Do you remember the last time you realized that your concrete was having problems? I started looking at our yard a few months ago, and I realized that our driveway had more than a few big cracks. I didn't want the issue to blossom, so I started talking with different concrete contractors about how they could help. Although I wasn't expecting much, the contractors came out soon after I called and worked with me to get the issues repaired. When they were finished, my driveway and sidewalks looked a lot better. This website is completely committed to getting concrete fixed the right way the first time.
Concrete, in general, is poured and left to cure. It is flat and does not have many issues after it has dried. However, like most things in this world, concrete is still susceptible to abnormalities. Here are some abnormalities of concrete and how to fix them.
Repeated Upward Shift and Breaking of the Smooth Surface
This is one of the most frustrating of all concrete abnormalities. You pour the concrete, the concrete begins to set, you walk away from the concrete, and then you return to find it forced upward, either mounded or broken. Short of vandals in the area, your problem is probably caused by moles and other tunneling rodents. They will tunnel under anything, and as far as they are concerned, wet or semi-solid concrete is just moist soil. If the pattern repeats itself with each fresh pouring, the problem is is definitely a tunneling creature.
You will first need to eradicate the tunneling varmints. Pest control services can help. Otherwise specific traps for these critters placed right where they have been tunneling through the concrete will work. Once you have killed the pest(s), repour and level the concrete for the last time.
Ground That Appears Even, but Is Not
You could have the flattest, most level-looking ground anywhere, only to find that it is not as level as you think. Concrete leveling is a process that will help you make the ground more even and more flat so that the concrete poured does not slope downhill. Using wooden markers and string before you get started helps. The services of a land surveyor help, too. Surveyors can spot small flaws in the lay of the land that would indicate that the land is not quite so perfectly flat or even.
Sinking Concrete
After leveling the ground and chasing off tunneling pests, you have poured your concrete. Yet you have one more anomaly to experience. This time, the concrete begins to sink downward, forming a crater. Either you have a small sinkhole opening up underneath the concrete you just poured, or the amount of water in the concrete mix has sunk into the ground and the concrete is pulled downward with it. Either way, you are going to want to pull that concrete up and see what is going on. If it is a sinkhole, call a geologist to see if there are any more dangers on the way. If it is not a sinkhole, use less water to make your concrete mix and pour it again.
For more information and help with concrete leveling, contact a professional concrete service, such as Crackerjack Mud Jacking Inc.