Concrete Repair in Winnipeg
Most failed concrete around a house failed because of what is underneath it.
Concrete around a house fails in patterns, and the pattern tells you whether the problem is the concrete or the ground beneath it. Winnipeg Foundation Experts repairs footings, slabs, steps and aprons, and the diagnosis comes first for the same reason it does everywhere else on this site.
Frost Heave Is the Local Cause
Frost drives deep here. House footings are placed below that depth deliberately, so the house stays where it is through the winter. Steps, landings, garage aprons and sidewalks are frequently built on much shallower bases.
The result is two structures moving differently. The house holds still and the shallower element lifts with the frost and drops again in spring. That is why a step separates from the house a little more each year, and why replacing the step without deepening or correcting its base produces the same gap again.
Spalling and Surface Failure
Spalling is the surface flaking away in layers. Water penetrates the top of the slab, freezes, expands, and lifts material off. Each cycle takes a little more.
De-icing salt makes it substantially worse by driving more freeze-thaw cycles through the surface and attacking the concrete chemically. Garage aprons and front steps take the most salt and show the most damage, which is not a coincidence.
Surface damage can often be repaired. Once it has progressed to exposed reinforcement, replacement becomes the sensible option.
Structural Concrete
Footings and foundation concrete are a different matter from flatwork. Damage there affects what the house is standing on, and the repair has to restore load-carrying capacity rather than just appearance.
Where a footing has spalled, cracked or been undermined by water, we assess whether repair is sufficient or whether the load needs to be carried elsewhere. That second case is where this work meets foundation piling.
Fixing the Base
Nearly every flatwork failure we are called to is a base problem wearing a concrete costume. Washed-out material under a slab, backfill that was never compacted, a downspout eroding the ground beneath an apron.
So we deal with the base as part of the repair. Pouring new concrete onto the ground that broke the old concrete is the most common way this work gets done twice.
We will tell you what is under yours before quoting. The assessment is free. Related: parging for exposed foundation faces, house leveling where the structure has dropped, and window wells. We work throughout St. James and Selkirk.
What's Included
- Footing, slab and structural concrete repairs
- Steps, landings and garage apron replacement
- Spalling and freeze-thaw surface damage
- Base correction so the replacement does not fail the same way
- Written scope before work starts
Other Services We Offer in Winnipeg
Concrete Repair Questions
Why do my front steps keep pulling away from the house?
Because they are usually on a shallower base than the house footing. The house sits below frost depth and stays put, while the steps sit in ground that heaves each winter and lifts them. The gap that opens each spring is the two moving independently, and it will keep happening until the base is corrected.
What causes concrete to flake off in layers?
That is spalling, and it is freeze-thaw damage. Water gets into the surface, freezes, expands, and pushes the top layer off. De-icing salt accelerates it considerably, which is why steps and garage aprons show it first.
Can cracked concrete be repaired, or does it need replacing?
It depends on whether the slab is still supported. A crack in concrete that is otherwise sitting on a solid base can often be repaired. A slab that has cracked because the base beneath it washed out or settled will keep cracking, so replacing the surface without fixing the base wastes the work.
Is concrete work weather dependent here?
Yes. Fresh concrete needs to cure above freezing, so pours are a spring-to-autumn job in Winnipeg. Concrete that freezes before it has gained strength never reaches the strength it should have.
Get a Free Concrete Repair Quote
Book a free assessment. We will tell you what is moving, why, and whether it needs work now.