Concrete Repair & Replacement in Parma, OH

Concrete repair and replacement is often the first question on an older Parma property. With a median home build year of 1958 according to Point2Homes' summary of Census data, a large share of the city's driveways, walks, patios and steps are at the age where something has gone wrong. The useful question is not just how to fix it, but why it happened, because the cause decides whether a repair will last.

Reading the damage

• Scaling and flaking: the top layer peels off in flakes, usually from freeze-thaw and salt on concrete that was not air-entrained or was finished with too much water. The slab underneath is often still sound.
• Hairline cracks: shrinkage cracks that do not move. Sealing them keeps water out.
• Wide or shifting cracks: one side higher than the other, or cracks that keep growing. These point to base or soil problems below.
• Sinking and tipping: a slab that dropped as a unit, often near downspouts or where soil was not compacted.
• Crumbling edges and steps: damage concentrated where salt and water collect.

Repair options

Crack sealing is the least expensive repair. Cracks are cleaned and filled with a flexible sealant that keeps water and salt out. HomeGuide's resurfacing guide puts driveway crack filling at about $0.50 to $3 a linear foot.

Lifting raises a sunken but intact slab by pumping material under it. HomeGuide lists mudjacking at about $4 to $9 a square foot and polyurethane foam at $8 to $25. A 100 square foot sidewalk runs roughly $400 to $900 with mudjacking.

Resurfacing puts a thin cement-based layer over a sound slab with surface wear. HomeGuide says it suits minor flaking and cracks under a quarter inch, and is not the answer for crumbling, large cracks or structural problems.

Section replacement cuts out the failed panels at the joints and pours new ones level with the rest.

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When full replacement is the better buy

Replacement makes sense when the base has failed under most of the slab, cracks have broken it into loose pieces, scaling covers the whole surface, or the slab drains toward the house. Resurfacing over a moving slab just moves the cracks to the new surface. HomeGuide notes that if a repair would need a new layer over 2 inches thick, replacement is the better choice. When a driveway or walk is near the end of its life, money spent on repair is often money spent twice.

Salt damage on older Parma concrete

The Cleveland Hopkins weather station averages 63.8 inches of snow a year, and that means a lot of salt on driveways and walks. Concrete poured before air entrainment was routine, or concrete that has lost its sealer, takes the most damage. If only the surface is scaling, resurfacing and a sealer can buy years. If scaling has eaten into the stone, the slab is losing thickness and replacement is the safer call.

Preventing the next repair

Keep sealer on exterior concrete, aim downspouts away from slabs, fill cracks before winter, and use deicers that are gentler on concrete. On replacements, a compacted base and air-entrained mix fix the causes rather than the symptoms.