The freeze-thaw effect describes how water freezes and then thaws again into a liquid form. If you want to minimize structural damage, you must protect the concrete on your Clarksburg property from moisture exposure due to the freeze-thaw phenomenon. When water condenses into ice, it expands by around 9%. Despite appearances, growing ice has the ability to displace concrete particles. The concrete weakens structurally over time when there is any form of displacement.
The freeze-thaw cycle can cause small craters to grow inside and along the surface of the concrete. Concrete is porous to begin with, but moisture seeps through even more with each new micro-tear. As more water travels through the concrete, the freeze-thaw cycle displaces the soil beneath it. You’ll wind up with an uneven, structurally weak slab once the concrete sets. On a slab that has been exposed to moisture over the winter, cracking is unavoidable due to the decreased tensile strength of porous concrete.
The severity of the winter climate dictates how dangerous it is to be exposed to the freeze-thaw cycle. Because some slabs like in sidewalks aren’t considered “heavy-duty,” freeze-thaw has a considerably bigger impact on concrete with low psi. Because it keeps the snow off your concrete throughout the winter, covering it is a vital part of slab protection. This way, if your slab settles, you won’t have to replace it due to breakage that prevents repairs.