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Street Creep Repair

Street Creep Damage Repairs Near Lexington, Richmond, Georgetown

Here at The Basement Doctor of Central Kentucky, we specialize in repairing structural issues of all types.  If you suppose that your home has been damaged by street creep, or that it has any other foundation problem, we're the contractors for you.  Our solutions for street creep will permanently solve your problem so that you are worry free in the long run.

Throughout our Kentucky service area, we provide free, no-obligation foundation repair quotes.  If you live in Georgetown, Richmond, Lexington, the surrounding areas of Nicholasville, Frankfort, Danville, Shelbyville, Berea, Middlesboro, Somerset, or nearby, call or e-mail us today to schedule an appointment!

More about our foundation services.

Diagram of the three primary causes of street creep in Shelbyville

Here are three common conditions where street creep can cause foundation damage.

What Causes Street Creep Damage?

Street creep is a common foundation problem that's caused by the thermal expansion and contraction of concrete streets and pavement surrounding a home.

To control the expanding when it's hot, and contracting when it's cold, contractors install expansion joints in sidewalks, driveways and other exterior slabs.  These will allow the temperature-induced expansion and contraction of the concrete to occur, but not cause the slab to crack.

Temperature fluctuations throughout the seasons will cause joints to widen in the colder months and narrow during the hot weather.  Our unique expansion joints divide a large expanse of concrete into individual slabs that will expand and contract independently. 

Damage from street creep does not occur in a few months but is a long, slow process.  These problems usually begin to arise during the cold winter months, when the widened joints become filled with materials like sand or gravel.

As the seasons progress and temperatures begin to rise again, the concrete will start expanding.  If joints have filled with sand and gravel during the cold months, the joints will no longer be able to absorb this movement.  Instead, one slab will push against another. 

When expansion joints become filled with debris, the entire expanse of concrete expands as a single unit causing the street to "creep".  Street creep exerts tremendous pressure at the edge of the concrete, where a driveway meets a garage slab or a house foundation wall.  This is a serious problem that, over time, will add up to several inches of movement potentially causing serious damage to your foundation.

Telltale Signs Of Street Creep Damage

Street Creep can be detected by these four common signs:

(Click for more information.)

Driveway in contact with the foundation leading to street creep damage inward movement of foundation walls due to street creep damage Garage slab pushed rearward creating gaps Basement or foundation walls pushed out by garage slab

Fortunately, there are easy, effective ways to address street creep damage problems. if you would like a free foundation repair quote for your problem, call or e-mail us today!

Repairing Street Creep Problems

Street creep repair logo for GeoLock®

At The Basement Doctor of Central Kentucky, we recommend repairing the damage done to your foundation by street creep with the GeoLock® Wall Anchor System.

Designed by Foundation Supportworks, this street creep repair system is currently being used by hundreds of foundation contractors across the United States and Canada. It provides a solution for permanently repairing your foundation issue.

Cutting the driveway for expansion joints during street creep repair in Mc Kee

Cutting Expansion Joints In The Driveway

Expansion damage from street creep can be prevented in the future by contracting a specialized contractor.  They will begin by cutting new expansion joints in the driveway.  These will allow for additional expansion and contraction space to end the street creep cycle.  All excess concrete and debris will be cleared away after the joints are perfectly cut.


The expansion joint created during street creep repair.

Filling Expansion Joints

After the expansion joints are cut, they will be filled with a resilient foam backer rod.  This rod will expand and contract naturally with concrete movement. 

Polyurethane sealant will be applied over the backer rod which will prevent sand, gravel, and other debris from entering the crack in the future.  This ensures the proper functionality of the expansion joint as well. 


Creating the hole in the garage slab floor during the wall anchor installation in Wilmore.

Creating Access Points In The Garage Slab

In cases where street creep has damaged foundation walls, wall anchors can be installed to stabilize and restore these walls. A soil access point is required at each wall anchor location. Using a concrete saw, a technician will create a square cutout in the garage slab at each soil access point.

Once all access points have been created, your contractors will dispose of all debris and keep the work site clean, safe and well organized.


Digging the hole used for wall anchor installation in Monticello.

Drilling Earth Anchor Holes

After each slab cutout is made, a plastic liner is placed on the ground around each of them.  This liner will keep your garage floor clean as technicians use a power auger to bore holes where earth anchors will be installed.  Any excavated dirt from the holes is saved so that it can be returned to the hole after the installation is complete.


