The most important things to have for concrete repair (after the concrete repair product, of course) are your hand tools. Not only will the right tools help you make a long-lasting repair; having them close at hand will boost your confidence.
Hammer and Chisel
You’ll need a hammer and chisel to break up the rough shard of concrete around the crack you want to repair. They should be appropriate sizes for the crack you’re working on.
Garden Hose and Nozzle and/or Hog Bristle Paintbrush
After breaking up the concrete around your crack, you’ll need to wash it out in order to remove any remaining shards and dust. If the crack you’re working on isn’t very big, then you can use a hog bristle brush of 3-4 inches to remove this dusty debris.
Trowels
For most DIY concrete crack repair products, you’ll need two trowels: a margin trowel and a finishing trowel.
A margin trowel has the handle on the end of the blade. You’ll use this versatile trowel to mix the concrete repair product in the bucket as well as apply the concrete mix to the crack. This trowel might be the most important tool you use in your patio crack repair process.
The finishing trowel will be used toward the end of the crack repair to smooth (or “finish”) the surface of the concrete.
Trowel blades can vary in weight and flexibility. These differences are a matter of personal preference. Most trowels come in a standard or stainless steel blades; these trowel blades are firm, with little give. The other option you’ll find in trowels is blue steel. This blade is lightweight and flexible.
Hog Bristle Brush
It might seem strange to think that a paintbrush is a key tool in concrete repair, but you’ll find yourself turning to this handy brush more than once in the process of repairing your cracked patio.
Not only can you use this natural bristle brush to brush concrete dust out of the crack as you prepare it for repair, but you’ll also use it to wet down concrete if your product requires it, to brush a smooth surface into the concrete as you’re finishing up, and other purposes.
When you’ve gathered your concrete patio crack repair product and your tools together, then it’s just a matter of waiting for the perfect weather to get out there and start repairing your patio.