What Is Concrete Pitting and Flaking?

Concrete pitting and flaking refer to surface damage that appears on concrete. To the untrained eye, concrete pitting and flaking are very similar, but the way the concrete is affected and the reason for the deterioration varies. Concrete pitting shows up on the surface of a concrete structure looking like craters. The craters are jagged and can cluster up in one big group of craters, forming a big crater when enough  of them have clumped together. It almost looks like someone created holes along the concrete with a chisel and hammer.

Concrete pits because of the materials used to create the cement. If the recipe was off or if too much of one ingredient was added to the mix, the concrete’s strength will have been compromised. Concrete pitting doesn’t happen because of any external factor but because there’s something inherently wrong with the concrete itself. You can test out the concrete’s strength by taping the wall with a hammer, and if the hammer bounces off, the concrete is sound, but if it creates another crater, the concrete is weak. This can happen on any concrete structure regardless of where it is.

Concrete flaking, on the other hand, means that the concrete is deteriorating due to an external element. Flaking concrete will see the surface ship off little by little until the rough undersurface of the structure is exposed. You can test your concrete for flakiness by dragging a sharp object across its surface, and if a white line is formed, it’s not flaking. Concrete flaking usually occurs on concrete that gets frequently exposed to moisture, such as pool decks, driveways, and basements. Concrete flaking and concrete pitting both need to be taken seriously, because they gravely compromise the structural integrity of your concrete structures.