Driveway Expansion Joint Installation in Baltimore and Surrounding Areas

Reasons for driveway expansion joints

A home’s foundation is valuable; a homeowner will do everything possible to protect it. After all, foundation repair can be costly and time-consuming. Investing in the protection of a foundation costs much less than the much more expensive job of fixing it.

One thing that property owners should be aware of is “street creep,” a phenomenon that occurs when concrete streets shift due to:

• Traffic

• Temperatures

• Natural settlement

Street creep is a threat to the integrity of a home’s foundation. One telling sign that a home suffers from street creep is a gap between the floor and garage footing. It may seem like a minor problem, but it could severely damage the home’s foundation. Even a one-inch movement can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damages to a Baltimore home and ruin its value.

Fortunately, there is a solution.

Cutting a new driveway expansion joint will help prevent future expansion damage from street creep. The process involves cutting a four-inch section out of the driveway to install a new expansion board, relieving pressure on the home’s foundation and preventing the driveway from cracking.

Though some municipalities offer free expansion joint services, property owners should be wary about what that may entail. Often, the municipality will just crudely cut the gap and pour in asphalt that does not match the existing concrete. Besides its unattractive appearance, this method can also cause future problems. As street creep continues, it will push the asphalt until it forms a hump resembling a speed bump in the driveway.