Minnesota concrete repair contractors have helped pioneer a brand new technique for fixing that annoying driveway gap that so often appears between your garage floor and driveway. In northern states especially, too many homeowners have noticed a sunken slab of concrete or large gap suddenly appear where a concrete driveway meets the lip of your garage floor. Many homeowners wonder why this gap appears, and what they can do about it. Unfortunately, while they’re wondering, the gap will only get worse and worse.
You might think the gap is a problem for tomorrow, but the longer you procrastinate, the wider the gap will become. And it’s not just a minor annoyance. If the gap grows too large, then not only does it create a serious trip and fall hazard, but it can also damage your cars and tires as you drive over the gap repeatedly.
So why do concrete driveways so often break away from the garage, requiring driveway repair work or even a replacement driveway? When builders originally laid the foundation of your driveway and/or garage floor, they usually bury a stack of cinder blocks. The cinder blocks most often used in construction are the hollow type with two large holes in the middle. When builders want to cut corners, they will fill these holes with gravel, sand, dirt, newspaper, or worse, nothing at all. And during repeated winter freezes and thaws, and because of corrosive salts so often used to melt ice, this cheap filler erodes, weakening the foundation. And thus, creating that annoying gap.
Unfortunately, some concrete repair companies won’t tell you why this happens, and will instead recommend an expensive replacement of your entire driveway. But reputable concrete repair companies know how to provide driveway repairs instead. So how do you fix the gap?
Concrete contractors will remove the concrete surrounding the gap, then dig until they expose the cinder blocks. Then, concrete will be poured inside the cinder blocks until they’re completely filled, restoring the integrity of your foundation and protecting against future winter freezes. And when it’s done properly, driveway repairs can be finished quickly. Best of all, you don’t need to completely replace your entire concrete driveway.
So if you see that gap forming in your driveway, now you know why it’s there, and more importantly, you know what to do about it when the time comes for driveway repairs. Contact driveway repair contractors in your city and ask for a quote.