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Believe it or not, concrete driveways and sidewalks are one of the most overlooked maintenance areas for homes and businesses. Surprising right? Even though concrete is super durable and thought to be indestructible, like all things, it has a shelf life. And if it’s not properly attended to, that shelf life can decrease rather quickly.
The most common types of concrete deterioration are cracks, spalling, and heaves. A concrete heave is when one slab of concrete rises higher than others that are adjacent to it. This is very common along sidewalks and pathways. Spalling is when the top surface is eroded away, which can lead to craters in the concrete and leave it with an appearance similar to the moon’s surface. Cracks can happen for multiple reasons, the most common being extreme temperature changes and pressure changes in foundation. Cracks are common, and can easily be maintained and filled, which we recommend doing every fall. Spalling and heaves are a result of bad maintenance and not filling in those cracks when they appear, which is it is why it is important to fix them before it is too late. Maintaining your concrete surface will always cost cheaper than repairing or replacing, and we know every homeowner wants to spend productively and efficiently. The truth is, most people seal their asphalt driveways too much and their concrete too little. Asphalt driveways should be sealed every other year, and concrete can last up to five year in-between seals, but maintenance on both should be done yearly to avoid the bigger and more costly repairs mentioned above.
