Concrete crack repair · Yakima Valley & Tri-Cities
Crack repair that keeps water out of the slab
Cracked concrete does not fix itself. We grind the crack out, clean it and seal it, so a small opening does not turn into a sunken or broken slab.
Chapter 01
Why a small crack is never just a small crack
Cracking is common and, in many cases, unavoidable. It happens even when concrete is installed correctly: not enough expansion joints at the start, natural curing and settling, freeze-thaw cycles that make the slab shift, changes in moisture under it.
The crack itself is not the real problem. The opening is. Water gets in, carries soil out from under the slab, freezes, expands and pries the crack wider. Over time that brings soil erosion, freeze-thaw damage, rebar corrosion that spalls the surface, trip hazards, pest entry and a driveway that looks neglected.
Left alone, a crack widens as temperature and moisture keep working on it. If it keeps growing, or one side starts to sit higher than the other, the slab underneath has moved, and that is worth knowing before anything gets sealed.
An Ellensburg driveway with its cracks cleaned out and sealed
Ground out, cleaned, and sealed so it can still move
In most cases cracked concrete gets repaired, not replaced. Cracks cannot always be made to disappear, but they can be sealed to stop water intrusion and to improve how the slab looks.
First the crack is ground out to remove loose material. Then the area is cleaned thoroughly, because sealant only bonds to clean concrete. Then it is filled with a polyurethane silicone sealer.
That sealer cures into a medium-modulus rubber with excellent adhesion, so it accommodates normal joint movement without breaking down. It also resists abrasion well enough to take foot and vehicle traffic. If the slab has dropped, we lift it first and seal it after, so the repair is flat as well as closed.
Chapter 03
A Naches driveway, sealed before winter
Fall, before the first hard freeze, is the best time to seal. Irrigation season is over, the concrete is dry, and the weather is mild enough for sealant to set. On an exposed aggregate driveway in Naches, a crack ran across one panel and the control joints had opened up. We cleaned out the crack and the joints and filled them with flexible sealant, the white line you can see in the photo below.
Naches sits higher up the valley than Yakima and tends to see colder winter nights, so driveways there go through a lot of freeze-thaw cycles. Keeping water out of the crack keeps it from pushing wider every winter.
Sealing has a limit. If a crack has a raised lip or the slab tilts, it needs lifting first. If the concrete is crumbling or broken into loose pieces, resurfacing or replacement may be the honest answer, and we will say so straight.
More than 10 years of experience, and we prioritize repair over replacement whenever the concrete allows it. For a free estimate on cracks in Yakima, Ellensburg, Naches or the Tri-Cities, call (509) 796-0658.
Straight answers
Questions about concrete crack repair
From our own jobs
Open cracks, then cleaned and sealed.
More finished work is in the job gallery.