Brr… it’s cold outside! Now that the holidays have come and gone and we’ve officially said goodbye to fall and hello to winter, outdoor projects are on hold until springtime when it starts to warm up again. Though we put exterior home projects on hold during the frigid winter months, some need fixing immediately once the weather warms, especially if it worsens in the cold.
If you have a concrete project you’ve been pushing off or you don’t think winter is a good time to have your concrete repaired, think again! Winter can have harsh effects on concrete, potentially worsening cracks and making concrete more unlevel as the season continues. Continue reading if you have a concrete project that you think needs to wait til spring to learn about the effects of winter on concrete and understand how getting the concrete repair done immediately is a good idea.
How Winter Damages Concrete
Every homeowner has concrete on their property, whether a patio, walkway, driveway, foundation, or sidewalk. Though concrete is one of the strongest manmade materials, the cold damages it, as do winter storms and fluctuating temperatures. Here are some examples of how winter damages concrete:
Concrete is Porous
Though concrete dries and hardens, it is still a porous material. Like a sponge, concrete has spaces or holes, allowing rainwater, snowmelt, other liquids, and freezing air to enter and pass through the structure’s concrete. Water can enter concrete during any precipitation event in the winter, including snowstorms, ice storms, and freezing rains.
Anytime water enters a concrete structure, whether a patio, foundation, or driveway, it can get trapped and freeze, causing the concrete to expand and contract as the temperatures fluctuate. With how often our temperatures fluctuate here in and around Kansas City, concrete is always expanding and contracting.
All this porosity and expanding and contracting causes damage to the concrete over time, eventually creating cracks, spalling, and unlevel concrete. During winter precipitation or when the temperatures dip below and above freezing, concrete damage worsens, creating unsightly cracks and unlevel concrete.
Salt Accelerates Concrete Damage
Nearly every business in and around Kansas City and homeowner will apply salt to their driveways, patios, and walkways to help melt ice and snow before a winter storm or after we experience freezing rain. Though salt can be an excellent tool to melt snow and ice and create safer walkways for our loved ones, delivery drivers, neighbors, and the general public, it accelerates concrete damage.
Remember how we mentioned that concrete is a porous material? Like water, salt can also find its way inside the concrete, working toward those spaces or holes inside concrete driveways, patios, and sidewalks. Eventually, small pieces of salt will get lodged in these holes and spaces inside the concrete, accelerating the freeze-thaw cycles of winter precipitation trapped inside the concrete.
Concrete that already has damage, like cracks and spalling will worsen each time we get winter precipitation or apply salt to our concrete structures. Unfortunately, concrete damage is inevitable regardless of season; the effects of summer on concrete are also damaging.
Why Choose Concrete Repair?
Concrete repair is an excellent choice for any business owner or homeowner with cracks in their concrete, spalling concrete, or unlevel concrete. Why? For one, concrete repair fixes unlevel and cracked concrete that are safety hazards, potentially causing serious injury to your loved ones, customers, patients, or the general public. Next, concrete repair can avoid more cracks and worsening unlevel concrete as each season passes, helping to preserve your walkway, driveway, patio, or other concrete structure.
Mudjacking vs. Polyjacking
There are a couple of options for concrete repair: mudjacking and polyjacking. Mudjacking is an old concrete repair option that can fix cracked concrete but is temporary and requires maintenance and repeating throughout the years whereas polyjacking is the most permanent solution for concrete repair. Unlike mudjacking, the polyjacking process involves injecting a polyurethane foam under the concrete to lift it. Polyjacking also fortifies the soil underneath the concrete so it’ll never sink again, unlike a mudjacking job.
Trust Pro Polyjacking with Your Residential or Commercial Concrete Repair
For concrete repair for your commercial or residential property, trust the pros at Pro Polyjacking. Our polyjacking process stabilizes the soil and, as a result, lifts concrete to fix cracks and level the driveway, patio, sidewalk, or foundation of your home or commercial building, keeping loved ones and the general public safe.
Foundation cracks, unlevel driveways, spalling sidewalks, and other damages are unsightly, especially if they go unrepaired. Trust the team at Pro Polyjacking in Kansas City for your concrete repair now, regardless of season. Contact our team for more information about our concrete repair service!