Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Information Pertaining Concrete Sidewalk Repair

By Essie Craft


The reason why a concrete sidewalk repair is done is to eliminate potholes that have emerged on it. Potholes and cracks will make the path look horrible and also people using it can easily be injured. A common cause of path cracking is the effect of roots coming from the surrounding trees. What happens is that these roots will penetrate under the slab and other weak points like joints. Such roots will increase in diameter with time and this will translate to cracks being formed on the surface of the pavement.

The need to restore a footpath will arise if it is accidentally damaged by external forces such as machinery used by road constructors. It can also be defaced during water pipe and sewerage channel repair. Whatever the reason that makes your path not sound to use, you will be required to seek the services of a reliable contractor to work on it.

It is required that the contractor hired to undertake the repair finds an alternative route to be used by pedestrians as he works on the damaged one. This is crucial as it ensures that the normal activities being undertaken in a given property are not disrupted. It is not economical for passersby to remain stranded till the contractor is through with his work.

There are standard materials that any contractor is expected to use for demarcation purposes. It is unlawful to use something different from this as pedestrians will have difficulties in interpreting. Demarcation will help guide pedestrians to the alternative route provided at the time of restoration. It is also applied in isolating the site of work so that pedestrians stay away from it. If you are working along a highway, it is important that you warn motorists of the activities going on so that they limit speed as they go past the site.

All contractors should obey the international constructions codes in setting up any kind of a structure. These will guide him on the minimal strength of materials he should apply in building a given facility. Following these codes will see durable and safe facilities being established.

Basically, concrete is composed of cement, water, coarse and fine aggregates. All these elements must be mixed in the proper ratio to ensure that the resulting structure hardens well to give a rigid as well as a durable product. The amount of each of these components will affect the properties of the hardened concrete.

The initial design used in the construction of the sidewalk is what will guide the contractor in carrying out the restoration duty. In case it is not available, a redesign should be done at least for the faulty part. If the client wish amendments be done so that the renewed structure assumes a new image, then he must pass his views to the designer.

After completing the concrete sidewalk repair, the contractor should ensure that he put up a mechanism that will protect it from the external force that caused the damage. This will prevent the client from suffering unnecessary costs now and then. For instance, fitting metal bars on either side of the path will prevent vehicles from stepping on it.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment