Driveway devastation.
The great ice storm of 2013, frost quakes, polar vortex, wind chill factor and frost heaving all are terms we have heard far too long as Toronto strives to recover from the coldest winter on record for the past 20 years.
What is frost heaving and why is it effecting your driveway, patio, sidewalk and steps or retaining wall?
Moisture present in the soil will freeze and swell up. The deeper the frost goes the further up these surfaces will raise. Compounding the issue this spring is that the Toronto area experienced an unusually large amount of snow this past winter. We had a few mild days absorbing the moisture from our melting snow and then got hit again with more cold weather freezing and swelling up the soil below our paved surfaces.
This winter has seen Toronto and its neighbouring Cities increase budgets for road repairs. Many driveways have cracked due the heaving cycle and others have been damaged as snow ploughs have grabbed and peeled the edge of a swollen driveway.
The worst casualties will come from driveways and parking lots that were teetering on the edge of disrepair.
Northland Paving expects to see many road repairs in the summer of 2014 in the Toronto area.
From an industry perspective, it will be a late start to what will be a very busy 2014 paving season as frost is still present in the ground at this late date.
