Issues With Cracks in Garage Floor and Prevention Methods

Last Updated: 2022-02-16By Steven H.

Commercial and residential garage concrete floors have tendency to crack over time. It can penetrate all the way through slab or be a small hairline crack that goes only an inch or so in depth.

Don’t overreact right away. It is a common issue that can be solved easily by sealing small or large crack. Lifespan of concrete is 100 years, but small cracks appear much sooner. Usually is it not a structural defect but can cause minor or some major problems.

What Issues Come Up After Cracks in Garage Floor Occurs

Radon Gas or Similar
Moisture/Water Coming Through
Ants Invade The Garage
Costly Constant Repairs
Structural Integrity of Building

With certainty everyone should agree there is no better material for garage surface than concrete. It create sealed and very strong slab that withstands thousands of pounds of weight, easy to install and does not cost a lot.

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Common Issues of Cracks in Garage Floor

Every construction defect can lead to further issues. Specific function of material is disturbed and it no longer serves to full potential. Remodel On Point explains 5 problems that start with tiny cracks in concrete floor.

Radon Gas or Similar – Certain states have higher risk of underground gas coming through foundation and base slab. One of those gasses is Radon. It is believed to potentially cause cancer and other health problems.

Completely sealed garage floor with concrete protects from gasses coming through. Check if your area is in known for dangerous underground gasses.

Moisture/Water Coming Through – You don’t need to have underground water for moisture to come through garage floor cracks. Condensation and wet soil will do the trick for you.

Completely sealing each spot in foundation and concrete slab assures there is not moisture on the way. Wet surfaces can increase chance of mold growth.

Ants Invade the Garage – Colonies of ants can get through smallest cracks in garage floor. They seem to appear out of nowhere and keep on finding things on floor to feed on.

Ants are harmless and most of the time just annoy home owner with their presence. Sealing all homes is the only method to make sure no ants are getting through.

Costly Constant Repairs – To make it look like new, repairs are made for garage concrete floor. Small crack can quickly grow and the cost to fix will be higher than few hundred dollars.

Don’t wait too long and get it done as soon as you find the crack in concrete. If not fixed right away, more cracks and loose concrete can appear.

Structural Integrity of Building – Small problem can become big one if structural points get damaged. Concrete slab is often connected with footings or even could be poured together.

Large cracks that continue all the way to footings or specific points on which structural wall sits, can cause big issues.

How Do New Cracks in Garage Floor Appear?

There are at least dozen reasons why garage floor is made out of concrete. Top of them are being: it is very hard material that withstands loads of pressure, it is easy to install and it does seal completely foundation of garage.

Cracks should not appear out of no reason, and if you see one it’s probably one of listed below causes.

Exposed to cold temperatures
Thickness is less than recommended
Low quality concrete
Too much pressure applied
Bad installation techniques
Not enough time to cure
Underground waters or air pockets

These are most common 7 reasons why cracks appear in garage floor. Don’t forget that like every other material, concrete has end of its’ life in about 80 years. Even with ideal installation and perfect condition it will show cracks after 50 years.

Exposed to cold temperatures – We almost never see concrete slab installed during winter out in open. Concrete needs at least +10 Celsius or 50 Fahrenheit temperature to cure properly. Chemicals can be added for work during application in cold month, but it’s not guaranteed that hairline cracks won’t start coming through.

Hard materials react poorly to change of temperature as well. Meaning that if summer is too hot and winter is too cold, concrete lifespan is shortened.

Thickness is less than recommended – minimum thickness for garage concrete floor is 4 inches. Larger surface area requires more stability and thicker slab is installed. For straightening it even more, rebar can be added.

Commercial garages assume use of heavy cars and high traffic. Therefore the amount of concrete poured should increase to 6 inches.

Low quality concrete – not everyone knows, but concrete has different grades. Each type is meant for specific application. For garage slab concrete M10 and M15 are used most of the times. It is closer to the bottom of the table for strength, but lower grades do exist.

Higher grades can be used as well, but it will cost a lot more. Ask contractor what type of concrete they are planning to pour for your garage floor installation.

Too much pressure applied – residential and commercial garage use is not the same by any means. You cannot install 4 inch slab and expect to have no cracks in garage floor while operating heavy truck or installing car lift.

Know your limits and understand how much pressure your garage floor can handle. For second car lift structural engineers require additional foundation pads or strip of footing.

Bad installation techniques – professional crews with years of experience will install it differently from first time DIY experiment. If improper techniques are used, cracks can come up within first two years.

Vibrator is used to distribute all concrete and release pockets of air that are trapped inside the mixture.

Not enough time to cure – within two days after installation of concrete garage floor it will be solid enough to walk on without any problem. However to park a car on top of it is not the right time yet.

Professional installers recommend at least 7 days to cure for residential garage floor use and minimum two weeks for commercial.

