Concrete Lifting

 We recommend that you allow a professional to undertake sidewalk lifting processes on your behalf for a number of reasons. Sidewalk lifting and repair are complex processes which are best undertaken by those who have experience. The benefits of doing so are many.  

The Risks Associated with DIY 

Undertaking DIY sidewalk lifting comes with certain risks. These mostly concern the materials and equipment that are required to do the task well. PolyRenewal™ polyurethane foam, for example, is a specialized product which is intended to be used by those who have a certain level of training and experience. The two-part foam must be mixed and injected properly in order to get the desired results in a consistent way.  

If the foam is mixed improperly, the proportions are not calculated right, or the injection process is not completed in the correct way two main issues could arise. First, the foam could fail to expand with enough force, or fail to expand far enough, which will not lift the concrete surface in question. Secondly, the foam could over-expand or expand with too much force. This could cause the concrete slab or surface to buckle upwards and cause more damage.  

The Benefits of Professional Help 

One of the main benefits of seeking professional help when you need sidewalk liftingis an assurance of quality. Professionals are trained to use specialist tools and products like PolyRenewal™ foam properly and effectively. As such, they can undertake sidewalk lifting and repair quickly and efficiently, thereby eliminating the risk of damage caused by improper use.  

Furthermore, professionals can offer a service which is cost effective. This is because they have all the tools and products they need to hand. If you were to try to undertake this work alone, you would have to buy or hire the tools to properly lift the damaged sidewalk. This could be costly and will quickly add to your expenses, often causing the overall cost to be comparable to what a professional would charge. Of course, the final benefit of professional work is the convenience. 

Concrete sidewalk lifting and repair is always the preferable option. Replacement is expensive and disruptive. However, there are limits as to what lifting services can do. This is why we always recommend that you act at the first signs of damage.   

Lifting Segmented Sidewalk Slabs is Possible   

Whether or not a shattered sidewalk can be lifted and repaired depends on the extent of the damage. If the slab has been broken into a few large pieces, it may be possible to lift the slab back into place and set it with polyurethane foam injections. This process may take slightly longer than if the slab was fully intact but simply sunken, however, it is possible.   

Once all the pieces of damaged sidewalk have been lifted into place and properly set there, it will be possible to repair the appearance of your sidewalk too. This may require resurfacing, but once the work has been completed, your sidewalk will look as good as new. 

Shattered Sidewalk Slabs Must Be Replaced   

If the damage is incredibly severe, it is likely that the slab or sidewalk section in question will need to be replaced entirely. If the slab or sidewalk has been damaged to the point where there are about as many cracks as there are pieces of intact concrete, then it is likely that lifting processes will not be effective. The only way to know for sure is to ask a professional if they feel they can lift the sidewalk in question.   

If they are unable to lift the sidewalk it will need to be replaced. This process will consist of three main stages: removal, replacement, setting. The removal of old concrete can be intensive and will require heavy equipment. Once this has been done, fresh concrete will be laid and cured. The setting process is the longest part of the undertaking. It could be days before the concrete is dry enough to set foot on.   

Many things can potentially go wrong in a property, including cracked and sinking sidewalk slabs. It is important to deal with these issues while they are small, as they can be a symptom of something much worse.   

Sidewalk Damage Is a Warning Sign   

Your property’s sidewalks are representative of the health of your foundation as a whole. Despite not being subject to the same pressures, they are affected by the same issues. Sinking concrete slabs, sidewalks, and other areas are often a warning sign that the soil is weak or unstable. These are not the only issues that can cause sidewalk damage, but soil-based problems are the most common.   

If the soil is struggling to deal with the weight of your property’s sidewalks, it is unlikely that it will be strong enough to properly support your foundation and the weight of your home. By paying attention to the warnings that more exposed concrete surfaces around your home show, you could save yourself serious time, money, and worry. If you investigate the issue fully at the first sign of damage, you could nip potentially serious foundation problems in the bud before they impact your whole home.   

Damaged Sidewalks Are Dangerous   

As well as being a huge red flag for your property’s foundation health, uneven or damaged concrete sidewalks around your home are dangerous. They present a serious tripping hazard to anyone who might use them but will have a disproportionate impact upon people who are already unsteady on their feet. Any elderly family members or visitors with mobility issues (or even vision problems) will be at an increased risk of serious incidents.   

If the issues are also affecting your driveway, they could even start to damage your vehicle. Uneven, unstable, or damaged driveways that have potholes and craters in them will cause excessive wear and tear on your car’s suspension system. They will also impact the lifespan of your tires and could even deform your wheels if a car is left on the driveway for too long.   

