Two Reasons Why A Cracked Concrete Kerb On Your Premises Should Not Be Ignored

If someone lets you know that there's a crack on one of the concrete kerbs on your commercial premises, you must not wait to get a concrete contractor to fill it, even if the crack looks small. Here are some reasons why.

Cracks in concrete kerbing can endanger pedestrians

One important reason why even a crack that's virtually undetectable in your concrete kerbing should not be ignored is that these cracks can, within a short period, worsen to the point where they endanger pedestrians. This is because a crack that begins as a tiny fracture in the kerbing can quickly begin to crumble and expand under the pressure of the feet of the pedestrians who walk on it whilst stepping onto or off the kerb.

As this crumbling process proceeds and the crack grows wider, there will be a higher chance of the tip of a pedestrian's shoe catching in this gap and causing them to fall forward. If they're stepping off the kerb when this happens, it could not only result in an injury due to their fall but might also put them at risk of being hit by vehicles that are driving by the kerbed area.

As such, you must prioritise calling a concrete contractor and getting them to evaluate and patch up this damaged kerbing. In the meantime, it might be sensible to put a portable barrier around the cracked area, along with a sign that warns people of the damage and that instructs them not to walk near it.

The pavement beside the damaged kerbing could become susceptible to damage

The other reason why you should make the repair of the cracked kerb a top priority is that if you don't, the pavement that the kerb is adjacent to could become susceptible to damage. This is because if, as mentioned above, the crack leads to the kerb crumbling, the edge of the pavement beside this crumbling concrete kerbing will be exposed.

When vehicles then park beside this damaged area, not only is there a chance that the tyres on one side of their vehicle will be scratched by the sharp edges of the crumbling kerb and the exposed pavement edge but there is also a possibility that the exposed pavement edge will crack, due to the impact from the vehicles' tyres as they park right beside it. This could result in what should have been a cheap-and-cheerful kerb patch-up job becoming a big repair project. Look into concrete kerbing near you for more information.