The patio around my pool has shown some cracks recently, and today a piece about as big as my fist fell off. What is the best way to repair the broken piece, and what kind of preventative maintenance can I take to maintain the life of the patio?
How to repair some broken patio stones
patiopaversrepair
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(1) Is this even advisable, or should I just extend the concrete out to the entire area I want for the patio before laying stone (adding considerable cost)?
Rolls-Royce job (Money no object): Extend the concrete slab out to the area you wish to pave or remove the existing slab and start allover again.
(2) Assuming I don't extend the concrete, what should I do when the stone transitions from the concrete subsurface to the dirt? I'm nervous that cracks will occur over time, and I'd like to do whatever I can to avoid that.
Good enough job (and what most paving pro's would do, at least the ones I know back in the UK): Excavate 6 to 8 inches (150 to 200mm) from the area you want to extend into. Back fill that area with sub-base (crushed rock) material. Back fill in 2 to 3 inch (50 to 75mm) layers, each layer should be "properly" compacted. This will give you a sub-base that is "nearly" as good/stable as the existing concrete slab.
I'm not sure what the rod might have been, the inside of an air tank is pretty simple.
Replacement drain valves are available in a variety of configurations, and generally they thread into a nut welded into the tank. It's then just a matter of finding an appropriate replacement valve (relatively easy) and removing the old one (probably much harder).
To help get the frozen valve out, you could (should) try penetrating oil to free what are almost certainly frozen threads, but you may need to step up to using a torch to apply heat to help break the part loose.
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Best Answer
There are epoxy products that can be used to repair stone, such as this one
This will work to glue the seams of the big chunks back in place. While it could be used to fill other breaks or gaps, it probably will not look very attractive.
Also, as DA01 says in his comment, the overhang makes this a very vulnerable area. Usually stones which overhang have a thicker dimension.
There is not too much you can do unless you want to put a facing under the overhang to help support it, a fairly big job involving cutting strips of matching stone. You could watch for the beginnings of cracks near the edges and fill them with an outdoor epoxy based material. This will reduce the chance that water gets in them and freezes, which leads to major cracking.
You could also tread lightly on the edges.