Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials in the entire world, and it is not a recent invention, either. Primitive examples of concrete have been found among ancient Egyptian ruins, made of sand, aggregate, and other ingredients. Today’s concrete is much more precisely engineered for maximum performance, including water, sand, aggregate, and cement. Once poured, concrete will cure (harden) into the final product, to make anything from sidewalks and building foundations to highway overpasses, floors for buildings, and more. Still, as tough as concrete may be, it still needs treatment from time to time, such as the work pressure grouting contractors, concrete grinding services, and slab jacking. What happens when pressure grouting contractors are hired, and why should a concrete flood get ground up?
Concrete Lifting and Crack Repair
Concrete may suffer from sagging ground, exposure, and simple old age, which can often put cracks in it or result in an uneven surface. This is at best unsightly, and at worst can compromise the concrete and cause structural problems. If such surface problems appear in concrete, then pressure grouting contractors can be hired, and these workers will inject grout into the compromised concrete. Grout is any thick material that can be injected into concrete or similar hard items, and easily spread through all gaps and holes in it, regardless of the configuration. Such pressure grouting contractors don’t even need to know the layout of the pores or cracks inside the concrete; once they inject grout, that material will spread on its own to fill all gaps and spaces completely. Such processes are often used to fill porous gaps inside soil or rock as a form of geoengineering, but this can be done for concrete, too. From the 1800s to today, dams have received grout treatment, to ensure that no water can leak through the dam or cause it to break. Doing this can also strengthen an age-worn foundation.
What about concrete lifting? This process is used to fix any patio or sidewalk that has started to sag, and puts it back at the correct level. If the earth underneath the concrete is too heavy with water, then it will start to sink, and the sidewalk or patio will sink right along with it. This results in cracks, gaps, and uneven surfaces on the concrete, which is unsightly and will create a rough tripping hazard for pedestrians. The solution is to call for concrete raising crews, who will visit the site and use a pump machine. Take note that this option isn’t available for concrete patios that are connected to the house’s foundation.
The concrete lifting experts will inject a quantity of material underneath the sagged concrete, and that material will rapidly expand and harden, which in turn raises the concrete back to its intended level. Once that’s in place, the concrete can be touched up as necessary, such as using concrete crack repair kits to fill in remaining cracks and smooth out the surface. This process is a quick one; as opposed to old “mudjacking” techniques, modern concrete lifting allows pedestrians to use the affected sidewalk right after treatment is done. There is no particular waiting time.
Concrete Floor Grinding
Meanwhile, what about indoor concrete floors? These are gaining popularity, and not just for warehouses and factories. Banks, schools, malls, and other establishments can use concrete floors too, and take advantage of their durability and attractive polished surfaces. When an older building is purchases, though, is concrete floor will need some work, and that begins with concrete grinding.
Grinding workers will arrive with hand-pushed concrete grinding machines, which use a hard, rotating disk to scrape the concrete floor’s top layer and make it perfectly flat and level, removing all upraised imperfections and other issues. Smaller, handheld models can be used at the edges, where the floor meets the walls. This process is used to strip off the floor’s top layer and prep it for epoxy treatment, and the workers must wear hearing protection and shield themselves from airborne dust and particles during work. Once this is done, epoxy can be applied to the concrete floor, which boosts its weight endurance, makes it resistant to stains, and makes it easier to paint on.