Plants Could Spell Trouble For Your Sidewalk
December 22, 2021 Baird Foundation RepairWhile it’s nice to see a little flower growing between your sidewalk concrete, it can spell trouble. Sidewalk cracks can come from a variety of sources – for example, plants and tree roots growing underneath a concrete sidewalk. Other troubles are freeze-and-thaw cycles and concrete upheaval.
Plants can certainly damage the quality of your sidewalk concrete. However, Baird Foundation Repair has some ways to hinder plants from growing through and harming your sidewalk.
How Do Sidewalk Cracks Form?
Existing Cracks
Plants and weeds don’t actually have enough strength to push through and crack concrete sidewalks themselves. They look for exposure and grow through the existing cracks. However, when they grow, they make the concrete sidewalk uneven, which can be unpleasant to look at.
Additionally, sidewalk cracks cause the soil underneath to wash away. This soil erosion shifts the earth underneath the concrete, also causing the sidewalk to be uneven.
Root Expansion
When there’s a tree near your sidewalk, there’s a high chance that its roots are underneath the sidewalk. Tree roots need to expand, so they will continue to grow underneath the concrete, causing the sidewalk to crack.
Sidewalks also crack more with constant foot traffic. If there are trees nearby, the tree roots expand and grow under the sidewalk, lifting and cracking the concrete and eventually becoming a tripping hazard. If you notice there are tree roots expanding the cracks on your sidewalk, there are a few different options for repairing:
- Cut the roots
- Shave the uneven sidewalk areas
- Level the concrete
- Rebuild the sidewalk
How Do You Prevent Sidewalk Cracks?
Concrete sealant is one of the most common ways to defend against sidewalk cracks. Sealing your concrete prevents moisture from entering any cracks and ruining your leveled sidewalk. But how does it work?
The sealant permanently bonds to the concrete and creates a barrier, so that moisture can’t reach and expand the soil down below. Concrete sealant can also block ice from sticking to concrete in the chillier, winter months!
At Baird Foundation Repair, we use SealantPro™ to ensure permanent protection for your concrete sidewalks. Best part is that it only takes 4-6 hours to cure, so you will be walking on your sidewalk in no time.
However, when a sidewalk is a too cracked or damaged for a coat of sealant, concrete leveling is the way to go.
What is Concrete Leveling?
Concrete leveling is an inexpensive concrete repair option because you won’t have to replace the whole sidewalk. This process consists of drilling a hole into the concrete and filling it with high-density foam to lift the concrete back up. Leveling inhibits moisture from seeping into any existing cracks and washing the soil underneath away. Once your sidewalk has been leveled, the concrete should look as if there were never any cracks in the first place!
Contact The Professionals
If you’re dealing with uneven or cracked sidewalks, contact us at Baird Foundation Repair! We offer expert services such as concrete sealant, concrete leveling, and foundation repair.
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