Denver Decorative Concrete & Custom MasonryWhy is my concrete driveway sinking?
There IS A small Portion Of My Driveway That Sunk Earlier This Year. Now That It Is Winter This Sunkin Area Melts All Of The Snow On It. It Does not Matter How Cold It Is The Snow Melts Almost Instantly. What Is The Problem?
water leak under the driveway
Sounds like a serious problem. Either your hot water is leaking under there, or you have some kind of hot ground water coming up and heating it. That would explain both the sinking and the heat. When you decide to fix it, why do not you figure out a way to use this heat to keep the entire driveway clear of snow, if it’s naturally occurring.
Is your water bill excessive? That would be a clue. Maybe it’s a sink hole. It wouldn’t hurt to consider it. You can contact your local govt office to see if someone can assess it for sinkholes. At least you could rule it out.
WOW! Where do I get a driveway, sunken or otherwise that melts snow instantly regardless of the temperature?
The snow melt problem is unheard of. Do not know why you’d complain about that.
As for the sinking driveway, the road base was not correctly prepared. Water is getting underneath it and causing a sink-hole to develop. If left unchecked the whole house could be swallowed up. And perhaps THAT is a reason for the snow melt. I can conceive of warm water eroding the soil away underneath the driveway. That warm water is also what is melting the snow.
Now, keep in mind this is totally just guesswork on my part. I’m not a geologist, nor am I a concrete expert.
I HAVE heard of heated driveways that are warmed with hot water to melt the snow. I can also conceive of there being a leak which may be the reason for the erosion going on underneath the driveway (again just a guess). The hot water is more prevalent in the sunken area, melting the snow.
Whatever the actual reason for the sinking – and the snow melt, I’d think it’s possible you have a serious problem. Rather than continuing to ask for help here you might want to contact a local contractor who does cement work and get his FREE opinion. It’s not likely you’re going to be having much concrete work done this time of the season, so he may be anxious to get a bid in hoping to get some business with you.
ME? Not sure who I’d call. But I would definitely have someone who knows foundations and soils have a look at it. Maybe even take a drill core sample – yeah, it’s getting expensive, and I can already feel the pain of that one. But the possibilities of the problem growing can get much worse and steeply more costly if ignored. So I think I might start talking to everyone I can about this problem, and get LOTS of opinions before deciding on what to do about it.
As for simple concrete sinkage, they’ve processes that pump concrete under the sunken portion and can raise it back up to the level of the unsunken portions of concrete.
Hope this helps.
Happy Holidays. ( I hope )
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You would better hope there isn’t a sinkhole under the driveway. Is your neck of the woods geologically predisposed towards sinkholes? (limestone/karst/carbonate/salt beds?).
Self-leveling compound is a good solution for slow-sinking floors where very little cracking is visible. It is not a permanent solution for severe sinking or structural damage.
You may want someone to check it out. Someone experienced, I suppose. You can go to EZBZ and post an inquiry of what you need. They’ll find a local contractor for you, just like what they did for me!