How Moisture Causes Cracks in Your Concrete Sidewalks, Driveways, and Patios

Water damage affects a lot more than just your home’s foundation. There is another space we tend to overlook when ensuring our properties are well protected.

When the concrete poured to create walkways and driveways around your property settles over time, they can become uneven, which creates a threat to people trying to make their way around.

Sidewalks and other slabs that have become uneven create spaces where water is likely to pool and not drain properly, which causes further damage to your property. This also creates the impression that your property is not well cared for.

For homeowners who are thinking about putting their home on the market, uneven concrete around the house can cause potential buyers to skip over your property and move on to the next listing.

Concrete is Strong but Breakable

Because concrete is not unbreakable, it can crack over time as the ground underneath a slab shifts. Tree roots also play a major role in causing issues with concrete walkways.

When a nearby tree spreads its roots out and up, the roots can push the ground upward. The ground then becomes unlevel and either cracks the concrete walkway or pushes it up. This creates a danger to pedestrians.

Problems Get Worse with Time

With uneven concrete, water has an easier time making its way under other parts of the slab or walkway. As the soil becomes more and more saturated, it is less able to support the rest of the concrete.

Soil can eventually wash away entirely and new pathways for drainage are created. These new paths can direct water toward areas where it does more damage to other parts of your property. Although this is a threat to concrete everywhere, regions of the country that are prone to freezing temperatures like those around Michigan experience uneven concrete even more often.

Fortunately, homeowners have access to experienced contractors who regularly encounter the issue of uneven concrete. Broken slabs and walkways can also be evidence of a much larger drainage issue on your property.

Contracting a waterproofing expert like those at Tom’s Basement Waterproofing not only leads to your sidewalks and driveways being repaired but may reveal major issues that could cause even worse damage if not addressed.

Call Tom’s Basement Waterproofing at 586-949-7826 or use our online contact form to request more information today!