The Work Of Concrete Contractors

How And Why To Repair Driveway Cracks

6 June 2017

Jeffery Hayes

Concrete repair may not be your favorite task to accomplish on the weekend. But tending to driveway cracks is an important part of home maintenance. Here is the how and why of driveway crack repair:

Why Crack Repair Is Important

Cracks are important to repair for several reasons. First of all, they are unseemly. The cracks themselves don't look great, but they also create a pathway for weeds to spring up from under your landscaping fabric. And then you have both a weeding problem and a driveway crack problem!

Cracks affect the structure of your driveway. The material is not as strong with cracks in it. But the cracks may also lead to erosion. They let water seep in, which can lead to erosion. You might have seen pockets of soil erosion under a concrete surface before. It doesn't look nice, but it may also lead the concrete surface to crumble; it has to support a lot more weight when there's no ground beneath it.

Patching vs. Resurfacing

There is a big difference between patching and resurfacing concrete. If you have just a few cracks that you catch early, you can often do a DIY patching job or hire a professional to do it quickly. Resurfacing jobs are more common when the concrete surface has been left to deteriorate and no patching has occurred. In that case, a professional like Mershon Concrete may decide to buff away part of the surface and pour a completely new top layer of concrete.

Choosing a Patching Material

If you have a palette knife and an afternoon to spend, you might be able to get some patching done yourself. You'll need to first choose a material to patch with. Small batches of ready-mix concrete that you can prepare yourself are one good option. A concrete contractor will also have the option of concrete and polymer mixes. These provide a stronger bond than regular concrete, although the material is more expensive. Patching your driveway can be as simple as cleaning the surface the crack and applying the concrete patching material with your knife.

DIY or Hire a Professional?

For small patching jobs, you may just need to buy the right patching material to do it yourself. If the job is more than a few cracks, hiring a professional concrete contractor usually pays off; they can evaluate the structural integrity of your material and provide a high quality finished product that minimizes the visual appearance of patching.

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