Prevent a Concrete Slab from Freezing and Lifting

LESLIE: Listening in in Chicago on WYLL we’ve got Michael. What’s happening at your house?

MICHAEL: Well, I have a problem in the winter time when it freezes that my concrete slab or the concrete walkway going to my back door heaves up to the point that I can’t open my back door.

TOM: Oh, boy. You know, there’s going to be no easy fix to this. You either have to raise the door up or get the concrete to drop down. The concrete or any soil that’s above – in Chicago – above about three feet underground is going to freeze and lift.

Now, one of the things that you could try to do here, Michael, is I would ask you to look to see if there’s any moisture sources. If you’re running water under there, water is going to lift it a lot more than just the frozen soil. And so, if there’s any water that’s running under that area that can cause a bigger lift than if there’s no water there. But short of improving your drainage in that area to try to keep it as dry as possible, you’re going to have to tear that out; dig down deeper and then repour it at a proper height. It must be awfully close to that door.

MICHAEL: It is. And especially in the winter time. (Leslie chuckles)

TOM: Yeah, and it gets closer as the temperature drops.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

LESLIE: Yeah, and you want to make sure that you address the situation because if you can’t open that door in the winter months you might have an emergency where that’s your only egress. So really it should be addressed as soon as possible.

MICHAEL: OK.

TOM: Michael, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.