Cracks in the Driveway

It’s that time of year again! It’s time to get back outside! When you do you’ll notice the flowers are in bloom, the grass is thicker and greener; the trees have flowering buds that are turning to leaves. Spring is springing indeed! When that happens you make plans to sharpen the blades of your lawnmower, find your wheel barrel and pick a weekend to clean up your landscape beds and fill them with mulch. As you go in and out of the garage, you notice there are cracks in your driveway. A more careful inspection leads to the discovery that not only are cracks in your driveway but the driveway appears to be sinking near the garage. What in the heck is happening?

Do cracks mean your driveway is sinking?

Cracks in your driveway may be an indication that there are voids (empty spaces) under your driveway and these voids under your concrete cause it to sink. If the gap between your garage floor and your driveway is noticeable, your concrete driveway is sinking. If there is a void under the driveway it is due to the dirt compacting over time. The driveway will continue to sink unless you fill the voids that are there. Dirt compacts as a result of moisture evaporating in the soil under the driveway. A sinking driveway may also be the result of erosion. Whatever the cause, the fix is filling the void with state-of-the-art polyurethane mudjacking foam and lifting the concrete back into place.

Why use foam over traditional mud jacking?

The typical mud jacking process is made up of a mixture of cement, dirt, and water. When the water in this process evaporates, just like it did in the soil, you will once again have the same issue. Your driveway will once again sink. Polyurethane is impervious to water; it will not sink, and during the injection process it expands 7 feet in either direction filling every empty pocket as it does. Traditional mud jacking is thick and does not expand. As a result, voids may be missed.

There are many reasons why foam is a better choice for lifting your concrete driveway, sidewalk, porch, or basement floor.

• The holes needed to inject the foam under the concrete are smaller, and fewer holes are needed.
• The foam expands 7ft in either direction ensuring all voids are filled.
• Foam jacking is impervious to the weather.
• Polyurethane foam weighs less and will not sink again.
• Foam jacking can lift concrete in small, tighter areas. There is no need for large equipment to drive on your grass.

Fix Cracks in the driveway

Cracks in your driveway left untreated will lead to more expensive, necessary fixes that could include a total driveway replacement. When choosing a Foam Lifting contractor, make sure the company is using foam specially made for concrete lifting (and not home insulation). If you are selling your home, inspectors are catching the smaller issues, like cracks in your driveway. Don’t lose your buyer because you thought a few cracks were, “no big deal.” Choose Foam to lift and repair the cracks in your concrete and know that once you lift concrete with foam, it is lifted for good!

This article was first published in March 2016 and has been recently updated.