People often ask questions about Street Creep, or Concrete Creep, and what it really is. This time of year when there is record high temperatures is the perfect time to talk about this phenomenon that can cause problems with foundations.
Street Creep is the action of concrete moving as it heats up and expands. When concrete is cool, it shrinks and allows debris to fall down in cracks and control joints. This is especially common in midwestern winters where cold temperatures cause the shrinkage of the roads, and sand/gravel trucks spread plenty of debris to fill those open joints in the concrete.
When the Spring and Summer temperatures start to go up, the concrete expands and creates pressure all around. When the joints around the slab are filled with hard debris they don't allow any expansion of the concrete and therefore the concrete actually pushes on the next slab.
When you multiply that over the many sections of concrete in a street you can see that the road will actually get longer. If your driveway is near the end of this run of concrete slabs, the pressure is transferred through your driveway and into your house. The best way to prevent damage is to maintain proper expansion joints in the driveway, but if damage has already occurred a foundation repair may be needed.
The picture is an example of the pressure that can be caused during high temperatures. This picture of concrete was taken this week along side a road that a Thrasher employee was driving on and thought that it helps show the effects of concrete that doesn't have room for expansion. In this case, the concrete has actually heaved up at the joint, and you can see the debris that filled the previously open joint. For more information on street creep and our solutions check out this link:
