Concrete is an affordable, easy-to-maintain surface that’s ideal for both exterior sidewalks and interior floors in warehouses, garages, and other buildings. However, without proper care slips and trips happen, and falling on concrete can lead to serious injury. We’re exploring common concrete trip and slip hazards, their causes, and how you can custom design anti-slip surfaces using a scarifier.

To see a scarifier in action, check out our video below.

Slipping and Tripping on Concrete Surfaces

The most common causes of injury on a concrete surface are slipping due to ice, water, or a spill of some type, or tripping over an uneven transfer within the slab. While rain, ice, and even spills are generally sudden and often unavoidable, damaged concrete slabs that have sunk or heaved to create uneven transfers are caused by:

  • Poorly compacted material under the slab that sinks and settles over time;
  • Tree roots growing under the slab and causing it to heave or buckle;
  • Voids in improperly maintained concrete that grow into cracks;
  • Water exposure that wears away the slab through erosion;

Creating a Safe Surface Using a Scarifier

As you’ll see in the video, we used a scarifier to create a smoother transfer between two uneven pieces of concrete. Why this machine? A concrete grinder gradually wears away at a slab which is ideal for removing rough textures, coatings, or small cracks. However, we need something that can provide a more dramatic result.

A scarifier is equipped with carbide or steel cutting wheels that can be adjusted to chip away at a surface or even cut deep grooves into concrete. This creates a rough, textured surface often needed to apply thick coatings or remove old concrete or asphalt. However, they are also used to create a custom non-slip or non-trip surface.

To avoid slips due to wet concrete, a scarifier can create a non-slip surface by cutting in grooves. For uneven concrete or large joints and transfers, the scarifier can cut down the higher part of the transfer in order to provide a more level surface.

Find the Right Concrete Scarifier for Your Next Project

We are proud to carry Airtec scarifiers that have the durability and power needed to tackle your next project. To learn more about them, find the right one, or get a quote on equipment, reach out to us today at  (815) 278-1308.