Frost Heave

When water expands it freezes. People in every country where the winters are severe will have experienced the consequences - water freezes in pipes, producing cracks, usuall at points where pipes join or a pipes meets a fitting. Cold stores used to have much more severe problems, Structural damage was often caused during the 1950's in the UK after cold store temperatures were reduced. Water in the subsoil beneath buildings froze and expanded. The floor was pushed upwards and the foundations and walls of cold stores were damaged.

The problem has been solved with the use of heating grid built into the concrete floors of cold store buildings during construction. The concrete is kept a few degrees above freezing point, and the cold store above the floor is insulated from the floor with layers of cement, sand and thick insulation.