Types of Concrete Cracks That Concrete Specialists Help You Avoid
Posted on: 10 September 2019
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Most commercial settings such as restaurants, hospitals, educational institutes, retail stores, industrial outlets and warehouses, among others, have concrete driveways. A well-maintained concrete driveway gives your business an upper hand in the business world and positions it to a competitive edge. Most business people install concrete driveways due to their structural design, performance, durability and their ability to make your business environment look appealing. Concrete driveway repairs are among the commercial concreting solutions that professional concrete specialists offer. Cracks on the concrete driveway don't give a good image of your business. Though some concrete cracks are inevitable, contacting commercial concreting experts to fix them in good time is mandatory. What types of cracks can occur on your concrete driveway? Keep reading:
Premature-Drying Cracks
Crazing cracks and crusting cracks are the two types of cracks that come due to premature drying. Crazing cracks are fine cracks on the concrete surface, and they resemble shattered glass or spider webs. These cracks appear when the top surface of the concrete slab loses moisture too quickly. Some concrete specialists say these cracks don't cause serious structural damage even though they look unsightly. Crusting cracks occur when the concrete stamping process is in progress. The top surface of the concrete surface dries faster and becomes crusty.
Expansion Concrete Cracks
Concrete expands due to heat just as it happens to a balloon. Concrete pushes against anything standing on its way when expanding–whether an adjacent slab or brick wall. The concrete cracks due to the expanding force, especially when anything blocking it cannot flex. Expansion joints become the separation point between other static surfaces. Most expansion joints in concrete surfaces are made of compressible materials such as lumber, rubber or asphalt, and that's why they act as shock absorbers. This way, cracks due to expansion are prevented.
Heaving Concrete Cracks
The freezing ground rises several inches before settling back down or thawing and this harms your concrete driveway in a big way. The thawing and freezing cycle that the ground movement causes contributes a lot to concrete cracking. This also causes the slab to crack, especially if it doesn't move as the ground moves. Large tree roots cause cracks on the slab, and they are easier to repair when noticed early. The roots of a tree growing close to a slab lift the concrete surface, causing it to crack.
Slab-overloading cracks, settling cracks and plastic shrinkage cracks also occur on the concrete surfaces. No matter the type of cracks on your concrete driveway and their cause, they affect the image of your business in a big way. This means you should contact professionals in concrete surfaces like those at Liquid Rock Constructions Pty Ltd, to repair them before they grow bigger and taint your business image further. According to most concrete specialists, business people can avoid the above cracks on their driveways if they prepare the site properly, do quality mix and embrace professional concrete finishing.