Obviously, Mamas Don't Let Their Sons Grow Up to Be Handymen!

Yesterday, under duress (namely that I need to get it done before the
house painter repaints on June 14) I repaired the damaged concrete
finish below the laundry room door.

I don't know how it got damaged but I have my suspicions that it
happened this winter when the washing machine drain flooded due to a
clog. When we swept the water out the back door, there was a crack
in the threshold and it must have let water get into the coating on
the cement block foundation. The coating then bulged out and was
loose. (I'm using concrete and cement interchangeably here which
shows I probably don't know the difference.)

Anyway, I bought a tube of concrete crack and sealant material at
Lowe's and smeared it in the crack and on the holes and also used it
to glue several pieces of cracked slip coat back on. I can see that
I really wasn't able to completely fill in the deepest defects so I
might top it off with more later. It doesn't look perfect and I
certainly didn't try to duplicate the finish but it's at least sealed
shut now.

Funny thing is that Dad's should really be teaching their girls
handyman skills because often boys are completely clueless. Spouse's
contribution was to nearly step on the newly repaired and still
sticky threshold (and me!) when he stepped on to the back porch to
admire my handy work!