggestions on what type of concrete I should use or should I just use cement all product.

Thanks for the video much needed info steps to repair after this snow

Really impressive demonstrated video showing how to decorate and proper utilize a small room. Nice work.

Great video and awesome information.

It's been 7 yrs now. . Can u do an update video on how the step looks??????

ALWAYS WET THE SURFACE THAT THE CONCRETE IS ADHERING TO !! CMON MAN!!!

Why didn’t you wet the existing surface first?

Is regular concrete mix the best thing to use for a repair job like this?

Nice job,When I do this kind of work I mix a slurry and brush it on the surfaces first.

One thing to add for those not used to dealing with concrete: it is somewhat caustic and can cause chemical burns. Wear gloves and keep your hands clean when working with it.

Why bother with the rebar if you don't have a bonding agent? You have to use epoxy concrete repair with a bonding agent or as others have said the thing will fall apart with water and/or frost.

Great video! Very cool! Thank you!

what kind/type of concrete is best for this type of repair?

As you said you were well experience with a concrete work how come you did not wet the surface

I really appreciate this video. I hope to repair my steps in my 1950s house and I can not afford a concrete person. this helps very much

My scenario, sidewalk curb is actually higher than slightly sunken/cracked slob/sidewalk and I like to make it even again. Can I lay rapid set cement over then paint it with two coats of portland cement and then spray it with concrete sealer. Should I use rapid set cement alone or add some sand to prevent cracking.

can you make some videos on how to do plumbing or electrical to ?

Great video, when I did the work my cement came with a brownish color instead of gray, what did I do wrong?

Not bad , the rebar is crucial, i would have added weldcrete or any concrete glue prior though, i like to make my mud a little more dry and add an accelerant, pop off forms and skim it with cement and sand to make it look smooth

If the hole is too small to do that just roll the screen into a ball and shove it into the hole, then use the needle technique again to hold it. Any one of these processes will probably be a 2 step process allowing the first step to dry so the screen will remain in place, and then doing a finish job over top.

For the comments about rebar and freeze-thaw etc. use some rebar expoxy coating to keep it from rusting when the inevitable hairline crack gets in there. Once that oxidation gets going, the chemical reaction between the iron bar and the portland cement will just keep going. Plain-ol' concrete will keep soaking up moisture for years untill it is finally cured. for stuff this size, I'll make a little latice with 3/8" rebar tied together and vibrate it a bit to get any voids to fill in. If doing an 8" high area, use 2 4" pieces for the form. put in the lower half and get that packed and 'vibrated' a bit and then pack in the top half and put on the upper piece of the form.

great job...suggest pva adhesive before throwing concrete in..bonds better.

FYI,, Wet cement will not adhere to dry dirty cement for very long. I hope you're good friends with the homeowner..

Should wet concrete 1st or use bonding agent before placing concrete. Great job with the lag screws and rebar!

nice video... one thing: isn't it better to wet the old concrete with water like he did with the wood (stairs and ground) before pouring the new concrete?

Thanks for the insight Bro I'll be fixing my basement stairs this weekend God willing

I will try your mixing method next time.. much better than mine

Can i ask why sand wasn't mixed in with the concrete mix? Nice vid btw.....I definitely need it!

good tips. I'd add that mixing the concrete is faster with a cordless drill and a paint mixer attachment (looks like a turbine fan-like piece on a long 18" metal rod). Its not a great solution for large batches, but for a small project like this (or for doing fence posts) its perfect. :)

good job partner

Nice job, and info info thanks, I am going to try and repair a step , with a hole in it , on the face, problem is theres nothing for the concrete to bond to, the cement i think will just fall threw the opening, and the thickness of the hole , is only about 1/2 in think,,,,

If you're the old fart, your son must be the new fart, and his son, the newer fart

I haven't used any hoes in a long time what kind of wire did you use on those lag bolts Doctor?

very good thanks!

I will take a guess that you are from the PITTSBURGH area?

You must make it wet surface before apply of the concrete cement!

does the home owners ins cover any of that

Is that rebar too close to the surface or no?

I would say shoot some fluted masonry nails into the existing concrete. Because we all know new concrete will not bond to old concrete. Wetting the old concrete only makes the seem easier to close up. even the bonding agents suck. so drill some short rebar, or drive cut nails in it to keep the bond.

thanks for your help , I ll try this and let you know how things turn out , Rick

Instead of mixing the concrete with water use Pepsi the acid in Pepsi that usually eats your stomach lining will strengthen the mix to a like steel construction and make sure you sprinkle crushed Doritos and Reese's pieces on top to give a unique look.

5:47 "Come on, stay in there you"...

Great job man. Im a concrete builder too. This is also a easy and good way to do this repair for the self fixer. ☺️👍

Didn't agree with the procedure completely ....but what a great guy !

wow i finally found an good imformative video without annoying music !

It appears that too much water was added to the concrete at 4:08 and then at 4:17 it shows a much thicker, dryer batch in the wheelbarrow.

Thanks @How2BeReal, 208,273 views! You may double that if you can correct the title typo, "Conrete." Thanks again. I'm sending this to a friend who has steps to repair.

