WhyConcreteCracks

By
SteveVandeWater

Cracksinconcreteareextremelycommonbutoftenmisunderstood.Whenanownersees
acrackinhisslaborwall,especiallyiftheconcreteisrelativelynew,heautomatically
assumestheressomethingwrong.Thisisnotalwaysthecase.Sometypesofcracksare
inevitable.Thebestthatacontractorcandoistotrytocontrolthecracking.Thisisdone
byproperlypreparingthesubgrade,assuringthattheconcreteisnottoowet,utilizing
reinforcementwhereneeded,andbyproperlyplacingandspacingcrackcontroljoints
andexpansionjoints.However,sometimescrackshappeninspiteofanyprecautions
taken.
TheAmericanConcreteInstituteaddressesthisissueinACI302.104.Evenwiththe
bestfloordesignsandproperconstruction,itisunrealistictoexpectcrackfreeand
curlfreefloors.Consequently,everyownershouldbeadvisedbyboththedesignerand
contractorthatitisnormaltoexpectsomeamountofcrackingandcurlingonevery
project,andthatsuchoccurrencedoesnotnecessarilyreflectadverselyoneitherthe
adequacyofthefloorsdesignorthequalityofitsconstruction(Ytterberg1987;
Campbelletal.1976).

Diagnosing6TypesofConcreteCracks
PlasticShrinkageCracks
Probablythesinglemostcommonreasonforearlycracksinconcreteisplasticshrinkage.
Whentheconcreteisstillinitsplasticstate(beforehardening),itisfullofwater.This
watertakesupspaceandmakestheslabacertainsize.Astheslablosesmoisturewhile
curingitgetsabitsmaller.Becauseconcreteisaveryrigidmaterial,thisshrinking
createsstressontheconcreteslab.Astheconcreteshrinks,itdragsacrossitsgranular
subgrade.Thisimpedimenttoitsfreemovementcreatesstressthatcanliterallypullthe
slabapart.Whenthestressbecomestoogreatforthenowhardenedconcrete,theslab
willcrackinordertorelievetension.Especiallyinhotweather,shrinkagecrackscan
occurasearlyasafewhoursaftertheslabhasbeenpouredandfinished.
Often,plasticshrinkagecracksareonlyahairlineinwidthandarebarelyvisible.
However,eventhoughacrackishairline,itextendsthroughtheentirethicknessofthe
slab.Itsnotjustonthesurfaceasonemightthink.
Onefactorthatcontributessignificantlytoshrinkageismixingtheconcretetoowet.If
excessivewaterisintroducedintothemix,theslabwillshrinkmorethanifthecorrect
amountofmixwaterwereused.Thisisbecausetheadditionalwatertakesupmore
space,pushingthesolidingredientsinthemixfartherapartfromeachother.Itssimilar
tooverdilutingapitcherofKoolAid.Bydoingso,aweakersolutioniscreated.When

theexcesswaterleavestheslab,thesolidparticleshavelargervoidsbetweenthem.
Theseemptyspacesmaketheconcreteweakerandmorepronetocracking.
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Figure3Asuccessfulcrackcontroljoint

Unfortunately,wetterconcreteiseasiertoplaceandfinish,especiallyinhotweather.This
isonereasonthatmanyconcretefinishersaddwatertoconcretemixertrucks:itmakes
theirworkeasier.Afewgallonspercubicyard
willnotsignificantlyaffectthemix.However,ifanexcessiveamountofwaterisadded,
onecanunwittinglyreducetheconcretesstrength.
Plasticshrinkagecrackscanhappenanywhereinaslaborwall,butoneplacewherethey
almostalwayshappenisatreentrantcorners.Reentrantcornersarecornersthatpoint
intoaslab.Forexample,ifoneweretopourconcretearoundasquarecolumn,hewould
createfourreentrant
corners.Becausetheconcretecannotshrinkaroundacorner,thestresswillcausethe
concretetocrackfromthepointofthatcorner(SeeFigure1).
Figure1Shrinkagecracksoriginatingatreentrantcorners

Aroundedobjectinthemiddleofaslabcreatesthesameproblemasareentrantcorner.
Thisiscommonlyevidencedaroundslabpenetrationssuchaspipes,plumbingfixtures,
drains,andmanholecastings.Theconcretecannotshrinksmallerthantheobjectitis
pouredaround,andthiscausesenoughstresstocracktheconcrete(SeeFigure2).

