Hammond Indiana Concrete Curbs After Winter Plows

You have to decide if you will replace that chipped gutter curb before the next plow season. Concrete Curbs in Hammond take the same hit on older streets. A thin patch on the face doesn’t survive the blade. So waiting usually means a wider break by the next thaw.

After a hard winter, the damage shows up in the same places. The top edge of the curb is gone in short bites. Then the gutter pan looks pitted, and water sits where the slope used to run to the inlet. When the plow comes back, the blade finds that low spot again.

Concrete Curbs in Hammond and the Yearly Plow Pass

Plows on Hammond streets ride the gutter. Operators set the blade to clear the pavement, and the curb face is right there. Because plow trucks run the same routes all winter, the steel hits the same line over and over. We’ve torn out runs where the plow had rounded the top corner, with fresh chips at each end.

A finished run sits flush with the old curb and gives the blade a straight face. For example, we’ve seen gutter pans scaled to the stone while the asphalt beside them still looked sound. But the open chip usually starts with the blade. After that, more concrete comes loose on the next freeze. People have asked us to replace that run after the lip caught the plow.

Lake-effect snow off Lake Michigan can mean extra plow days on Hammond streets in a normal winter. Each pass is another chance for the blade to find a high spot or an old chip. Salt trucks run those same routes between storms. When brine sits in the gutter, it stays against the curb until the next pass.

That’s the chipping a curb crew comes out to replace. Year after year, the plow and the salt land on the same line on Hammond’s older streets. People have called once the break turned into a lip. Others have called once the gutter stopped carrying water. So we cut the bad run out and pour Concrete Curbs in Hammond back to the old line.

Replacing Salt-Chipped Concrete Curbs in Hammond

We saw-cut or break out the bad run and match the curb shape already on that block. Then we set forms to the height of the sound curb on either side. So the new face lines up with the curb beside it. Because the plow catches a high spot next winter. The gutter pan has to slope the way the old one did, toward the inlet.

Concrete removal is part of the job when the face is gone. Tear out and replace is the usual scope on a Hammond street curb. Sometimes the walk at the curb has breaks too. We can pour that service walk in the same visit. On a storefront or a lot, the same break shows up along the parking edge. After the old concrete is out, we pour Concrete Curbs in Hammond to the line the forms set.

Our concrete curb work covers a short gutter repair and a longer run along the street. We also handle concrete replacement when the driveway apron at the curb has the same breaks. You can see finished lines in the photo gallery. Cabe’s Concrete is family owned, and our doors opened in 2006. The About Us page has that background.

On-Site Checks for Concrete Curbs in Hammond

On a walk-through we look at how long the chip runs and whether the gutter pan is still there. When the pan is gone, water stands against the curb after a rain. Then a wider patch of concrete breaks up on the next freeze. We also note if the curb is a straight face or a rolled face. The plow rides those two shapes in different ways.

We pin the forms and check the height against the curb that is still sound. After the pour, we finish the face and tool a joint at each end of the new run. That joint lets the new concrete and the old concrete meet cleanly. For example, a tie-in with no tooled joint is where a later chip often starts. We’ve gone back to streets where nobody cut that joint, and the break had returned at the tie-in. We source the mix we pour, so we know what goes in the forms.

Hammond winters put plow trucks on the street early. Because people here leave for work before the pavement is clear. Salt trucks cover those routes after the plow. So corners and busier blocks take more plow passes. We’ve replaced curb on both kinds of street. The busier line has shown us deeper chips.

We check the gutter pitch with a straightedge before the concrete sets. Water will stand in the pan if it slopes the wrong way. So we fix that pitch while the concrete is still workable. The inlet end of the run has to stay open. A low spot in the middle of a new pan holds water against the face.