Crack & Seat

The purpose of crack & seat of concrete pavement prior to overlaying it is to minimize the occurrence and severity of reflection cracks in the overlay caused by slab action by cracking the concrete slabs to reduce their effective length and then seating the cracked slabs to reestablish support between the subbase and the slabs. Some specifications require that the road be opened to traffic after cracking to accomplish the seating prior to paving the overlay. Other specifications require a proof roller be used to seat the cracked concrete. Most cracking has been performed with the T8600 Badger Breaker® although the MHB Badger Breaker® is also used for cracking.