compound into crack

I have some of that quick-setting "Dap brand Bondex Quick Plug Hydraulic Cement" which I'd like to be able to apply within a long straight 1/2" deep or so crack/crevice in a sidewalk. It's quite a long distance, maybe 30 feet total. I have plenty of the powder/mix and have already tried mixing it fairly thin and runny and then pouring it from a little plastic pouring pitcher into the crack but that has a tendency to be a little sloppy and doesn't go neatly/nicely just into the crack where I want it but will overfill here and there where I need to smooth it with a putty knife and that makes for a sloppy application. I was thinking only if I had something like a big giant syringe in which I could put the runny mix and then apply it into the crack, something like the method of applying caulk using a caulk gun. But there are no such big syringes, you know at least a pint or so in size, that I could use for this. Unless somebody has some other idea to suggest that could work and allow me to get the compound applied more directly/neatly into the crack. Any comments appreciated.

 

A funnel with maybe a hose?

 

I thought about that too. The main problem is that the stuff starts to set up in 3-5 minutes after mixing/adding water. I guess I'd have to have somebody ready holding the funnel and pouring the runny compound into it while I try to hold the end of the hose nice and steady and guide the flow right where I want it. But would have to move quickly of course and not get too far ahead of ourselves. Plus, the residual in the hose/tube would have to be rinsed out right away otherwise the compound would be hardening within that....

 

Zip lock bags - you pour it into the bag and then snip a corner with scissors. You then meter it out like a piping bag used for icing on cake or mortar between stone. Gallon sized bags will allow you to meter more mixture.

 

What about a grease gun? We used one of the small ones and the needle tip for injecting adhesive behind a wall covering back in the Navy.

Are there a lot of fines in your mix that would screw up the cylinder/pump of a full size gun?

What about a pastry/piping bag type thing? Relatively cheap and they could be cleaned btwn uses.

 

See...Z was quicker than me, but great minds think alike.

 

I like the ziplock bag idea of czizzi's. Sound like it could work for me! Don't know why it wouldn't. I'll post back with results of that method. Thanks for replies.

 

Now if we could only find 2 great minds

I like the idea of making you're own grout bag - that's a pretty neat idea

 

I like the idea of calling it a grout bag. We could even call it a hydraulic cement bag, maybe?

 

Okay the ziplock bag works okay but seems like I would have a lot better control if I had something like an actual grout bag, or maybe even a grout bag. I've never used a grout bag; I'd need quite a good bunch of them to do this job because of the fast set of this compound and I'd need to be starting with new fresh bags with new fresh mixture quite often. Do they cost much?

Edit: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ords=grout+bag yeah looks like they're more spendy than I'd want to be spending. I wonder if there's cheap disposable ones available. How about those bags that cake decorators use i wonder if those are disposable or cheaper and would work

 

What? Are my posts invisible over here or what? Dis ain't right!



Yeah, one of 'em could be your UPS driver....

 

Ah, sorry there Gunguy guess I somehow missed that the first time. Yeah good idea and thanks for mentioning it too (twice) about the cake decorator bag. I'll see about trying to get my hands on those.

Edit: I mean pasty/piping bag. Piping??

 

Piping is when they make decorative things like flowers or lace around the top out of icing. The term bakers use is "piping". Sorta like when true concrete guys say "place" concrete and most of us just say "pour".

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I guess these as shown in the link above would be what might want? How about the tip, would I need a tip? Seems like they sell these only in rolls of 100. I wouldn't need that many; I just need a handful maybe 10 or so. I wouldn't know where to go locally and try to buy about 10. Also, should I be able to pour my runny compound mix into this pastry/piping bag (or even a regular grout bag), like I just was able to pour it into the ziplock bag? I need to be able to get the compound into the bag quickly...

 

Well, those are cheap plastic, not a heavy canvas or other cloth. To give you an idea, you know how plastic trash bags are measured in "mils"? Those gloves are about 2.95 mils thick...in other words, not very. Husky contractor cleanup bags are 3 mils.

Personally, I'd use gallon Ziplock EZ Open tab freezer bags. Cheap and easy and you have a use for them later. Cut the corner small and squeeze away. You don't have any help that could keep you moving down the crack?

BTW...You said it was straight. It's not a designed in crack line is it? And you're in AK? It's only going to open up again as the seasons change if you use a hard inflexible material.

 

No it's not a designed crack. The crack, or crevice actually, is along the edge of a sidewalk where the sidewalk meets a planting bed the ground of which is about at the level of the top of the sidewalk. The edge of the sidewalk has a beveled form to it, typical you see along typical sidewalks. Along the edge of the sidewalk, between it and the ground, are some 1 x 4 cedar boards installed so that the top 1 inch or so of these boards is higher than the top of the sidewalk so that when I spray the sidewalk with the hose, or pressure wash it occasionally, the water from the spraying doesn't go all into the dirt in the bed and the dirt in the bed flow out onto the sidewalk and make more of a mess. So the top 1 inch of the boards acts as a barrier to keep the spray water from the dirt in the bed. I am wanting to fill that crevice alongside where the board meets the edge of the sidewalk so that the debris (pine needles, leaf debris and such) doesn't fill that crevice because it doesn't look as neat and clean as I'd like it. I suppose if I didn't use the compound I've been talking about, which is of course hard and inflexible, I could instead use some type of flexible caulking but then not sure that's going to maintain a very permanent bond between the wooden boards and the concrete sidewalk for the closure of the crevice either with the elements and seasons changing etc.

If I do decide to continue to use the quick plug compound as I've mentioned (and have tried already a short distance) to fill the remaining length of the crevice, guess I'll ditch the idea of using a pastry/piping or grout bag and just use the ziplock bags EZ open freezer type like you said. Just need to bend down on my knees and go along carefully and steady with it, not too difficult. The thicker freezer type ziplock should be better than the regular thinner mil type I used on the first trial; that type was too floppy/flimsy...

 

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That qualifies for the first chuckle of the day award

 

Worked like a charm. thanks

 

Hey, Z suggested it first. I was just reiterating with a few specifics. I'll give him a gold star on his next report card, no worries.

 

I concur. Gold star goes to Z.