Settlement Cracks In Garage Floor

A 20 foot square of freshly poured concrete will shrink about a 1 8 of an inch in each direction.

Settlement cracks in garage floor.

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. Ultimately severity depends on crack width and if it continues to grow or not. This drying causes the cement to shrink pulling apart each pour until a crack develops. 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.

Meaning some areas were not properly compacted. Another reason for crack is bowing of floor due to improper sub slab prep. This results in settlement of the slab in various points causing it to crack as seen in photo. Why settlement cracks occur on a garage floor.

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. Settlement cracks are larger and more serious than shrinkage cracks and have the potential to cause more substantial damage. 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.

Settlement cracks are generally more serious than shrinkage cracks. New homes cracks that occur in the first few months or years.