Concrete is composed of cement, gravel, sand, and water. When water in the concrete begins to evaporate, the other elements in the mix remain as a hard, solid slab. This “curing” process results in a small amount of shrinkage which leads to hairline cracks. These cracks, in themselves, may not be significant, but if they break the concrete seal coating, a re-sealing job may be in order to prevent any further developments. The hair-wide cracks themselves can be smoothed over with a concrete compound.

Spalling is a sort of “concrete dandruff” that may occur if too much water was in the newly-poured concrete and the surface dries too quick- faster than the deeper layers of concrete. New seal coatings and top layers can usually fix the problem.

Cracks can develop if the layers of concrete in the parking lot are at different temperatures and are not in sync as they expand and contract. Another possible reason for cracking is a lack of proper structural support due to soil movements or erosion below the slab. Such may be caused by wind, rain, or insects. A third cause of cracks is the metal reinforcements within the concrete rusting. When they rust, they expand and push up from below- small cracks result. If left unaddressed, the cracks will let water in which will cause soil erosion and further rusting of the rebar or steel, and the deterioration will continue. Galvanized metal should always be used in concrete to prevent this.

A crack needs to be thoroughly cleaned first, and then sawed with a circular saw fitted with a concrete-cutting blade to make it the proper width and depth that will allow strong adhesion of the old concrete to the new. Along with the new concrete compound, a special bonding glue is sometimes used. The crack should be smoothed into conformity with the surrounding concrete at the top, and then sealed and left to dry. It may be as long as a week before a filled in crack or pot hole in a concrete parking lot is safe to drive on again. More extensive “falling apart” of a concrete parking lot may require digging up parts of it and restoring its foundation before repairing the damaged zones.

LGC Paving offers concrete crack filling in College Station and nearby areas you can trust. We also do concrete seal coating, concrete car stops repair, and asphalt repair work. Your concrete parking lot should last from three to five decades if well maintained, in spite of heavy and frequent traffic and extreme weather conditions. We are here to help it go the long haul.