If you have concrete inside or outside of your home that is starting to crack and become unsightly, you generally have two options – repair or replace it. There are many people who choose to repair it, simply because it’s the cheaper of the two options, but is that always the right call? Before you make your final decision, you should take the time to ask yourself a few simple questions. The answers will tell you whether it would be better to repair or replace your concrete.
How Old Is Your Concrete?
The age of concrete is one of the major determining factors to consider before you decide whether to repair or replace it. If you have a concrete driveway that is more than 25 years old, for example, it’s probably not worth trying to repair any cracks in it since that’s the approximate life expectancy for a concrete driveway. You may be able to get away with doing small repairs, but a concrete surface that old will eventually need to be completely replaced. With that in mind, don’t spend a bunch of money repairing it when replacement is inevitable. The same is true of concrete garage and basement floors.
How Much Damage Is There?
Do you have a series of large cracks that seem to be getting worse? It could indicate a problem with the base beneath your concrete driveway or floor. If the base below your surface isn’t holding up, then your efforts to repair the concrete are probably going to be futile. In this situation, it’s best to tear out the old surface, remedy the underlying fault and pour anew. On the other hand, if you have small surface cracks that can be repaired rather easily, you probably don’t need to go about replacing all of your concrete. You can make the necessary repairs to the cracks and keep an eye on your concrete to see if any issues return.
How Worried Are You About How the Concrete Looks?
While there are some repair jobs that can make concrete look new again, there are others that are going to make your concrete look like it has been repaired. Depending on the severity of your repair or the location of the work to be done, it may be easy to see patchwork done to fill in holes and cracks in your concrete. This may not matter to you if the cracks are located in a dark part of your garage or basement, but if the repairs are being made in the middle of your driveway or concrete patio, it might be best to replace the whole surface. We offer full concrete driveway and patio replacement services to give you a brand new surface, and offer a range of reinforcement and sealing options to help stabilize and protect surfaces for years to come.
What Is Your Budget?
Finally, when considering repairing and replacing, there’s the cost factor to keep in mind. Repairing a concrete surface is just about always less expensive than replacing it. So if you want to keep costs down, repairing might be the way to go. However, it’s also important to keep in mind the other concerns already raised. Is repairing only a temporary measure that won’t solve other issues like faults beneath the concrete or concrete that’s at the end of its usable life? If so, replacing your surfaces – while a greater expense today – will limit your need to remake repairs in the immediate future.
Before hiring a company to repair or replace your concrete, consider these questions and decide whether a repair or replacement is right for you. At Templin Concrete Construction, we can help you decide what’s best for you. We offer everything from concrete driveway repairs to concrete garage floor replacement and concrete driveway pouring. Learn more by calling us at 612-388-1945 today.