Stamped Concrete- Do you guarantee my concrete not to crack?

I hate to start a post for the new year with this question. Do you guarantee my concrete not to crack? The quick answer is “no”. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but to my knowledge no one has figured it out yet. Believe it or not there are several types of cracks. Shrinkage, settlement and movement cracks are the most common. When I look at concrete and see a crack I can generally tell why it is cracked. Oh, by the way, I borrowed this picture off the web. I had to, cuz my concrete does not crack. Just kidding!

What we try to do is eliminate random cracking. We cut the slab in strategic areas as to weaken the concrete, so hopefully it will crack at the that point. It  works rather well. This is what we call a control crack. This is different than an expansion crack. If your project is large enough we will install expansion joints (cracks) and in between the expansion joints we install control joints (cracks). We have installed many projects and so far in eleven years we have not had any call backs or repairs for any types of cracks. I always discuss with my customers as to what we do trying to eliminate random cracking.

I hope this blog enlightens you a little bit to concrete cracking. There are many articles on the web, so I don’t believe I need to break it all down here.  Don’t despair, and do not let it discourage you from your concrete project. The first step is already figured out, we recognize it. We will design your project using our knowledge and understanding to eliminate or reduce cracking.

Concrete is a wonderful thing. It’s beautiful and gives you a solid base for many years. Whether it’s a driveway, patio or sidewalk. Concrete is still the best product to use. Nine times out of ten  concrete will be less expensive then pavers. And when concrete is  done correctly, (like we do),  it will not sink, separate and grow grass and weeds like pavers. Give us a call and let me help you with designing your project.