Ensuring Your Concrete Driveway Has a Long Lifespan

Posted on: 31 May 2017

One of the low maintenance paving materials that you could consider or your driveway is concrete. Additionally, it is highly durable despite its low cost, making it a popular option for most homeowners. Nevertheless, this does not imply that your concrete driveway will not require some attention to ensure that it stays in pristine condition. When it comes to concrete, preventive measures are always best as once the concrete has been irrevocably damaged you would have to opt or extensive repairs or resort to entire repaving. So what are some of the things that you could do to ensure your concrete driveway has a long lifespan?

Ensure cracks are attended to as they occur

A major risk to the integrity of your concrete driveway is the development of cracks. Nonetheless, these cracks do not happen overnight. It is prudent or homeowners to inspect their driveway routinely so that any signs of cracking is remedied before the crevices get a chance to expand. The reason why cracks should be repaired post haste is to ensure that water does not seep into your concrete. Water damage will cause your concrete to start to crumble, and this can be exacerbated by the weight of vehicles driving over the surface. Additionally, if you have reinforced your concrete with steel, water damage could pose the risk of concrete cancer. Overall, if you begin to notice hairline cracks, you could choose to fix them yourself using an epoxy or call professional contractors to restore the integrity of the concrete.

Ensure the concrete does not come into contact with harsh chemicals

Since concrete is quite durable, some homeowners may not pay much attention to what chemicals it is being exposed to. Chemical exposure applies in particular to driveways, as there is always the chance of them being exposed to grease, transmission fluid and a host of other stains. To restore the pristine appearance of their driveway, some homeowners will use harsh detergents to eliminate the stains. The chemicals in the soaps may clean your driveway but could also pose the risk of eroding the surface of the concrete. Thus, you inadvertently end up damaging your concrete when you were trying to keep it appealing. If your driveway has become severely stained over the years, you should consider other cleaning methods such as pressure washing. This technique does not use harsh chemicals but will effectively eliminate any stubborn stains and make your driveway look good as new.

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