Concrete cracks occur for many reasons and can grow quickly. They reduce a property’s curb appeal and are signs that the surface has been compromised. Use this guide to help you recognize these issues so you can purchase more ready-mix concrete to repair a customer’s concrete surface.

Understanding Concrete Cracks

1. Shrinkage Cracks

Water is a key ingredient in ready-mix concrete. It helps with pouring and hardening. It leaves pockets in the concrete sublayer when it evaporates too quickly, common around posts and pipes. These pockets will eventually collapse when too much stress is applied to the surface.

Maintain a stable temperature with shade or insulating blankets when pouring concrete for a customer. This will prevent rapid evaporation that leaves these problematic air pockets.

2. Expansion Cracks

Concrete molecules expand in high temperatures and split when they push against an immovable surface, like a metal post or other concrete slab. Expansion cracks develop along joints. As rain seeps in, it erodes the concrete sublayer, weakening the slab. Fill these cracks with ready-mix concrete on the worksite to restore the surface.

3. Premature-Drying Cracks

These cracks are also related to rapid evaporation. If the top-layer of poured concrete dried too quickly, thin cracks form in a spiderweb pattern. They’re rarely a structural issue because they’re so thin, but they lower the visual appeal of the property.

Apply a fresh, thin layer of ready-mix on top, and consider a curing additive that contains moisture during the drying process.

4. Overload Cracks

Concrete can withstand a certain amount of weight. Overloading a surface with heavy machinery or other loads will result in cracks that spread out from a central point where the weight was.

Standard concrete has a PSI range of 2,500-5,000. Never park heavy equipment or vehicles on surfaces, and don’t store large pallets of construction materials that surpass the PSI range on them.

5. Heaving Cracks

These cracks form when tree roots push up from below concrete. Heaving cracks in a home’s foundation will create a bulge in the flooring and break materials on top.

This is why it’s important to carefully survey a worksite before you start a job for a customer. If you’re pouring concrete near a large tree, recommend that the customer remove it to eliminate problematic tree roots.

If you need ready-mix concrete for an upcoming job, contact Weeks Sand & Concrete. This Cameron, NC, concrete supplier has served the area since 1984 and carries a large selection of products, including sand clay, washed sand, and topsoil sand. Visit their website to learn about their delivery services, or call (919) 499-4272 to speak with a sales associate.