Figure2Shrinkagecrackatslabpenetration
Tocombatrandomshrinkagecracks,controljoints(oftenmistakenlyreferredtoas

expansionjoints)areincorporatedintotheslab.Controljointsareactuallycontraction
jointsbecausetheyopenupastheconcretecontractsorgetssmaller.Theyaresimply
groovesthataretooledintofreshconcrete,orsawedintotheslabsoonafter
theconcretereachesitsinitialset.Controljointscreateaweakplaceintheslabsothat
whentheconcreteshrinks,itwillcrackinthejointinsteadofrandomlyacrosstheslab
(SeeFigure3).

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Figure5Drivewaycrackswherejointsshouldhavebeenplaced

Foracrackcontroljointtobeeffective,itshouldbeasdeepastheslabisthick.Thatis,ona
typicalfourinchthickslab,thejointsshouldbenolessthanoneinchdeep;asixinchthickslab
wouldrequire1.5inchdeepjoints,etc.Tominimizethechancesofearlyrandomcracking,these
jointsshouldbeplacedassoonaspossibleaftertheconcreteispoured.Ifthecontroljointisnot
deepenough,theconcretecancracknearitinsteadofinit(SeeFigure4).

Figure4Acracknexttoatooshallowjoint

Crackcontroljointsshouldbeplacedatallreentrantcornersandslabpenetrations,and
evenlyspacedthroughouttherestoftheslab.Agoodruleofthumbforfourinchthick
residentialconcreteistoplacejointssothattheyseparatetheslabintoroughlyequalsquare
sections,withnojointbeingfurtherthanabout10feetfromthenearestparalleljoint.
Followingtheseguidelines,afourfootwidesidewalkwouldbecrossjointedatfourfoot
intervals.A16x64drivewaywouldhaveonejointrunningupthecenterlengthways,and
jointscutacrossitevery8feet.Thispatternwouldcreatesixteen8x8sections.Ifa
drivewayis12feetwideorless,thecenterjointupitslengthcanusuallybesafelyomitted,
andthe
crossjointsspacedthesamedistanceasthedrivewayiswide(forexample,anelevenfoot
widedrivewaywouldhavenocenterjointandcrossjointseveryelevenfeet).Ifjointsare
notplacedwheretheyneedtobe,theconcretewillcreateitsownjointsbycracking.Its
interestingtonotethatitoftencracksinthesamepatternasitshouldhavebeenjointed(See
Figure5).

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ExpansionCracks
Anotherreasonthatconcretecracksisexpansion.Inveryhotweatheraconcreteslab,like
anythingelse,willexpandasitgetshotter.Thiscancausegreatstressonaslab.Asthe
concreteexpands,itpushesagainstanyobjectinitspath,suchasabrickwalloranadjacent
slabofconcrete.Ifneitherhastheabilitytoflex,theresultingforcewillcausesomethingto
crack.
Anexpansionjointisapointofseparation,orisolationjoint,betweentwostaticsurfaces.Its
entiredepthisfilledwithsometypeofcompressiblematerialsuchastarimpregnated
cellulosefiber,closedcellpolyfoam,orevenlumber(SeeFigure6).Whateverthe
compressiblematerial,itactsasashockabsorberwhichcangiveasitiscompressed.This
relievesstressontheconcreteandcanpreventcracking.
Figure6Foamexpansionjointseparatingdrivewayandcurb

Expansionjointmaterialcanalsopreventtheslabfromgrindingagainsttheabuttingrigid
objectduringperiodsofverticalmovement.Duringthesetimesofheavingorsettling,
expansionjointmaterialpreventsthetopsurfaceoftheslabfrombindingupagainstthe
adjacentsurfaceandflakingoff(SeeFigure7).

Figure7Expansionjointbetweentheseslabswouldhavepreventedchipping

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CracksCausedbyHeaving
Anotherfactorwhichcontributestocrackingisgroundmovementbroughtonby
freeze/thawcycles.Duringsuchcycles,thefrozengroundcanliftasmuchasseveral
inches,andthensettleagainwhenthegroundthaws.Iftheslabisnotfreetomovewith
thesoil,theslabwillcrack.
Thepresenceoflargetreerootscanalsocauseconcretetoheave.Ifatreeislocatedtoo
closetoaconcreteslab,thegrowingrootscanliftandcracktheconcrete(SeeFigure8).

