How to Reinforce a Concrete Driveway

Concrete driveways usually have a lifespan of about thirty years. But, all aspects of your concrete driveway are affected by several factors, such as the weather conditions it is subjected to, the overall concrete mixture used to create the driveway, and even the regular maintenance measures you take. If you want to extend the lifespan of your concrete driveway, you should regularly maintain it. By regularly maintaining your concrete driveway, you can save yourself from many costly repairs or replacement. But, how often should you maintain your concrete driveway? How often should you apply a concrete sealer on it?

Protecting Your Concrete Driveway

Most homeowners think that regular application of a concrete sealer on their concrete driveway will prevent concrete potholes. These potholes can cause damage to your car’s interior. Once you notice any damage on your car’s interior, you should avoid driving on it until the damage is repaired. However, if you notice cracks in your concrete driveway, you should apply a concrete sealer before the cracks start to spread.

Cracks usually appear on the exterior of your concrete driveway, on the pavement. In most cases, these cracks are caused by uneven surface tension. As you drive over the uneven surface, the pressure of the car’s weight causes the surface to buckle, resulting in small potholes. Therefore if you want to protect your concrete driveway, you should consider using concrete sealer in order to protect it.

Proactive Maintenance

In order to avoid potholes on concrete driveways, you should also avoid parking your car directly on the concrete surface. Even the slightest tugging action can cause cracks to widen and spread. To prevent asphalt cracks from spreading, you should place asphalt pavement blocks ahead of time. When you are putting asphalt pavement blocks in place, make sure they are placed on a level and flat surfaces. The asphalt blocks should also be assembled on top of a skid footing, which will make them easier to move.

Another way to prevent asphalt potholes from spreading is to fill your concrete driveway with a water-based aggregate when it starts to crack. When water seeps into the crack, it expands when it comes out, causing a larger pothole. If the crack is small, however, using water-based aggregates may cause the expansion to be too much for the small amount of cracked pavement. You should still fill the potholes, but be careful not to get the water in the cracks. When you see water coming out of the small cracks, you should stop putting the aggregates in the cracks and move on to the next step.

Reinforcing Concrete For Increased Durability

Concrete reinforcement should be used where concrete begins to buckle or move. A concrete beam that is tied to rebar at each end is the best option for this type of reinforcement. By using rebar to strengthen the concrete, you will not have to worry about chipping and breaking. A concrete slab that has been reinforced with rebar will be stronger for many years, especially if you plan on doing most of your driving on the concrete slab. Its important to remember that whilst concrete is durable, it will need some forms of active maintenance in order to ensure that it continues to be durable for many years to come.

Concrete can become cracked as well as becoming damaged by water and a range of other factors such as ice or immense pressure which can lead to the concrete eventually giving way. You should therefore where possible draw up an active plan for maintenance and upkeep in order to ensure that your driveway surface is well looked after and catered for.  This will lead to you having a driveway for a far longer period of time.

Benefits Of Having A Concrete Driveway

You can enjoy some of the following benefits as a result of having a concrete driveway built for your home:

• The average concrete driveway can last up to 50-60% longer than a regular asphalt driveway.
• Having a concrete driveway can add more appeal to your driveway overall thanks to the design options you can choose from.
• The amount of weight a driveway made from concrete can handle is normally significantly higher than tarmac or asphalt.
• The resale value of concrete is higher thanks to its wide use within a variety of different construction tasks as well as its desirability as a construction material.