Winter is here, and with it comes the ice and snow. If you aren’t careful, you can damage your sidewalks and driveway when you’re shoveling. But there are some ways that you can avoid damage from shoveling. Here are some tips below.
Research De-Icers to Avoid Damage from Shoveling
There are a lot of deicers that can damage your hardscaping. For example, calcium chloride and sodium chloride both can corrode concrete. That’s why it’s a good idea to use plain sand, CMA or potassium chloride.
Don’t Use a Metal Shovel
These are great. However, they can scrape up and crack your concrete when you are shoveling. It’s a good idea to use a snow broom or a plastic shovel with blade edges that are rubberized. If you want to get a snowblower, it’s good to look for one that has a rubberized scraper too.
Fill in the Cracks Before Winter to Avoid Damage from Shoveling
Holes and cracks are going to increase in size as the water is filling in the holes, freezing, and then thawing repeatedly. So that you don’t have unnecessary damage, you should fill in the holes and seal the crack as they’re forming during warm months. You can also get rubberized fillers which will repel water to give you extra protection.
Level Your Concrete
Walkways that are uneven can catch your shovel or trip people when there is ice and snow hiding them. So be sure they’re level prior to snow
Seal It to Avoid Damage from Shoveling
If you added hardscaping recently, it’s important to know that some things like driveways and patios should be regularly sealed so that they are protected from the weather. sealants have different lifespans, so you want to check and see what the lifespan of the one that you used is.
These are five tips that you can use to avoid damage from shoveling. Do you want to have some hardscaping done on your property? Contact us here to have a quote sent to you. We’re also on Facebook.
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