Hardscaoes Inc. Calgary Concrete Floors

Here’s is a great tip

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Instead of waiting until wind, rain, street salt and the effects of winter freezing start to wear away at your outdoor concrete surfaces. Why not hire experts in the field to seal these areas with one of many different products that can keep you sidewalks, porches and driveways from cracking and looking beautiful years longer than they would just left to the elements.

Be proactive, start now to keep your concrete looking new for the future.

Hardscapes Inc. also has a team of professionals that can assess any damage that may have already occurred in these places around your home and have the necessary products to seal them and bring them back to life.

Call now for a free estimate.

Extreme Cold & Concrete

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Weather DamageI guess you could say it’s been colder than usual this year. Extended periods of below -20 can wreak havoc on your mental attitude never mind what big dips in temperature can do to you outside structures and concrete.

The freezing temperature of concrete is approximately 28ºF (-2º C).

Concrete does not maintain its strength when poured at low temperatures. Almost 50% of strength loss can occur if the concrete freezes within the first few hours after placement. Temperature affects the rate at which hydration of the cement occurs. Low concrete temperatures will stall the set and weaken the strength.

Hardscapes Inc. knows about concrete, we know how to keep your concrete from cracking and heaving and we know how to make it look beautiful at the same time.

Sink Hole

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Driveway RepairOver the years water, snow and ice even city fed runoff from sewer gutters can cause erosion under your driveway surface. This leaves your concrete driveway slab vulnerable to cracking and if not properly repaired it could collapse.

One way of solving this problem is called mud jacking, a process that pumps high pressured grout into the void under the driveway through holes cut in the surface. The process fills the space between the foundation element and the eroding soil.

Once you have corrected the elevation discrepancy you will still be left with cracking and the inevitable patchwork that covers the holes made to apply the process.

Hardscapes Inc. has a number of solutions to repair and rebuild the surface of your concrete drive and bring it back to its previous beauty.

Give us a call to find the solution right for you.

 

Ever Repaired Cracks in your Concrete Porch?

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Cracked PorchAging concrete can go from bad to worse fairly quickly if not attended too.

These days’ most front porches are made with concrete and what starts out as a small crack can quickly become a larger crack if water gets in and freezes.

Depending on how deep the crack is it may have to be filled in with vinyl patching and then capped with a concrete patching material. You might even have to use a metal brush or some other method like stapling or chiseling away some of the edges to make a smoother repair.

The results can vary, from ok to ugly.

This is not really a DIY situation. Why not let an expert take the struggle out of this kind of home repair.

Hardscapes Inc. has all the tools and the know how to quickly assess any situation and find the immediate answer to your worn concrete issues.

Salty

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Concrete is incredibly more porous than you would think. Though it seems rock hard it is actually full of millions of tiny cracks and pours.

Concrete can get damaged in any number of ways but the most common damage occurs from the de-icing salts used by city snow plowing services and freeze/thaw cycles which occur quite often in Calgary during spring warming and fall freeze up.

Salt can sneak into small pours and tiny cracks in your concrete. Here there is an acid-like reaction that eventually creates larger and larger pockets that hold greater and greater amounts of water. It is the water that eventually causes all the damage.

Water expands up to 9X when frozen. The pressure from this expansion grows with each freeze and thaw until eventually it pops the surface of the concrete creating the pitting you so often see in sidewalks and driveways.

Hardscapes Inc. has a number of solutions to this problem. Email us for a free quote or contact us for more information.

Wearing Conctete

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worn-concteteIf you have lived in your home for a number of years you might have to deal with broken concrete. Constant wear and tear from the environment, road salt and the dropping of heavy objects can cause cracking and pitting as well as permanent staining.

The concrete fixtures of your home are one of the first things guests or the public notice when they come to you pay a visit.

Resurfacing and repairing these surfaces is not something you want to attempt on your own. A professional knows the right formula and surface to apply to your specific needs.

Hardscapes Inc. has all the tools and materials to do the job right. Contact us or request a quote to find out how to solve your aging concrete woes.