A year of slab care in Hickory
A driveway or patio asks for very little, but it rewards a few minutes of attention each season. Small problems grow: a hairline crack lets water under the slab, weeds pry a joint open, a downspout chews away the soil at an edge until it drops. This calendar follows the year and puts each check where it does the most good.
One note on what's missing. NOAA's engineering weather data set has no station near Hickory; the closest is at Charlotte, about 42 miles away. Rather than borrow numbers that aren't Hickory's, this calendar describes the seasons in plain terms and leaves the figures out.
Spring: March to May
- Walk every slab once the freezing nights are over. Photograph each crack with a coin beside it for scale, so next year's photo tells you whether it grew.
- Look at the edges. Chipped corners, crumbling borders and gaps between the slab and the soil all let water in.
- Clean out joints. Pull grass and weeds from control joints and cracks, blow out the debris, and fill open cracks with a flexible filler made for concrete.
- Watch a spring rain. Stand outside during a steady shower. Water that sits on the slab, or runs toward the house, shows you what to fix this year.
- Plan new work early. If you want a new driveway or patio, collect quotes now, before contractors fill their summer calendars.
Summer: June to August
- Seal on the right day. If your slab is due for sealer, pick a dry stretch, clean the surface well, and apply it within the temperature range on the label. On hot days, early morning or evening usually works.
- Keep new concrete wet. A wet cure uses plain water from the hose. The City of Hickory's water is surface water from Lake Hickory, part of the Catawba River, and the same supply serves Alexander County, southeastern Catawba County and the Town of Catawba. Follow the contractor's curing schedule, and keep cars off a new driveway for as long as they say.
- Mind the heavy loads. Dumpsters, moving trucks and loaded trailers can crack a walk or patio that was never meant to carry them. Put plywood down or park them on the street.
- Rinse spills. Fertilizer, pool chemicals and oil can stain or etch concrete. Rinse fertilizer off promptly and blot oil before it soaks in.
Fall: September to November
- Clear the gutters after the leaves come down, and make sure each downspout empties well away from slabs and the foundation.
- Fill cracks again before freezing weather. Water that gets into a crack and freezes widens it.
- Regrade the edges. Soil and mulch beside a slab should slope away from the house, not toward it.
- Find the meter box. The water reaching your tap comes from Hickory's water treatment plant, a conventional surface water facility drawing from the Catawba River, rated at 32 million gallons a day and staffed around the clock. The meter and service line at your end are yours to keep accessible. Make sure the meter lid near your driveway isn't covered by soil, mulch or a parked car before winter.
Winter: December to February
- Shovel early. Snow that melts in the afternoon and refreezes overnight works water into the surface.
- Choose deicers carefully. Use sand or a product labeled safe for concrete, and keep deicers off any slab poured in the past year.
- Skip the ice chopper. A metal blade gouges the surface and chips edges.
- Note the icy spots. Places where ice forms after every thaw are low spots that collect water. Mark them for spring.
When to call a contractor
Some problems are past routine care. Ask a concrete contractor to look if you see:
- a crack wider than a pencil, or one that grows between one spring and the next;
- one side of a crack higher than the other, which trips people and means the base has moved;
- a slab that has settled toward the house and now sends water at the foundation;
- wide areas of flaking or scaling after a single winter;
- hollow-sounding spots when you tap the surface.
Ask what caused the damage before talking about repairs. A patch over a washed-out base won't last; the drainage has to be fixed first.
If the repair grows into a larger project, keep North Carolina's threshold in mind. The North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors says that by law a general contractor must hold a North Carolina license when the total cost of a project is $40,000 or more, and the board's website has a public license search. Check it before you sign anything that size.
Every year
- Keep a record of when each slab was poured, sealed and repaired, and by whom.
- Line up this spring's crack photos next to last year's.
- Fix water problems first. Most concrete damage starts with water in the wrong place.