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A Lesson on Concrete By Jessica Long, Quality 1st Companies

O ne thing that has always been a major part of our communities and lives is concrete. It has not been a partner in life, a child, or a friend, but it is the walkway that we use when we purchase a home and run up to put our keys in the door for the first time. It is the garage slab we park our cars on when we know rain or snow is coming. It is the sidewalk where kids become experts at hopscotch. It is the patio that we set our grill pit on when family visits, and the pool deck we relax at in the community pool. Every day, without notice, we rely on concrete to be the base of many of our day to day actions. Often, I am asked if concrete gets fragile or loses its strength over time. The short answer to this is no. Concrete, if unaffected by other elements of life, holds its strength. Now as we all know, nothing in life is a perfect scenario. We constantly have outside sources or elements that have their effects. When talking about concrete, some of these outside elements are weather, snow melting chemicals,

impact damage, vehicle damage, erosion of supporting and surrounding soils, and more. As our communities grow and age so do their components. Trees grow lifting the sidewalks and walkways. Soils erode and settle causing concrete to shift and drop. An inattentive neighbor drives their truck up on a sidewalk cracking the concrete. Some years winter is harsher than others causing extra ice melt to be applied and soils to freeze and thaw causing move- ment and settlement. We have months with heavy rains that cause washout. All the above examples and more can cause deteriorating concrete and trip hazards. Over the years, the situations above are constantly affecting the concrete and compromising its longevity. Many can be out of our control, so replacement will always be a necessary item in maintaining our communities. Another area that may go unnoticed is the aging of the structural elements inside of concrete. When dealing with foundations and parking deck structures, we often forget CONT I NU E S ON PAGE 34

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