my cement sidewalk keeps rising from the cold. How do I make it go down?

Question

I can't seem to open my fence and i don't want to cut it. What can i do?

Thanks everyone I think I'm going to trim the bottom of the gate.

Answer 1

Its called frost heave. There is not much you can do once its frozen. Moisture in the ground has expanded as it froze and lifted the earth under the sidewalk. It would be easier to trim the bottom of the gate than to try to improve the drainage under the sidewalk.

Answer 2

What's happening is that the water in the ground is freezing and expanding, forcing the slabs of the sidewalk up. There's nothing much you can do until the Spring, when the weather warms up, the ice thaws, and the sidewalk goes back down. You don't say what kind of fence you have, but you will probably have to raise the bottom by enough to clear the sidewalk so that it won't get stuck next winter.

Answer 3

Yes, water collected under it an it froze, then expanded. You'll need to find a way to drain the water away from that area.

You may be able to melt the ice under it with a sorce of heat, but it will take a while.

Answer 4

Is this located in a low spot that water can collect under it? Because mine would on occasion pickup from Ice under it.

Answer 5

There is one other way to avoid frost heave...move to Arizona, Texas, SoCal, or Florida! Then your fence shouldn't have any problem!