Concrete is available in many different strengths. Verify what strength the concrete you are pouring should be poured at. Control joints help concrete crack where you want it to.
The joints should be of the depth of the slab and no more than times in feet of the thickness of the concrete in inches. So 4"concrete should have joints ' apart. The ground upon which the concrete will be placed must be compacted. The sub grade must be prepared according to your soil conditions. Some flatwork can be poured right on native grade. In other areas 6"of base fill is required along with steel rebar installed in the slab.
Understand what you contractor is doing about each of the above listed items and you will get a good concrete job. Some cracks are more concerning than others. Here's an overview of crack types and what to do about them. Not all cracks in concrete are serious enough to require repair. The hairline cracks in this floor were air brushed with brown dye to achieve a beautiful crackle pattern.
At what width does a crack in concrete become a problem? That question often arises, but unfortunately there is no definite answer. It can vary from one project to the next. Even the American Concrete Institute has no standards or recommendations that give a "yes" or "no" answer as to what cracks need repair based on width and other factors. In general, cracks wider than a credit card and running through the depth of the concrete are structural in nature and could be a sign of more serious problems see Concrete Crack Repair Evaluation.
These cracks -- no matter what the width -- are rarely acceptable. Consult an engineer or concrete repair professional to determine the cause of the crack and to recommend the best repair solution. When are cracks in concrete a threat? If the cracks widen past about an eighth of an inch, issues may develop: Water can regularly seep into the wall or slab. This can lead to two problems:. We are great home inspectors , but we assess the condition of your concrete as it stands today.
Assessing whether a harmless-looking crack could lead to problems needs your occasional inspection over time. If the condition of the crack never degrades further, you may simply have a cosmetic "flaw" that thousands of other homeowners share with you!
Agent Partners:. Let us know if you need more information like this to help you manage client expectations about future concrete maintenance needs in a house they are considering.
Would you like a personalized flyer on this topic to send to clients? Click here to order one. What issue did our NBI inspector see when he crawled under a house and spotted this plumbing arrangement? Your answer is below Home and Pest Inspections. Save your client time and money. Your Spot the Problem Answer:. This drain line is an "S" trap design rather than a "P" trap. This particular method of installation is not approved under building code standards because the water flowing down the main pipe to the right can lower the pressure in the S-trap and suck out the trapped water , because it isn't vented properly.
This allows the sewer gases free access up through the drain into your bathroom. Thank you for taking the time to read our monthly newsletter. We hope you found it useful. If not, tell us how to improve it!
We look forward to your feedback. E-mail comments to:. Keep us on your referral list. We are ready to make you look good and get your deals closed promptly! A friend of mine has a home on a hillside, and his patio has had cracks in its concrete for decades.
They probably formed soon after the patio was poured, given the settling that any hillside structure experiences. They haven't gotten any worse since he bought the house, but he does need to keep them clear of debris so grass and other plants cannot take root and expand the cracks. His experience reminds me that concrete is not quite the "set it and forget it" material you may think it is!
After that, the changes continue but at diminishing rates. While the concrete is hardening, it is also drying. There is a difference. Concrete does not get hard because it dries, the chemical reaction is what makes it hard, the drying is from excess moisture draining into the ground or evaporating into the air.
Concrete does the same thing when it dries, it shrinks. As concrete shrinks, it has only one place to go, and that is towards itself. So while the concrete is struggling to shrink, forces are trying to keep it from moving. Imagine what would happen to a glass bottle if you secured both ends tight, and then it shrank, even just one millimeter.
It would not end well. This is the reason why your sidewalks and driveways have relief joints cut into them. Of course, this only works most of the time, but almost every joint you see, will have a crack in it. As a general rule of thumb, any slab of concrete over nine feet will crack. Sorry for any of you who say that your basement floor never had cracks in it. There are a few ways to stop or limit cracks. One is to place rebar into the concrete. Like most builders, we do this.
We place rebar in several strategic locations to keep the concrete from settling and pulling away from places it needs to be. It also helps lend strength to the slab. Also, concrete poured in the middle of the summer is going to have more cracks than concrete poured when it is colder.
Well, lets think about it.
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