Concrete Lifting & Leveling

Concrete driveways, porches, and pool decks tend to sink because the soil on which they rest is settling. The soil can’t take on the weight of the concrete slab on top of them and they cave under pressure. This leads to the concrete being lowered as well and getting damaged in the process. 

Signs That Water Has Damaged the Soil 

In some cases, the sinking is caused by the water that’s washing the soil off. After a while, the soil density isn’t enough to support the concrete anymore and it ends up sinking. When this is the case, you’ll have to address the voids in the soil and fill them up so that the water can’t reach them. 

Since it takes time for the soil to settle and the concrete to sink, a careful homeowner will notice the problem before it becomes a burden. Small cracks and slight slopes and slants are a good indicator that there’s a problem with your yard and it’s best to react right away. 

Aesthetic and Curb Appeal 

Sometimes sinking concrete can be an actual source of harm, since it’s easier to slip on it and especially so during the winter when the sinking is less noticeable. For most homeowners, however, this is first and foremost an aesthetic issue. Curb appeal is a big part of how the home is perceived and therefore how it’s valued. 

These small cracks, sunken areas, and other aesthetic problems with the yard aren’t that difficult to fix, but they can lower the price of your home with potential buyers. It often happens that bigger, more substantial issues are missed by the buyers. However, signs of poor maintenance tend to lower the price.  

Getting to the Bottom of the Problem 

It’s useful for a homeowner to figure out what’s causing the sinking in the first place. This is about more than just curiosity. Knowing what the underlying issue is will help you choose the best and least expensive solution.  

A lot of the time, homeowners fix the concrete but don’t go into the reason for why it sunk. That may mean that you’ll have to fix the concrete once the soil beneath it settles after a while. A long-term fix ends up being less expensive when additional repairs are considered.  

Uneven concrete slabs are pretty dangerous on their own, but things get even riskier if it’s an uneven pool deck. The settling that occurs around pool decks are more likely to cause accidents because of the water, and those that don’t know how to swim run the risk of falling into the pool. But what exactly causes uneven pool decks? Is it the same thing that causes concrete settling in your driveway or garage? Well, sort of, but there’s a bit of a twist to it that involves the pool’s construction.

A pool is made by digging a hole large enough to fill a pool. Once all the walls are put into place, soil is backfilled around the excavated area until there’s no sign of the hole. The problem with this is that while the soil surrounding the pool is compacted, dense, and capable of holding up the pool, the soil that’s used as backfill is very loose. Because of the soil’s looseness, when the concrete slabs are poured over the soil, it compresses together, forming a gap under the concrete that causes settling. There’s very little that can be done about this during the construction of the pool itself, so all you can do as a homeowner is repair the settled slabs.

Concrete lifting using polyurethane foam injections is the best way to fix a pool deck with settled concrete slabs. Replacing and repouring all the slabs does nothing to address the real issue and will leave you dealing with the same problem in a few years’ time. Polyurethane foam allows you to conserve your slabs by filling in the gaps under the concrete and letting a more reliable material support the deck. Unlike the cement slurry used in mudjacking, polyurethane foam is light, so it won’t put any more pressure on the soil. Not every contractor has the tools or the experience to use polyurethane foam, so bypass those that offer mudjacking as a solution and go with a contractor who provides the best methods.

Due to everyday wear and tear, not to mention various weather conditions, your sidewalk and concrete will get damaged over time. If they are cracked, stained, or uneven, you may believe that it is much easier to remove everything and lay new concrete. However, concrete replacement is not always the best solution. It should be your last option. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of replacement and repair options. 

Replacement 

After complete replacement, your concrete will look amazing. However, this is not a simple procedure. It is time-consuming and expensive. Experts will first need to break down the concrete into small pieces and then take them away. This can be very loud, disturbing, and can completely mess up your landscaping. Only when everything has been cleared up, new concrete can be poured. 

