Patchworks

Recently, I noticed that the ceiling in my kitchen was coming apart. A check with the housing authorities revealed that it is a common occurrence in old homes. Mine is indeed an old home - almost 38 years. Spalling concrete, as it is called, is caused by carbonation, a natural deterioration process. The process caused the steel bars embedded in the ceiling slab to corrode, which in turn caused the concrete cover to crack and bulge, and to, later, come apart.

The spalling was in two locations.

As I am not a handyman, and I know nothing about such repair methods, I had to call in professional help.

These guys were contractors with the housing authorities. Their job is to go around repairing concrete spalling, among other things in the estate. I guess mine was a simple job - if you know what to do, and how to do it, plus you have all the tools and materials.

The job took about an hour. Hacking and removing the loose bits, then filling the holes with white cement, waited for them to dry and then adding the finishing touches.

Now all is good as new.

And lets hope it will be a while before there is any more spalling. At some point, I will have to give the ceiling a new coat of paint, but that’s job for another day. The thought of it now makes me tired.