Somehow we blinked, summer ended and there’s a sudden chill in the air. Before you know it we’ll be entering winter and cold temperatures will be the norm until spring’s arrival. With Old Man Winter about to arrive, there’s a lot of home prep to winterize our home’s interiors and exteriors for winter’s brutally cold and harmful effects.
Most homeowners winterize their homes by disconnecting their hoses, cleaning the gutters, insulating the pipes, switching the direction of their ceiling fans, caulking cracks around windows and doors, and more. Another important task to complete before winter that often gets overlooked is to examine and repair concrete cracks, specifically on your home’s foundation, driveway, and porch.
Keep reading to learn what causes concrete cracks, why they’re a warning sign, and why fixing them with polyjacking is crucial before the cold sets in.
What Causes Concrete Cracks?
Though concrete is a strong material, it can crack. Made from aggregates like crushed rock or gravel, sand, water, and cement, concrete binds these materials together, hardening everything together.
Concrete cracks are unsightly and often found on concrete driveways, porches, foundations, and patios. They happen when the soil underneath the concrete slab shifts, causing it to separate and crack. This leads to unsightly concrete with large cracks and unlevel concrete which is a trip hazard.
Concrete can crack from other things like faulty pours. Sometimes the wrong strength is used when poured, the concrete dries too fast or the wrong control joints are used. Some factors that speed up the process of concrete cracking are summer heat, pests that burrow underneath concrete, or the cold of winter. Wintertime speeds up the cracking process thanks to the water in the concrete freezing and thawing continuously. This makes the concrete expand and contract, forming concrete cracks and becoming unlevel.
Why are Concrete Cracks Dangerous?
Cracks in concrete pose a handful of dangers, one being a trip hazard. When concrete cracks, either side becomes different heights or creates a gap between the sides. Unlevel concrete or concrete with gaps makes it easy for anyone to trip, causing falls that have the potential to be very dangerous.
Think of all the people who use your concrete driveway, patio, walkways, or commercial parking deck or walkways: friends, family members, delivery drivers, mail carriers, solicitors, neighbors, and more. Along with the general public using your walkway or driveways, your family frequents these concrete places. Whether you have young children, a disabled family member, or an elder living with you, it’s important to address cracked concrete immediately to avoid injury.
Finally, concrete cracks can worsen, causing structural damage to your home or commercial property. Cracks will worsen naturally as the soil underneath the concrete shifts, causing deeper, more widespread cracks. For example, if you have a foundation crack, it’ll get worse with time, causing structural damage to your home.
Polyjacking is the Best Solution
The best and most permanent solution for concrete repair for winter prep is polyjacking from Pro Polyjacking, a locally, family-owned company that’s been serving the Kansas City area for over 30 years. Other concrete repair options like mudjacking and DIY concrete leveling are temporary solutions that act as a band-aid for a short-term remedy.
Mudjacking does lift unlevel or cracked concrete, but it’s a temporary fix because it doesn’t fortify the soil underneath the concrete as polyjacking does. Because mudjacking uses an organic mixture of dirt, sand, and cement, it’s strong enough to lift the concrete but will eventually sink again. You can expect a mudjacking job to last about 2-5 years, depending on the soil, weather, and whether there are burrowing pests.
Polyjacking is different; we use a polyurethane foam and inject it under cracked/unlevel concrete to raise it permanently. Even if the soil around the concrete settles, your concrete will remain lifted and unaffected because polyjacking fortifies the soil underneath the concrete. There’s a whole science behind polyurethane foam – it’s fascinating!
Let Pro Polyjacking Repair Your Unlevel & Cracked Concrete Before Winter’s Arrival
For concrete repair, consider polyjacking from Pro Polyjacking before winter’s arrival. Our polyjacking process stabilizes the soil and, as a result, lifts concrete to fix cracks and level the patio, driveway, sidewalk, or foundation. Your concrete will be permanently repaired, never again cracking during harsh, cold winters.
Our process is simple, starting with a free assessment and complimentary quote for our concrete leveling service. We’ll discuss your concerns and issues and a solution and quote for our polyjacking service. Once you accept and we get you on the schedule, we’ll arrive timely and professionally. We’ll create the injection site by drilling tiny holes into the concrete and injecting our polyurethane foam under the damaged concrete. The result is lifted concrete without any gaps and stabilized soil underneath. We also patch up our injection sights so they’re even less noticeable.
Foundation cracks, unlevel driveways, spalling sidewalks, and other damages are unsightly, especially if they’re on a commercial building you own or your home. Trust the professionals at Pro Polyjacking in Kansas City for your concrete repair. Contact the team at Pro Polyjacking for more information about our concrete repair service!