Causes of Concrete Cracking
While concrete continues to remain by far the most commonly used building material, we really only know two things for sure; It gets hard, and it cracks.
When a concrete floor cracks the cause of this can generally speaking be put into four categories;
- Concrete Shrinkage; This could be related to the actual placement of the concrete, and these types of cracks are typically visible within the first 30 days after placement. Shrinkage cracks and “crazing” cracks look like a spider web or a sheet of cracked glass.
- Chemical Attack: When concrete is left exposed to caustic or acidic materials, these materials can find their way into the micro-capillaries of the concrete and cause cracking.
- Thermal Cracks: Concrete is actually porous, think of it in terms of a common sponge. Water can get into a slab of concrete, from above (wash-downs), from below (moisture vapor transfer), or from the original placement (A large amount of water is used to create concrete).
- Structural: These types of cracks come from excessive weight such a racking with inventory and heavy equipment. These weights stress the concrete, subsequently, it cracks.
When your facilities floors contain cracks, no matter what the cause, visit our website at www.tuffindustrailproducts.com for a recommendation of how to properly repair your cracks.