First Before u apply new concrete or anything else after u clean this place you have to put spray water on place where is coming new concrete.

I mean no disrespect, but you remind me of Burt Ives aka Sam the Snowman from the 1964 film, Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer film. Your voice print matches his also. Thanks for sharing your experience.

it wouldnt fall back out of there if you used a peanut butter coat and wetted the concrete first..

Il a l'air tellement convaincu mais il est impératif de se trouver un autre passe temps !

What about this kind older. Where is he....

Beton trzeba nawilżyć wodą aby złapał z cementem

Love you

A good techniek to do the job for those rough steps. But, I would have taken the form off in 2-3 hours to do a finish touch up. That would be my Tail Light warranty

Hello If you can get behind it try putting some coarse sreen behind and pushing the concrete through it. If you can't get behind it but the hole is large you can cut a piece of sreen larger than the hole, then loosely roll it and push it through the hole, then use a knitting needle with the little hook on the end to pull the screen towards you while pushing some concrete through it.

@barrylee55 Thanks for your comments. I will try the pva adhesive on the next one. It's always great to learn new tricks!

That's too much water you're mixing bro. That's why you seem to struggle patching

I love your personality; I do; I really do. But the concrete kept falling out of the top because there was no bond. We're supposed to wet the concrete, not saturate it but wet it all so that the new concrete sticks to the old concrete. You can use a bonding agent if you want to do over-kill but yeah, just moisten the concrete before adding the new concrete. You do great videos but I am guessing that you haven't worked a whole lot with concrete or it's just been so long since you did that you just forgot that step. Love to you and your video. Big Hugs for doing such a hard job as an old fart. I'm an old sparkle, female version of an old fart. LOL I'm working on my front steps right now but it keeps raining. I just need a couple of not raining days to finish this job. I'm having to add a bottom step, a fourth step since these had apparently sunk into the ground a bit, making me have to add 4 inches to each step. So, I'm using 12 X 8 X 4 inch blocks to help to make up the difference since I can't afford to pay someone to build a new form nor can I mix up that much concrete to fill the forms up after first would have had to knock the old steps down. If I didn't used to live in Philadelphia then I never would have known how to do this. City construction just about, always includes doing some concrete work outside and on porches and steps. Thanks for your video. I hope that I didn't hurt your feelings; I love love love your videos and I have learned a whole lot from you; Like when cutting a board to hold it at an angle so that when pushing the saw doesn't push my board away. That always happens to me and was super awkward for me. Thanks a million times for that.

It doesn't look like you wet the concrete first it makes stick better when it is wet.

Thank you. I wish you could come do my steps.

Should have at least used concrete binder or at the very least water,to that old existent concrete....

Burl Ives!

That's a terrible method of repairing or patching concrete,the surfaces were not bonded ,sealed or dampened to allow sufficient bond of new and old concrete. This will ultimately fail when water ingresses into the cracks and frost will take care of the rest.

I too have been in the field of General Contracting for 20 years, why would you install lags when you could drive bent 3/8"rebar into the anchor holes (he's actually holding 3/8" rebar not 1/2") also just call a ready-mixed company, The consistency is the single most important factor of a quality finish when talking any masonry finish. mixing it yourself is a lot of work & very very expensive compared to calling a concrete company. Also if you are in region 4 (upper midwest USA) the extremes of seasonal weather (Summer HEAT & Blizzards of winter) these extreme weather conditions will diminish the longevity of any exterior products.

OMG I've seen it all now

I need to watch and learn from this video.

Wet the area next time... the moisture will help the new concrete stick to the old concrete better

I agree with Jose Arroyo.

1 big mistake I see here and that is he didn't wet the existing concrete before adding the new concrete.

bad mix and bad setup will be broken in less then 2 years

Looks Good but probably should of wet it first

You had to wet it first

you didnt wet it down first.quickcrete might make things better.use oil on forms.

Oh boy! Not good. You need to wet the old concrete to create a better bond or use some bonding agent.

I'll put the finish coat on for better adhesion when the initial application of the mixed cement is about 80 % cured (hardened). Wetting ever so slightly with a paint brush just prior also helps. This minimizes "short term" chipping away and increases the life expectancy of the finish coat onto the original application.

YER PACKING CEMENT INTO CLAY . 3 MONTHS TOPS... REPETE

where the hell do you find these armatures, what a disgrace to a real tradesman

Mad lad

Rapid set cement all

Thank you for the tips I wish my god damned father could have taught me this shit .. I am very thankful that you made this video. Your a good man... Your Method will work for a rental we have and will save us a pretty penny for sure Thanks again .. And all you little sissy Girls dont forget gloves so you dont get your nails dirty lol

Well I see rebar so I already know this is gonna fail....

No good.. should had wet the area first

And,,, FAIL....

Ho and

If you’re making a video to show how something is to be done then do it right otherwise just don’t bother!

Absolute rubbish,you should have wet /bonded before concreting

if you lost some weight chubby your steps wouldn't keep cracking

why no bonding agent or wetting the concrete?