Settlement Cracks In Garage Floor

A poorly installed floor base will increase the likelihood of settlement crack issues.

Settlement cracks in garage floor.

Ultimately severity depends on crack width and if it continues to grow or not. Meaning some areas were not properly compacted. Settlement cracks are generally more serious than shrinkage cracks. This drying causes the cement to shrink pulling apart each pour until a crack develops.

New homes cracks that occur in the first few months or years. Garage or basement floor settlement may also produce a tipped floor even if the concrete is not cracked or the floor may settle uniformly. Settlement cracks are larger and more serious than shrinkage cracks and have the potential to cause more substantial damage. A 20 foot square of freshly poured concrete will shrink about a 1 8 of an inch in each direction.

Carson dunlop associates sketch shows how loose soil and gravel under a garage floor can combine with poor drainage to lead to serious slab settlement and a broken slab where no reinforcement was used in. When a garage floor is first poured the concrete begins to harden contractors say cure and when this process takes place the concrete shrinks a little. There s no exact method for determining how serious a wall crack is without hiring an expert to examine the wall but you might be able to. This results in settlement of the slab in various points causing it to crack as seen in photo.

A little bit of settlement is normal over the years but it can put pressure on garage floors and result in cracks. How to determine if the cracks in walls are serious.