Just how much damage can settling do? As it turns out, it can do a lot. The biggest incentive toward fixing uneven concrete as soon as you notice early problem signs is the preservation of your concrete slabs. The longer you wait to lift your driveway’s slabs, the more likely it is that you’ll have to replace them. 

• Settling and Breakage 

Uneven concrete slabs will break over time. The way they break depends on the size of the slab, where the soil shrinkage occurs, and how much weight the settled concrete has to withstand. Settling is most likely to happen at the edges of the concrete slab. This is because most driveways end where the front yard begins and most front yards have plenty of grass and soil. The front yard absorbs a lot of water, which spreads to the soil under the driveway. 

Because the edges are the weakest part of the slab, they are more likely to break off, especially if the slab is very large. Driveway slabs are especially at risk of breaking because of heavy cars. Most cars weigh about 4,000 pounds, which is a lot of weight to put on a slab with poor support. 

• Preventing Breakage  

There are a few things that can be done to prevent your driveway’s concrete from breaking. You’ll want to try prevention methods because broken concrete can be very difficult to repair, especially if it’s a piece off the edge. Cracks and breakage in the middle of the concrete can be patched up, but the cracks still allow water to seep through. 

If you’re able to, avoid driving on the sunken slab or try to drive in such a way that only a small part is driven on. If you’re unable to cover the entire driveway, try to cover the slab that settled, at least until it’s time to lift it. Limiting the amount of moisture the slab is exposed to will prevent further settling and breaking. 

Uneven concrete is all about the soil that’s used as a foundation. When it gives way or shrinks and loses its topsoil volume, a void remains and there’s nothing supporting the concrete. This is something that cannot be prevented, and very little can be done in the face of earthquakes and floods, but certain measures can be taken in order to prevent soil erosion and shrinkage.  

• The Kind of Soil 

The type of soil used as the foundation for the driveway impacts how severe and how quickly the settling is. Soils with big, grainy particles tend to wash away because water is able to pass through easily. It’s the kind of soil that doesn’t compact well, so it’s loose and shifty. It’s vulnerable to floods, snow, rain, and earthquakes. 

Expansive soils (often clay soils) compact well, so they are denser and make for a much better foundation. However, because of the clay content in the soil, expansion occurs at a higher rate. The more the soil is able to expand, the more it’s able to shrink. Despite its swell-shrink capacity, contractors still use clay soils because it compacts easily. This makes it easier to manipulate and saves time when laying down the foundation. 

• Soil Shrinkage  

Soil shrinkage occurs when the moisture in soil dries out. As the moisture leaves the soil, the individual particles come together since there is nothing between them anymore. The soil becomes denser, but due to shrinkage, it loses surface volume. 

Once the soil loses surface volume, there is nothing supporting the concrete. With the added weight of cars, snow, and people walking on the driveway, the concrete gives way and settles on the soil. Soil shrinkage is a naturally occurring process that can’t be controlled or predicted, but placing a canopy over the driveway will limit the concrete’s exposure to the elements and mitigate the damage done by soil shrinkage. 

For decades, civil engineers have been trying to perfect the concrete lifting process by mixing different materials with cement and pumping that mixture under the slab. Even though these various mixtures have different advantages and disadvantages, the result is always the same: A short-term solution for a sinking slab that can sometimes make the situation worse. Luckily, we live in a time where we have the tools and the materials capable of providing homeowners with a long-term solution. That solution would be PolyRenewal™, our polyurethane foam injection procedure that permanently repairs sinking slabs. It’s a contemporary concrete lifting method that doesn’t disappoint, not only because of the results, but also because of its convenience.

What makes PolyRenewal™ so great is that it doesn’t have any of the downsides that makes mudjacking such a problematic method. The cement slurry in mudjacking eventually erodes with time as the particles get displaced due to water and expanding ice. The crack formed from this displacement makes it so that water permeates past the concrete and reaches the soil, which causes settling down the line. The polyurethane foam we use is impermeable, meaning that it doesn’t erode nor does it allow moisture to seep through and saturate the soil. The same amount of polyurethane foam that is injected under the slab will stay there for decades.

Polyurethane foam is also lightweight, perfect for the soft soil in Northern North Carolina, which shifts easily under too much weight. Cement is rough and heavy, so a mudjacking job does nothing but displace the soil further. Closed-cell polyurethane foam is dense enough to support heavy loads without disrupting the soil underneath. All in all, PolyRenewal™ is the superior concrete lifting option because it does what soil and cement cannot do: Provide the slab with a foundation that will not shift or wash away.