Snow Plowing can Ruin your Driveway

The snow is coming. The forecast of snow may have eluded us one week-end only to blast us sometime soon. When it does blanket Kansas City area we tend to forget about what is underneath. Hibernation sets in, the squirrels settle in, flowers are nowhere to be seen and we ourselves, get the snow shovels out, turn up the heat, grab our blankets, build a fire, sit back and relax. That uneven sidewalk and driveway that you didn’t get repaired will be just fine until next spring. Are you sure about that?

If you shovel your driveway yourself or have it done by a truck with a plow on it, you should be damaging your driveway. An uneven driveway or sidewalk makes shoveling difficult and can also cause your cement to chip with each pass of the blade. Repairing your concrete (if it is in good shape) will raise it to be level with the other concrete slabs around it. That is a given. And if your driveway has been plowed numerous times throughout the winter by a company using a F150 0r 250, they may have chipped the cement during the process through no fault of their own. You can also chip your concrete by hand shoveling as well.  In the spring, we can definitely restore your sinking driveway to ensure it is level once again, but the damage that was done by snow plows and hand shoveling cannot be fixed.

Avoid a Sidewalk Tripping Hazard

The uneven sidewalk is also a larger tripping hazard in the winter as it is harder, if not impossible, to see the sidewalk under the snow.  A Holiday visit to your home may turn into an emergency room visit if your guests trip over an uneven concrete sidewalk slab in your front yard that they did not see. Avoid that scenario and have your uneven sidewalk raised and repaired!

What to do?

Polyurethane mud jacking or Poly Jacking can be done to raise your uneven sidewalk and driveway up until the time that the ground freezes. In 2013, that was December 8. No one knows for sure what day that will be this year. The best course of action for this situation would be to get a quote now and open the door to have your sidewalk and driveway repaired yet this year. If the timing does not permit for the repairs to be done before the snow season sets in, at least you have procured a quote to get the job or jobs done at 2014 prices and will be one of the first to have your driveway repaired in the spring.

Repair your Concrete

Once you repair your driveway and sidewalk, it is recommended that you caulk the joints between the slabs to prevent the rains and melting snow from seeping into the ground below, which will make the void worse. Look at your sidewalk after a rain and check for standing water. Caulking will ensure that your repairs are permanent. Mud jacking foam expands 3 feet in either direction. The possibility for your sidewalk to sink again is slim. But if it does drop ¼ or more (and your concrete is over 10 years old), we will repair it for free.

If you aren’t able to get your driveway and sidewalk raised before next spring, make sure you make an appointment to do it as soon as possible. Raising and repairing your uneven your sidewalk may save your guests an embarrassing tumble or injury and you will ensure that your driveway cement is not chipped when the snow is plowed or shoveled.