Street Creep Repair

If your concrete slab driveway and foundation is cracked or damaged, the problem may not actually be in your home. “Street creep” occurs when the road expands or moves, pushing against your foundation and creating pressures that cause cracks and compression.

If you have expansion joints that seem compressed, interior or exterior foundation cracks, or a garage floor pulling away from the wall, you may be dealing with a street creep issue. Baird Foundation Repair provides expert solutions to this problem, and we can help you repair your home.

What causes street creep damage?

Street creep is a common foundation problem that’s caused by the thermal expansion and contraction of concrete streets and pavement surrounding a home.

Like many materials, concrete expands when it’s hot and contracts when it’s cold. Contractors place expansion joints in sidewalks, driveways, and other exterior slabs so that temperature-induced expansion and contraction won’t cause a slab to crack.

Expansion joints divide a large expanse of concrete into individual slabs that can expand and contract independently. Temperature fluctuations throughout the seasons will cause these joints to widen in the colder months and narrow during hot weather.

Problems with street creep begin to arise during cold months when the widened joints become filled with materials like sand or gravel. As temperatures rise again during warmer weather, the concrete expands. But if joints have filled with sand and gravel, they can no longer absorb this movement. Instead, one slab will push against another.

Once they’re filled with debris, expansion joints can no longer do their job. The entire expanse of concrete expands as a single unit, causing the street to “creep.” This phenomenon exerts tremendous pressure at the edge of the concrete, where a driveway meets a garage slab or a house foundation wall.

Damage from street creep is a slow process – the elongation of a typical block-length concrete street is generally only a fraction of an inch each year. However, over time, the movement will add up to several inches, which will mean potentially serious damage to your foundation.

We can fix that!

At Baird Foundation Repair, we stop damage from street creep with CompressionGuard. To protect against long-term damage to concrete driveways, garage slabs and foundation walls, CompressionGuard replaces the fiberboard expansion joints used in most residential driveways with an engineered expansion joint that can flex with concrete movement during seasonal changes.

Advantages of CompressionGuard

  • Low-cost solution to ease pressure on garage slab and foundation walls.
  • Environmentally-friendly solution.
  • Can be installed year-round, even in extreme temperatures.
  • Quick installation with minimal disruption.
  • Flush design and precise installation add curb appeal.
  • Driveway can be used right away after installation.

The Installation Process of CompressionGuard

  • Cut and remove a 3.5”-wide section of the driveway at optimal distance from the street.
  • Insert CompressionGuard for a flexible seal.
  • Protect your driveway, garage floors and foundation walls from ongoing street expansion.

We can repair your street creep problem throughout Texas

At Baird Foundation Repair, we have warrantied solutions for repairing street creep damage to your foundation. To help you decide if our solutions are right for you, we offer free written street creep repair quotes throughout our Texas service area.

With offices in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Austin, and Houston, we service most of Texas. To schedule an appointment, contact us by phone or email today!