Drilling the hole in the foundation wall for street creep repairs in Lebanon

Preparing The Basement Wall

Foundation wall anchors need only a small, 1" diameter hole to be drilled in your foundation wall for each anchor's steel rod to pass through.  This is applicable for both poured concrete walls as well as concrete block walls. 

Following the drilling of the holes, steel rods are driven through the soil to meet up with the earth anchor holes made in the previous step.


The wall anchor in place and ready for assembly in a Stearns garage.

Attaching Earth Anchors

Inside each hole, the rod that was driven through your basement wall is attached to a steel wall anchor

Once complete, the garage slab can be restored to its original condition by being filled with soil and covered with poured concrete.  

To ensure corrosion resistance, a galvanized coating is placed on all components of the foundation wall anchors.  These anchors are kept in a fixed position by the soil pressure.  This, in turn, allows wall anchors and adjustment nuts to exert pressure on the foundation wall.


Positioning a wall plate cover on a foundation wall in Shelbyville.

Installing Wall Anchor Plates

Technicians will tighten a nut on the treaded end of the anchor to apply pressure against the foundation wall.  Luckily this is inside your basement and a steel wall anchor plate will fit over each protruding steel rod.  This wall plate will help to distribute the clamping pressure and permanently halt the inward movement of your basement walls from expansive clay soils.


A repaired basement wall with foundation wall anchor covers installed in Berea.

Straightening Walls & Adding Covers

Once the wall anchor system has been installed, your contractor may attempt to straighten the bowed or buckling walls over time by tightening the nut on each steel rod.

To keep your basement looking its best after installation, we also recommend our Hide-A-Way® Wall Anchor Covers. These are an especially good option if you're finishing your basement. Their low-profile design will fit in nicely with the design of your finished basement while allowing future access to anchor plates.

We Do Street Creep Repair In Kentucky!

We serve the Richmond, Lexington, Georgetown, area, nearby areas such as Nicholasville, Frankfort, Danville, Shelbyville, Berea, Middlesboro, Somerset, and the surrounding regions. To schedule an appointment, contact us by phone or e-mail today!

At The Basement Doctor of Central Kentucky, we have reliable solutions for repairing street creep damage to your foundation. To help you decide if our solutions are right for you, we offer free written street creep repair quotes throughout our KY service area.

Compressed Expansion Joints

The existing expansion joint between the driveway and garage is fully compressed.

Even when the joint appears wide enough at the surface, the concrete may still be in contact underneath. This means that when the street expands with heat, your driveway is being pushed into the rest of your home.

street creep symptoms in a driveway in Williamsburg

Garage Wall Damage

The foundation walls on either side of the garage door are being pushed inwards by the driveway slab.

This is a sign that when the concrete pavement expanded and lengthened, pushing into the concrete driveway, there was insufficient compression space within the expansion joints. The only place for the driveway slab to go was through your garage walls.

garage walls cracking due to street creep

Gaps Behind The Foundation Walls

Gaps have formed behind the foundation walls on either side of the garage door as the garage slab is pushed rearward.

Installing new expansion joints in the driveway and installing wall anchors will restore your foundation walls to structural stability.

foundation wall cracks due to street creep in East Bernstadt

Foundation Damage

Basement walls or foundation walls are pushed out by the garage slab.

At this stage, the damage caused by street creep has lead to a potentially serious foundation issue. It's important to address this soon -- before the damage becomes any more significant.

inward rotation of a foundation wall damaged by street creep in a garage in Hazard

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our service area

We serve the following areas

  • Allen
  • Auxier
  • Banner
  • Beaver
  • Betsy Layne
  • Bevinsville
  • Blue River
  • Boons Camp
  • Burdine
  • Bypro
  • Dana
  • Drift
  • Dwale
  • East Point
  • Eastern
  • Flatgap
  • Grethel
  • Hagerhill
  • Harold
  • Hi Hat
  • Isonville
  • Ivel
  • Jenkins
  • Keaton
  • Lackey
  • Langley
  • Martin
  • Mc Dowell
  • Meally
  • Melvin
  • Minnie
  • Oil Springs
  • Paintsville
  • Prestonsburg
  • Printer
  • River
  • Sitka
  • Staffordsville
  • Stambaugh
  • Stanville
  • Teaberry
  • Thelma
  • Tram
  • Tutor Key
  • Van Lear
  • Weeksbury
  • West Van Lear
  • Wheelwright
  • Williamsport
  • Wittensville
Our Locations:

The Basement Doctor of Central Kentucky
22 Reilly Rd
Frankfort, KY 40601
1-859-795-5068