How much money you will have to invest in this will greatly depend on the number of slabs that need to be replaced and the size of your driveway and sidewalk. Also, any underlying problems will need to be addressed first or your new concrete will suffer the same fate as your old one. Even if your  specialists are very efficient, the entire replacement will last much longer than a concrete repair. 

Repair 

Unless your driveway and sidewalk are completely ruined and cracked, your driveway can be repaired with our concrete lifting solution. This option focuses on the root problem as well, so you won’t have to worry about future cracks and tilting. With it, there is no need to remove the concrete. A few drilled holes are all it takes to insert the material underneath the slab. This makes this option much cheaper from the start. 

Polyurethane is a durable material. It will lift your concrete back to its original position, closing the gaps and cracks along the way. Our SettleStop injections will restore your old concrete and make it much stronger than it was. With AFS, your old driveway and sidewalk will look as good as new in just one day. Since polyurethane cures very quickly, you will be able to use these surfaces in just 30 minutes. Also, the entire procedure doesn’t involve any heavy machinery, so it won’t disturb your peace and daily routines in any way. 

If you’re a handy person and you’ve fixed many things around your home by yourself, you might look at a settled slab and think you’re up for the challenge. However, concrete lifting isn’t a simple repair job—It requires a lot of knowledge and specialized tools to do the job right. The first thing you have to understand is that it’s not a one-man job. Concrete slabs are heavy, and you’ll need assistance in order to lift them enough to fill them with material. Handling heavy concrete is very difficult and dangerous and you can either seriously injure yourself or simply break the concrete and have to replace it anyway.

The second thing you should realize is that you won’t be able to obtain the right materials to do the job properly. Traditionally, contractors use cement to lift concrete slabs. Buying and making a cement mixture is pretty easy, but it’s not the best way to lift concrete slabs. Cement is too heavy and compresses the soil even further, eventually making the settling worse. What you need is polyurethane injections to put an end to the settling.

Polyurethane foam that’s used in concrete lifting is better than mudjacking because polyurethane foam is an inert material that neither places pressure on soil or erodes with water. It cures in 15 minutes and most concrete lifting jobs with the foam can be done in less than a day. AFS contractors are the only ones who can inject this specific foam with the care and expertise your slab requires. As tempting as it may be to try to do it all yourself, you should sit back, relax, and let us do the heavy lifting for you.

Even though there are other ways to lift the sunken concrete, PolyRenewal™ Injections are replacing mudjacking, which has been around for a long time. That’s because this method uses innovative technology and fixes the problem once and for all. With mudjacking, you may need to repeat the process a few times once the soil sinks again. 

Quick and Easy Repair 

The repair itself is over in about 30 minutes including the time it takes for the foam to harden and lift the concrete. So, if time is of the essence and if it’s important to you for the repair to be convenient, it’s the best way to go. 

The equipment used to insert PolyRenewal™ is also rather versatile and it can be used wherever it’s needed. A lot of the time, the concrete slabs are located in backyards and somewhat confined spaces, and that isn’t a problem for our crew. 

Minimal Impact on the Slab 

The concrete slab itself won’t get damaged in the process. The repair lifts the soil beneath the slab and therefore the concrete as well. A few holes need to be drilled into the concrete but they are rather small and well placed so there’s no way to crack or break the concrete itself in the process. 

Lifting the concrete will require a crew to come to your yard and do the work. However, in the context of such repairs, it’s the most non-disruptive and clean process you can get. Once the holes are sealed there’s nothing more to do other than cleaning the yard. 

A Convenient Repair Process 

Mudjacking sometimes requires preparatory work and there’s a lot of equipment involved. This isn’t the case here and the problem is solved without having to wreck your yard in the process. There are also no loud noises and other inconveniences that usually come with having a repair crew in your yard. That’s something your neighbors will appreciate as well. 

Lifting the concrete with PolyRenewal™ is a precise job and our team can lift it as much as it needs to be. There’s a lot of nuance in this and our crew will know how to prepare the injection so that the concrete is even when they are done.