When you pull into your driveway, have you noticed that you have quite a bumpy ride just to pull into your garage? If so, the problem likely isn’t with your tires or suspension. A closer look at the cement slabs that make up your driveway may reveal that the surface is uneven, and some slabs may even be cracked or sinking.
At Tilted Concrete Solutions, we love raising driveway concrete for homeowners to restore beauty and functionality to their property. If you have an uneven, sinking driveway, call our team today to request a free estimate of our services. In the meantime, check out the three most common reasons why driveways begin to sink in Texas.
Common Causes for Sinking Driveways
Soil Expansion and Contraction
The Houston area has a humid, subtropical climate and we have a high amount of clay in our soil. Because we live so close to the ocean and we get a lot of precipitation, the water table in the Houston area is very high. This means that the clay soils are often saturated. In addition to getting a lot of rain, we also experience intense dry heat. This fluctuation between excessive moisture and significant drought causes our soils to expand and contract over and over again, creating unstable soil. If this happens beneath your driveway, you may begin seeing cracks and sinking slabs.
Improper Compaction
Before a driveway is poured, the contractor is responsible for ensuring the dirt beneath the surface is properly compacted to support the weight of the slab and cars that drive upon it. In an effort to save time and money, some unscrupulous contractors cut corners during the compaction process. They may fail to pack the crushed-stone base properly, or they may use inappropriate dirt or sand substrates as a substitute during compaction. Unfortunately, the only way to avoid this issue is to choose your contractor carefully, and owners of newly built homes may not have had a say in the matter.
Heavy Loads
If the soil beneath your driveway is already unstable because of expansion, contraction, and/or poor compaction, then adding a heavy load to your driveway will likely accelerate settling. This is because unstable soils cannot continually support the weight of the slab and a heavy vehicle. Parking a vehicle or another object, like a dumpster for your home remodeling project, that weighs more than 10,000 pounds on your driveway for an extended amount of time can cause cracks and chips. Subsequently, water can enter through these cracks and cause erosion beneath the slab, potentially making existing troubled soils even more unstable.
Raising Driveway Concrete in Houston
Are you tired of the bumpy ride and unsightly appearance that your driveway provides? If so, you deserve to work with an experienced concrete lifting company in Houston that can restore beauty and functionality to your property. Whether your driveway is sinking because of soil expansion and contraction, improper compaction, or heavy loads, our sunken concrete driveway solutions will resolve the issue. Take the first step in resolving your concrete concerns and call our team today!
