Hi,
I bought my house about 6 months ago and for a while I have noticed the brick paving outside is not even and one area seem to have botched up, though this is not a recent development. When I opened it up today, there were a sizable crack (I think at least 6mm wide. see photos) in the cement layer underneath. My questions are:
1. Is this a major concern that require immediate action? I don't really mind the brick paving does not look flat and it is not too much of a tripping hazard but I am a concerned that it may cause instability in the foundation / slab of the house (see photo that the crack extend to the slab) though the slab on the inside have not cracked, I know this because I stripped the carpet 6 months ago.
2. There were tree roots in the cracks (see photo), could it be the reason behind the crack? The neighbour have a number of big trees just behind the white fence. I was thinking of pouring poison into the crack to kill off the root so it will stop causing havoc on my side but not sure if it is a good idea. What is your opinion
3. If you were to fix it, how would you go about doing it? poison the tree root then fill the gap or some other methods?
Thanks in advance.
Ed
Some of my thoughts:
Most likely the concrete base did not have reinforcement and a compressed road base so it wouldn't take much to crack. The tree roots could have led to the crack by sucking all of the water around it and leaving the rest of the soil with moisture. The dry soil would have contracted and the moisture laden soil would have expanded the soil. This is made easier if there wasn't a decent road base under the concrete. Concrete doesn't like this and therefore cracks.
The same can happen to the house as there would be little moisture in one area vs the rest of the house. Most importantly, you do not want to be in that situation. Look up on Google methods to eliminate the root and source.
If the source is the neighbour, I would kindly inform them of the issue and how close it is to their house (being civil and all). Even if you pour glyphosate in the crack it might only delay the process as the roots will always want to hunt moisture especially if the tree is under stress..
As for a fix, I have roughly the same issue (minus roots) of which my plan is to fill the gap with either concrete, cement or sand. Then rolling a meter wides worth of builders plastic and no nail glue down to the concrete. Then re-sand and re-pave. It might only be a temp fix and I am happy to hear other peoples ideas.