Figure8Treerootsliftedandcrackedthissidewalk

CracksCausedbySettling
Conversely,ifalargetreeisremovedfromnearaconcreteslabtheburiedrootswill
decompose.Theresultingvoidcancausethegroundtosettleandtheconcretetocrack.
Settlingisalsocalledsubsidence.
Subsidenceisverycommonovertrencheswhereutilitylinesandplumbingpipesare
buried.Oftentimes,theutilitytrenchisnotcompactedwhenitisrefilled.Ifconcreteis
placedatopapoorlycompactedtrench,thevoidcreatedbysubsidencecancauseacrack
acrosstheunsupportedconcreteslab(SeeFigure9).
Figure9Notethecracksinthesidewalkandstreetoverthispoorlycompactedwaterlinetrench
Figure10Sidewalkandstepsettledbacktowardthehouse.Note
thatthestephasbeencappedtocompensate

Anotherplacewhereconcretecommonlysubsidesis
nearahouse.Whetherthehomeisbuiltona
basementorcrawlspace,theoverdigissubsequently
backfilled.Unlessthebackfillmaterialiscompacted
inliftsastheoverdigisfilled,itwillsettleover
time.Thissettlingwillcauseanyconcretepoured
atopittosettlealongwithit.Manytimesthissettling
willcausetheconcretetocrackandtiltbacktoward
thehouse,creatingnegativeslope(SeeFigure10).
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CracksCausedbyOverloadingtheSlab
Anotherfactorwhichcontributestocrackingisplacingexcessiveweightatoptheslab.
Althoughitisaverystrongmaterial,concretestillhasload
limits.Whenyouhearsomeonespeakof4,000psiconcrete,theyarereferringtothefact
thatitwouldtake4,000poundspersquareinchofpressuretocrushit.Residentialconcrete,
however,israrelyoverloadedasfarascompressivestrengthisconcerned.Thatistosay,the
weightdoesntusuallypulverizeorcrushtheconcrete.Whatismorecommonisthatthe
excessiveweightistoomuchforthegroundunderneath
theconcrete.Thisisespeciallytrueafterperiodsof
rainorsnowmeltwhenthegroundissaturated

Figure11Largeweightscancrackaslab

heavy

andsoft.
Whengroundwatermigratesundertheconcreteitcausestheunderlyingsoiltobecomesoft
orspongy.Excessiveweightontheslabatthispointcanpresstheconcretedown.Sincethe
flexuralstrengthofconcreteislessthanitscompressivestrength,theconcretebendstoits
breakingpoint.Homeownerswhoplacelargerecreationalvehiclesordumpstersontheir
drivewaysaremorelikelytoseethistypeofcracking(SeeFigure11).
Drivingheavyvehiclesofftheedgeofaslabcreatesasimilartype
Figure12Aheavytruck

ofcrack.(SeeFigure12).
droveoverthissidewalk,
crackingtheedge

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Figure14Crustingcrackscausedbyprematuresurfacedrying

CracksCausedbyPrematureDrying
Crazingcracksareveryfinesurfacecracksthatresemblespiderwebsorshatteredglass.
Theycanhappenonanyconcreteslabwhenthetoplosesmoisturetooquickly.Crazing
crackscanbeunsightly,butarenotastructuralproblem.Theyaresofinethatthereisno
waytorepairthem(SeeFigure13).

Figure13Crazingcrackscausedbyprematuredrying

Crustingcracksoftenhappenduringtheconcretestampingprocess.Theyusuallyoccuron
sunnyorwindydayswhenthetopoftheslabdriesoutsoonerthanthebottom.Thetop
becomescrustysowhenthestampisembedded,itpullsthesurfaceapartnearthestamped
jointscausingsmallcracksaroundtheoutsideedgesofthestones.Althoughtheyare
cosmeticallyunappealing,crustingcrackspresentnostructural

problembutmaybepatchedifdesired
TheImportanceofReinforcement
Theuseofsyntheticfibers,reinforcingwiremesh,orrebarcanaddsomeextrasupportto
concrete,butnoneofthemwillpreventcracking.Infact,toomuchsteelcanactually
causeaslabtocrackbyrestrainingnormalconcreteshrinkage.However,ifcracks
happen,reinforcementcanholdthedifferentsectionstogether.
Thepresenceofreinforcementcanbethedifferencebetweenacrackremaininghairline
innatureorseparatingandbecomingwiderandunsightly.Steelreinforcementcanalso
keeptheconcreteonbothsidesofacrackonthesamehorizontalplane.Thismeansthat
onesidedoesntheaveorsettlemorethantheother,whichcouldcauseatrippinghazard.
Itissometimesimpossibletodetermineexactlywhatcausedaparticularcrack.
However,propersitepreparationandgoodconcretefinishingpracticescangoalong
waytowardsminimizingtheappearanceofcracksandproducingamoreaesthetically
pleasingproject.

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