As a homeowner, one of your top concerns is maintaining the structural integrity of your property. So, when you start to see cracks forming in your garage floor, it can be a cause for major alarm. After all, this is not only an eyesore but also potentially dangerous for both you and your home. Therefore, it’s important to understand what might be causing these cracks. In this blog post, we will explore the potential causes of cracked garage floors, repair options, and provide some tips on how to prevent them.
How Do Cracks Form in a Garage Floor?
Let’s begin by discussing a couple of reasons why cracks can form in a concrete garage floor. Once you understand the causes, you’ll be ready to learn about some of the repair options available once you contact a professional repair team.
Lack of Joints in Your Concrete
A lack of joints is one of the most widespread causes of concrete cracks, whether in your garage floor or elsewhere. Joints are an essential feature of concrete that helps to prevent cracking and other potential issues. Here’s how they work:
As your concrete cures, it will experience a small amount of shrinkage. Similarly, concrete can also expand and contract in response to significant temperature changes. The role of joints is to give the concrete space to move as these expansions and contractions occur.
However, if the concrete floor in your garage lacks joints, the concrete will have minimal space to move in response to curing and temperature changes. When this occurs, it is common for the concrete to form cracks.
Differential Foundation Settlement
Another source of cracks in a concrete garage floor is differential settlement. Foundation settlement occurs when the soil below a foundation shifts or sinks. Since foundations rely on the soil for support, they will move whenever the soil does.
You should understand that a small amount of uniform settlement is expected following the initial construction of a building. However, differential settlement involves significant non-uniform shifts that may result in severe structural damage.
When differential settlement occurs in a garage, there will be a few key indicators. For instance, this settlement can cause jammed windows, stuck doors, sloping floors, and many other issues. Additionally, differential settlement can cause the floor of your garage to become cracked.
Best Way to Fix Garage Floor Cracks
Now that the leading causes of cracked garage floors are out of the way, it is time to discuss some of the main ways to fix this issue. The two sections below will explain how a professional repair team can address the source of your floor cracks and make them look like they were never there.
Resolve Any Differential Settlement
If your garage has experienced significant differential settlement, you may need to rely on a process called underpinning. Underpinning involves inserting piers into the earth and attaching them to the foundation. Once the connection is in place, your repair team can use the piers to raise the foundation and hold it in place to prevent future settlement.
Fill Your Garage Floor Cracks
After resolving any differential settlement that your garage has experienced, it is time to fix the cracks themselves. Fortunately, this process is also relatively simple and unfolds in a short amount of time.
Since cracks are unsightly to most, it is paramount that you fill them to restore the visual appeal of your garage. To fill your garage floor cracks, your repair team will use a material such as epoxy. Once the materials fill the cracks, it will be as if they were never there.
Can You Fix Garage Floor Cracks on Your Own?
Many homeowners are interested in saving money, which leads them to attempt many DIY repair projects on their properties. However, we suggest that it is not wise or safe to repair a cracked garage floor alone. Instead, the best method is to hire a professional repair team.
Fixing concrete is a challenging process for those who have minimal experience. It is unsafe to perform these repairs if you have never done them before. Hiring an experienced professional ensures that your crack repair project unfolds effectively and safely.
Learn More about Fixing Garage Floor Cracks from a Pro
This article emphasized the importance of hiring a trusted professional to fix your garage floor cracks. If you are dealing with this issue and live in Eastern North Carolina, Regional Foundation & Crawl Space Repair is the best team you can choose for the job.
We have several decades of experience with foundation repair, concrete leveling, and much more. Reach out to us today to learn more and to take advantage of our free estimate offer.
