Have you ever heard of frost heave? If you haven’t, here’s some information you’ll find helpful for understanding what to know about frost heave and concrete damage. Understanding this concept will hopefully allow you to prevent it from occurring. Continue reading below for a detailed explanation.
What Is Frost Heave?
Frost heave is the upward expansion of soil caused by pressure from subsurface ice. This happens when the ground freezes and the concrete shifts out of place, which ultimately results in the soil swelling. Afterwards, the ice thaws and the slabs of ice sink. It’s because of this that the concrete becomes cracked and uneven.
Learn more about – Why Your Basement May Flood in the Winter?
How To Prevent It
You obviously don’t want your concrete to become damaged. Identifying how to prevent frost heave will be extremely helpful. But first, you must understand there’s nothing you can do to fully prevent it—you can’t control the outside temperature. With this in mind, however, you can still take a few proactive steps, such as adding a wire screen or steel rebar for extra support, making sure water supply lines are below frost level, and placing Styrofoam sheets and crushed stone before the concrete.
These points will help you better understand what to know about frost heave and concrete damage as well as give you some insight on how to prevent it from occurring. If you’re pouring new concrete, make sure you take the preventative steps that are available.
With all of this said, our goal at The Real Seal is to keep your basement dry and damage free. One of the ways we do that is by sealing your basement and providing foundation and basement crack repairs. Call us or visit our website today to see if we can help you!
Why Does It Occur?
Why exactly does frost heave occur? If the ground contains enough water and the temperatures drop, the water freezes and the soil becomes more susceptible to frost. Keep in mind that this doesn’t happen to every soil type.
