Street creep, also known as “driveway creep,” happens when expanding concrete during hot weather exerts excess pressure on your driveway and foundation.
Concrete is susceptible to thermal contraction and expansion, growing slightly in summer and shrinking in winter. To mitigate this, contractors create small gaps between concrete slabs called expansion joints, which help prevent cracking.
However, over time, expansion joints can lose their effectiveness. In winter, as slabs contract, these joints may widen and become clogged with sand, rocks, and dirt, compromising the buffer space between the slabs.
When temperatures rise and the slabs expand, they push against neighboring slabs, creating a chain reaction that can extend up to your garage and, ultimately, your home.
To effectively prevent street creep, it’s essential to understand its causes and the potential damage it can inflict.
You can spot early signs of street creep long before it causes structural damage to your home. But, if you fail to notice them, you can be sure that street creep will put great pressure on the walls of your foundation, causing serious damage. Street creep repair costs largely depend on the extent of the damage when you notice the problem.
Here are some common warning signs to look for:
A very early sign of street creep are cracks near the expansion joint where your driveway meets the street. This likely means that the street is expanding right up against your driveway. If not fixed early, this will continue slab by slab until it reaches your house or garage.
This means that street creep has reached your garage, and this is not a good sign especially if your garage is attached to your home. It will eventually extend to your foundation if you do not have it fixed immediately.
Your street creep problem has reached the point where your home has sustained significant foundation damage. To save your foundation walls from complete failure, you need to have the problem addressed quickly and at its source.
Timely Repairs
Once you realize you have street creep, you need to fix it to prevent foundation failure and structural damage. Of course, street creep repair costs heavily depend on the extent of the damage when you notice it.
If caught early, you can usually fix driveway creep by cutting a wider expansion joint and installing Helitech’s signature Street Creep Buffer. This will seal the expansion joint so that no rocks or dirt can get inside and still have enough give to allow for the expansion and contraction of the concrete slabs.
Once driveway creep has caused foundation damage, though, you will need to either lift your foundation up, or support the walls. This can be done in a myriad of ways, though typically a wall anchor will be used to restore the structural integrity of the foundation wall.
Since street creep affects each home differently, Helitech Waterproofing & Foundation Repair offers free consultations to people just like you. Not only does this give us a chance to accurately diagnose your foundation problems, it also gives you a chance to get a feel for how our team works. We’ll even give you an estimate for the necessary work.
Schedule an obligation-free call today and restore the structural integrity of your home.
When I first found out I had a water problem in my basement, I was worried, to say the least. 100-year-old home with a leaky basement, not an easy fix. I called several different waterproofing companies. Helitech responded the fastest and when it was all said and done they gave me the most peace of mind and they made me feel secure that my old house would be fixed properly and permanently. Thanks, Helitech and to my salesmen Jon Courtney. Great job and service.
Godfrey, IL, USA
