Patios

Do you know why all those cement patios usually have
large cracks?

It's because in the colder climes the ground underneath
has frozen, & when the soil freezes the moisture turns to ice,
which expands the soil & then pushes up against the cement
slab creating those ugly cracks.

Another reason is the absence of expansion joints in a
large piece of slab cement. The summer heat causes the
cement to expand & if it has no place to expand to, then
the result is always the same- more cracks.

If you are contemplating a new patio then one way to
prevent the cracks from happening is to pour cement footings
under the perimeter of the slab to a level below the historic
frost line -in the northeast that is usually around 18"-  plus
install expansion joints when the patio is
poured. It's more expensive, of course, but this will usually
do the trick.

Small hairline cracks are inevitable in any cement slab but
the large cracks can be eliminated before they start.