Concrete Crack & Floor Repair in Las Cruces, NM

Concrete crack and floor repair is part of almost every coating job we do in Las Cruces. The coating only lasts as long as the concrete under it, and cracks, chips and rough spots will show through or let the coating lift if they are not fixed first. We also take on repair-only jobs for homeowners who want a damaged garage or patio slab cleaned up.

Why slabs crack here

All concrete shrinks as it cures, which is why slabs have control joints. In the Mesilla Valley, the ground adds to that. The USDA's Cruces soil series, typical of Doña Ana County basin floors, formed in sandy sediment laid down by water and wind, with a hard caliche layer often 8 to 20 inches below the surface. The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources describes collapsible soils, which compact and drop when they get wet, and names Las Cruces among places where housing developments have been affected. A broken irrigation line, a downspout that empties next to the slab or a heavy monsoon storm can be enough to trigger settlement.

Types of damage we repair

• Hairline shrinkage cracks: filled and ground flush so they disappear under the coating.
• Wider cracks: routed open and filled with a rigid or semi-rigid repair material.
• Spalls and pits: chipped or flaking areas rebuilt with a patching compound.
• Chipped control joints: rebuilt edges, and joints filled if you want a smooth look.
• Rough or worn surfaces: ground smooth or resurfaced before coating.

Cracks that need a different fix

Some cracks are signs of a bigger problem. A crack that is wider at one end, a slab section that has dropped, or cracks that line up with cracks in the walls can point to ongoing settlement. Filling and coating over those will not stop the movement. HomeAdvisor puts foundation repair, when cracks point to structural problems, at about $2,150 to $7,730 or more. That is outside our work, and we will tell you if we think you need a structural engineer or foundation contractor before you spend money on a floor.

How we check a crack

We look at its width, whether the two sides are level, whether it lines up with wall cracks, and where water reaches the slab. Sometimes the answer is to fix drainage first and come back to coat later. If you have a crack you are unsure about, a photo with a coin next to it for scale helps us give a first opinion over the phone.

Repair and coating together

Doing repairs and coating in one visit saves time, because the slab is ground once and the repairs are blended into the same surface. Repairs on an uncoated floor will still show as patches, so most people pair them with a coating. Flake systems hide repair lines especially well.