Many of the houses and other types of buildings in the Kansas City area have concrete foundations. Specifically, the new homes are being built on concrete foundations for their advantages like strength, durability, and low cost. However, concrete foundations can still be damaged if certain criteria are met.
When concrete is damaged, it can start to fall apart, become uneven and crumbled. One of the risks of not repairing the concrete is that the whole structure can collapse if this isn’t resolved soon and with the right procedure. In this article, we’ve discussed how you can repair crumbling concrete and the factors behind this problem.
How to Repair Your Concrete When It’s Crumbling?
There are several steps to repair the concrete foundation or any other concrete components when they’re crumbling. Those steps are:
- Inspect the area to determine the root cause of the crumbling, as the next steps can depend on the reason behind the problem.
- If only repairing the concrete will solve the problem and you won’t need to replace the foundation, gather all the tools you’ll need for the repair.
- Wear your safety equipment before starting the work.
- Clean the area where the crumbling is happening, and also clean the surface of the crumbling concrete to brush off everything.
- Moisture the surface to weaken the bond in old concrete, and apply a bonding agent to bond the new and old materials perfectly.
- Mix and apply the new patching compound to the damaged area. Make sure to fill all the voids fully.
- After applying new materials, smooth the surface and let it dry. You can finish off that surface and let it cure for the recommended time.
- When curing is done, you can seal, coat, or paint the surface the way you want, as it won’t crumble now.
Why Does the Concrete Foundation Crumble?
Concrete is a strong material; it can’t be easily destroyed like other natural construction elements like wood. But there are several reasons that make the concrete foundation weaker and easier to crumble. Those reasons are:
Excessive Loads
Concrete foundations are designed to support a maximum amount of load or weight of structure above them. If there are more loads added gradually or large amounts of load hit unexpectedly, the foundation will start to form cracks and deteriorate in a short time. Excessive load can be placed on the building by heavy machines, nearby large tree roots, earthquakes, etc.
Excessive Water
Excessive water can deteriorate your concrete structure over time. When water penetrates the concrete foundation, it can expand the material, causing cracks and crumbling. The water damage can be due to flooding, groundwater infiltration, poor drainage, heavy rain and moisture, and leakage.
Excessive Minerals
In older buildings, foundations tend to accumulate minerals from the soil. Those minerals can be mica, silica, and pyrite. Also, if there isn’t proper concrete testing done before building the foundation, the aggregates can have high amounts of minerals mixed in.
And when there are excessive minerals in the concrete, they oxidize and leach out from the corner. This process slowly leads to concrete crumbling.
RELATED: How soil can impact your home’s foundation and concrete.
Steel Reinforcement Corrosion
Absorbed water in concrete can lead to corrosion of the rebar or steel reinforcement placed in the concrete foundation. And due to corrosion, the concrete will start to crack wider and eventually fall apart from the foundation.
De-icing Salt
If you live in a colder region, perhaps you tried throwing salt on your driveway to melt the snow quickly. This helps as salt reacts with the snow minerals and generates heat. In the same way, salt can react with your concrete, and it can cause pits, scales, and eventually the foundation concrete to crumble. So make sure to avoid throwing salt near the foundations.
Settlement
The settlement of soil is an inevitable problem. However, how often settlement occurs can be inspected before construction of the building, and you can make the soil stronger with different methods.
However, if the soil isn’t properly prepared for heavy load transfer, it can cause the soil below the foundation to settle. This process can cause huge stress on the concrete and make it crumble at any time.
Freezing and Thawing Cycles
Colder regions have another problem regarding snow issues. During normal weather, the concrete foundation absorbs water like any other concrete component. And when cold weather hits, the absorbed water turns to ice and it expands causing the binder of the concrete materials to come apart.
And when the ice melts or thaws, the water contractions happen, which makes the concrete crumble. To avoid these situations, waterproofing the area is a must.
Insufficient Quality Control
Insufficient quality control can lead to many different problems that eventually have an impact on the concrete crumbling. The problems of quality controls can be:
- Inadequate soil preparation and compaction can stress the foundation after construction, and it will make the concrete fall apart.
- Improper water and aggregate ratios make the concrete weaker, and they make the concrete crumble easily.
- Poor quality material selection when casting the concrete foundation also leads to the concrete crumbling.
- Lack of regular inspection and necessary maintenance in time can worsen the small problems with the concrete foundation. And in the end, those small issues can create bigger problems, like concrete crumbling.
Both assessing the root cause of the concrete foundation’s crumbling problem and its repair need professional help. The repair methods can vary depending on many factors, so keen observation is a must. If you’re going to construct a new building, make sure to take proper preventive measures. Also, for your existing building, you can seal everything to prevent crumbling issues for the best experience.
If you’re ready for an expert team to come and take a look at your home’s uneven or crumbling concrete, reach out to PolyMagic – call 816-765-4800 or fill out our online form here: https://www.polymagic.net/request-a-quote/
