Concrete...

Onsite today ran into this crack in the driveway. Obviously follows the lip footing. North end is raised about an inch, South end about a quarter up. This is normal in freeze / thaw but this area raising and that much ?? That Palm wouldn’t have a root system that would reach the drive would it ?? No sinking further out other end of the slab. What is pushing the slab ?

house over sink hole

To my eyes it looks like the driveway is stable and the structure has settlement. It doesn’t freeze there right? I really would need to stand back and take a look. The crack adjacent to the large one by the downspout intrigues me almost like its being undermined. Wish I could see it in person.

Not to state the obvious but it could be a few things:

-Something growing under the slab, tree roots, etc.

-Subsurface material swelling under the slab if the slab area was not properly de-mucked and filled and compacted prior to concrete placement.

-The dwelling structure could be subsiding or rotating and the slab may be stable, for the same reasons above.

-And, if you are in an area with known karst topography, that would give you similar conditions as mentioned above.

One key question is … has it stabilized and for for how long or is it recent?

Google concrete Driveway creep

Hey Roy, you’re up way too early like me… :frowning:
Good links, the rest of the drive was in excellent condition, no cracks or issues at the joints, garage floor too. Very bizarre…

I have been this way all my life never more then 5 hours sleep .
I do most of my planning in the early morning .
Loved it when I had a shop next to the home could go out and not bother any one .
Glad to see others up in the AM too.
Love my green house this time of the year .

Looking at the pictures I don’t see a control joint at the garage opening. If that’s the case when it started to settle it just popped open. It looks solid from the garage to a control joint 6-8 feet down the drive? Decorative coating too and that’s not cheap.

I agree. The driveway was poured up to the garage opening without proper tie-in, control joint or expansion joint, and then resurfaced with deco finish. I don’t think this has anything to do with tree roots, but may be a result of expansive soils.

“I agree. The driveway was poured up to the garage opening without proper tie-in, control joint or expansion joint, and then resurfaced with deco finish. I don’t think this has anything to do with tree roots, but may be a result of expansive soils.”

Yes to that as well …

http://www.foundation-repair-guide.com/expansive-soil.html

http://www.ecodes.biz/ecodes_support/free_resources/2010Florida/Building/PDFs/Chapter%2018%20-%20Soils%20and%20Foundations.pdf

http://www.jlconline.com/Images/Trouble-Free%20Foundations%20for%20Expansive%20Soils_tcm96-1089301.pdf

I too believe it was just a result of the driveway built by its self and not connected in any way. The palm likely would not cause that. The roots from them run fairly shallow to mid depth but rarely cause damage from my observations. They are thin in size and rarely push up like a Ficus would. Ficus are thick and get thicker and ride high in the soil and f u c k up everything around them :frowning:

House settling. There does not appear to be a proper expansion joint between the house and drive way, making what may be normal settlement appear as it does. Look at most driveways, there is defined separation or expansion joint between the two to allow movement.

No control joint and your dumping water on it from the downspout. Expansive soil condition.

Read about it vs asking about it;

Cut it out, put in a trough drain for the gutter downspout and include an expansion joint.

I would tend to agree with settlement and lack of expansion material. Expansive soil may be but I don’t think so. The water run off is not close to the lip and where the downspout is located the slab is only cracked, not heaved up, the other end is no run off and raised up the most. The drive only has one other hairline out by the apron. The rest is excellent condition, stained and decorative scored only.
HA ! My Client is a Lee County Deputy Prosecutor, narratives anyone ?? CYA !

So?

“There is a crack in the concrete driveway”!

Yeah, that’s real Professional…
While I agree to keep it simple, with your approach, what do you give out, a 6-8 page full on HI report ??
My point him being a Deputy Prosecutor, he’s already making an issue of this to both Realtors, on his front burner. Want to keep the peace yet effectively do my job.

Lack of expansion joint as required. Please call the applicable tradesman for further guidance and to determine exact cost to cure. If you want include more information on expansive soil, minor normal settling of the home, and information on where and why expansion joints are required.

Thank you Preston: excellent…

I agree with Preston!

And, since it sounds like you may have a slightly contested back and forth with you and your report becoming part of the pivot point, you may want to choose another word other than “required” to Not box you in, unless you have a set of Approved Plans and Permits in front of you.

Normally you would not pass that slab/form work inspection and be allowed to place concrete without the building inspector visually observing expansion material properly placed as part of that inspection. It is not common but the design for that detail may have been different, i.e., lateral steel reinforcement from the footer and a monolithic pour.

Keep it simple and refer it to trades for review; that repair is a simple re-work!

Lack of proper compaction and lack of proper concrete slab reinforcement.
Concrete slabs doweled in to the slab or foundation will prevent differential movement at that location, but will not prevent cracking from stress caused by settlement of the soils away from the doweled section. :slight_smile: