What causes sunken or cracked concrete in Maryland & Pennsylvania
Concrete is pretty amazing stuff. It can be poured, shaped and made into just about anything you like. But even though it’s incredibly strong, it’s not indestructible. So, when you see cracked concrete or a driveway or patio that has sunken or broken slabs or is pitted, flaked and stained, there are reasons why these things happen.
The good news is with the right materials, equipment, and help from the experienced professionals at C.A.R.E. Property Services, Inc, concrete damage can be repaired. Call us today at 1-888-243-1936 or click below to get a free concrete repair estimate in York, Hanover, Mc Sherrystown and the nearby areas.
What Lies Beneath
Pitting, Flaking and Staining
Moisture is concrete’s strongest enemy. It seeps into the pores of untreated concrete, and when temperatures drop, especially during freeze-thaw cycles, that trapped moisture expands as it turns to ice. This expansion destroys the pores and weakens the concrete. This results in concrete slabs that can pit and flake. Concrete’s porous nature also makes it susceptible to staining when left untreated.
Street Creep
As a homeowner, you don’t just have to worry about your own concrete slabs; you should be concerned with the slabs that make up the street that goes past your house.
During colder months, your street’s slabs contract, opening up the joints between them. Those joints then become filled with pebbles and other debris. Then, when the warm weather returns, the slabs expand again – only the joints that were designed to absorb this expansion are now filled with material that won’t compress. This leaves the expansion pressure nowhere to go except up your driveway. This “street creep,” as it is known, exerts incredible pressure on your home and can cause all sorts of problems.