TL;DR
Freeze-thaw heave is the seasonal lifting of pavers, slabs, steps, and posts that happens when water in the soil or base freezes, expands roughly 9 percent, and pushes everything above it upward — then drops it unevenly as thaw releases the support. Frost-susceptible silty soils and water trapped in poorly drained bases are the drivers, which is why proper patio construction uses compacted open-graded stone and why footings extend below frost depth.
What it means
Freeze-thaw heave is the seasonal lifting of pavers, slabs, steps, and posts that happens when water in the soil or base freezes, expands roughly 9 percent, and pushes everything above it upward — then drops it unevenly as thaw releases the support. Frost-susceptible silty soils and water trapped in poorly drained bases are the drivers, which is why proper patio construction uses compacted open-graded stone and why footings extend below frost depth. The damage signature is movement that worsens each winter and partially recovers in summer.
Where it sits in the glossary
Freeze-thaw heave is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
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See also
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