Crack on the concrete floor

Pouring of improper strength concrete on the floor Concrete is available in different qualities and strengths. Inadequate control joints The control joints help the concrete to crack through a plane. Pouring concrete on the frozen ground Ensure the land on which you are laying the floor is suitable according to the soil grade in your area. The area may include depression, ridges, or bumps. If the problem is on a small floor section, you can get it fixed using floor leveling compounds instead of chipping and removing the concrete out of the spot.

After establishing the size of the surface, you should start the chipping process to remove any high material to create a rough surface.

The rough surface is necessary to enable the fresh repair concrete to attach firmly. You can use a chipping hammer for the task. For convenience, when working on more substantial portions of the floor, you should use a jack chipping hammer or an electric chipping hammer.

However, other professionals prefer using surface grinding machines to make work easier. Using a wire brush, brush the spot and sweep off the chippings. A clean surface will allow the new material to adhere to a sturdy surface. You can also use other methods of cleaning should there be a need. How to Repair Concrete Floor The next important step is to mix the materials and fill in the areas chipped out using the following procedure when you are through with surface preparation.

Ensure you use clean sand and either grade I or II of cement for a better result. Mix the dry batch properly before adding water. Add liquid polymerized or latex bonding agent to the dry mixture. However, some bonding materials may require direct application on the chipped surface. Dampen the chipped area with clean freshwater, and be careful not to flood the area. Wetting the surface helps in adhering the new mixture to seal the place. Moistening the surface will help to solve the problem of rapid concrete drying and ultimately cracking.

If you do not wet the area, the dry surface will draw water from your fresh concrete mix. Mix the cement and sand well before use on the patches. Using a bullnose trowel, scoop some of the mortar from your mixing container and place it in the patch. Work on the mixture on the patch forcefully to ensure no air remaining in the spot.

Smoothen the surface of the patch and leave it relatively higher than the rest of the floor. Give the patch some time to dry before working on it with a steel finishing trowel.

After some time, when the spot begins to dry, smoothen the surface and allow it to dry for about 2 hours to finish troweling the surface. Splash some water on the source to enhance even drying. Clean the adjacent surfaces off the concrete by scraping using the edge of your trowel.

If no expansion joints are cut into the concrete floor then shrinkage cracks will likely appear. These are quite common. May 15, To effectively fix the cracks in concrete flooring, identify the type of crack and its cause. Clean the area, key it and fill it with concrete floor fillers. Once done seal the area and take measures to prevent the recurrence of a crack in your concrete patio, basement, garage floors. First, use a small hammer and chisel in combination to knock away any cracked, crumbling, or loose concrete.

Chip to a depth of about one inch below the surface plane. Then, rinse the area. Cracking is a natural occurrence in concrete. When concretes first poured, it is in a liquid state. Over a few days, it will begin to harden into a solid concrete slab, slowly shrinking as it does. As the concrete shrinks, it will slowly begin to form hairline cracks. Hairline cracks are normal and do not affect the integrity of the concrete.

Often contractors might add a little too much water to the mix to make it easier for them to apply. Unfortunately, this also makes the concrete more prone to cracking, and not uncommon for it to crack even one year after the initial construction. Changing temperatures could also play a toll on concrete and cause thin cracks to appear over time. The best thing to do is to keep an eye on the cracks and see if they are getting worse.

Concrete goes through a lot; cracking is inevitable, no matter how hard the best contractor tries, concrete will eventually crack. Concrete cracks for several different reasons, the most common reasons for a basement floor to crack are; shrinkage, heaving and settling, premature drying, and expansion.

Concrete is primarily made up of cement often in powder form , an aggregate like rock or gravel, and water. The moisture is lost as the concrete hardens, but since the water is what enables the concrete to take up more space, the concrete will shrink.

While shrinking, more and more stress is put on the concrete, especially when hardening at corners or around cylindrical objects and circular spaces. Eventually, the concrete cracks to relieve all the tension put on by shrinking. Shrinkage is a common problem when installing concrete during the hot summers, where the moisture is lost quickly, and when concretes mixed with too much water. When a concrete mix contains an excessive amount of water, the concrete becomes a lot smaller once it hardens after all that waters lost through evaporation.

However, these types of cracks should still be repaired and sealed to prevent water and small insects from seeping in. Heaving occurs when the soil beneath the concrete floor expands and pushes upward.

After periods of heavy rainfall or snowfall, the soil will absorb the groundwater and can heave, or lift, the concrete floor by as much as a few inches. When the water in the ground dries up, the soil will settle again. Tree roots are another common cause for heaving, often seen in sidewalks and driveways. As tree roots grow underneath the surface, they could cause upward pressure against the concrete and cause it to crack.

Conversely, if a tree is removed, taking the roots with it, there will be a space underneath the concrete that will cause it to crack due to the uneven ground underneath it, not supporting its weight properly. This cracking due to space in the soil also happens when a tree decomposes.

Aside from the c visible cracks, if your home is settling unevenly you might also notice the following issues around the house:. Cracks caused by heaving is a sign of a more serious problem that should be taken care of by a professional foundation contractor.

Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Project Overview. Featured Video.