Underground waters or air pockets – unfortunate home owners with high water beds can experience cracks in garage floor due to water flow under slab.

Part of soil is washed out and pockets of air appear right under garage slab. With enough pressure it can crack.

How to Avoid or Prevent Cracks in Garage Floor?

Remodel On Point team wants to share some tips for installation and use of garage floor that prevents from cracks appearing sooner than normal.

Stick to practice that is used by professional trades to get maximum time out of your garage slab before it starts cracking. These would increase lifespan of concrete by at least 50%.

Install in warm conditions
Add rebar for strength
Make sure its thick enough
Cover up with material or hey
Proper use of surface

Our 5 points to prevent cracking in garage floor are not suggestions, but rather mandatory requirements for installation and use of slab. What 20-30 years ago was a recommendation now is standard practice.

Install in warm conditions – concrete firms up better in worm conditions. Pouring it during winter while snow is on the ground is definitely a red flag.

Even though garage space is inside, the soil can be frozen and every experienced concrete worker should recommend defrosting and making the premises worm before pouring concrete.

Add rebar for strength – a net of steel rebar is often added for tightening up entire surface area. It works as a component for concrete to wrap around and hold tight.

A good distance between rebar would be 8 – 12 inches. Therefore rebar net should be with 1 square foot squares or smaller. Lift it up few inches from the ground to makes sure steel is positioned in the middle of slab.

Make sure it’s thick enough – don’t trick anyone with think concrete slab. It will be a disaster if garage floor has less than 3 inches of concrete poured.

Everything less than 4 inches thick should not be installed even with reinforcement features. If necessary make it thicker by excavating more dirt.

Cover up with material or hey – concrete likes to rest without being touched or disturbed. Special material is used as cover for outdoor and indoor slabs or sidewalks made with concrete.

You may see hey put directly on fresh concrete in enclosed areas. It also protects fresh concrete in cold and humid areas. Hey absorbs moisture from air and keeps in inside for the period of curing.

Proper use of surface – never mix or intend to misrepresent type of use for garage floor. Saving few bucks during installation and assuming regular garage concrete floor can be used for commercial use is asking for trouble.

If you are not sure about thickness, connections to foundation walls, rebar and additional support features – ask structural engineer for assistance.

How Long Does it Take for Cracks to Show?

In normal conditions cracks will start appearing within 20-25 years of use. Without following simple rules of initial installation, it can start way sooner. Bad installers can cause garage floor cracking and crumbling only in 2-3 years.

Overpaying and getting higher than average quality concrete slab in garage can keep it in almost perfect condition for close to 40-50 years. Although its double the time, the cost for exceeding average lifespan may be not worth it. Fixing small crack does not cost a lot of money.

How to Repair Cracks in Garage Floor?

When you just notice the crack on garage concrete slab it’s important to deal with it right away. Fixing the problem soon can save money in a long run and prevent it from reoccurring in other spots.

Professionals that infill holes can charge $120 – $150 per crack or $500 per garage slab if you have 5-10 small to medium size cracks in concrete.

First is to find out if the crack goes all the way through the slab. Smaller cracks are easier to fix and they don’t cause immediate problems to garage.

With regular saw expand the crack and Follow the line to full depth.
Clean the hole from loose pieces of concrete and vacuum out all the dust.
Fill it with epoxy or polyurethane and let it dry for at least 2 days before walking on it.

Tis 1,2,3 step process can be easily done at home without hiring professionals. Do it on your own and spend several hundred dollars elsewhere.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:

Asphalt
Concrete
Paver Stone
Crushed stone
Brick
Seashell
Gravel

To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway

Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
Patches and small holes can be fixed fast

Cons of Asphalt Driveway

Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
Almost everyone else has same surface
Oily surface and chemicals used in mix

Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway

Durable material for large weights
Long lifespan if installed properly
Winter and summer friendly

Cons of Concrete Driveway

Has marks and stains over time
Hard to repair without replacement
Super hard to DIY

To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway

Creative designs can be done
Personal looks, can match the house
Can replace single stone in minutes

Cons of Paver Stone Driveway

Weeds growing through
Stone can move over time
Most expensive material

There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway

Low maintenance required
Fits rural area style
Can be reused for other purposes

Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway

Gets very hot during summer
Can be messy after many drives
Hard to remove snow and ice

Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway

Variety of selections in shapes and shades
Bricks are recyclable
Slip resistant with rough top part

Cons of Brick Driveway

Needs regular maintenance
Change color over time
Old fashion looking

Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway

Environmentally friendly
Has natural drainage
Creates worm vibe of beach house

Cons of Seashell Driveway

Break and crack under light weight
Sharp and very hard to walk on
Gets stuck in shoes and tires

To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway

Cheapest of them all
Easy DIY Job
Can install another material on top

Cons of Gravel Driveway

Needs to be graded very often
Will mix with dirt and leaves
Washes up with heavy rains

It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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