A visible step between panels
One side of a joint sitting higher than the other. Even a half inch catches a toe and tells you the base under one panel is moving.
Traditional mudjacking in Northern Colorado since 2003 · 20,000+ slabs lifted
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Services / Concrete lifting
The core service. If your concrete has dropped and you are not sure what category it falls into, start here.
Concrete lifting raises a settled slab back to the height it was poured at, without removing it. We drill a pattern of holes through the concrete, pump a cementitious slurry underneath, fill the empty space that opened up under the slab, then keep building pressure until the concrete rises. The holes get patched and the slab goes back into service, usually the same day.
The important part is the order. The void gets filled first. A slab that is simply jacked up without packing the space beneath it is sitting on pressure rather than support, and it comes back down. Most of the material on a typical job goes into that space, not into the lift itself.
We work from the outside in and watch the joints as the panel moves, matching it to the slabs around it. Overshooting a lift creates a new trip hazard pointing the other way.
Any one of these is worth a look. Several together usually means the base under the slab is already gone.
One side of a joint sitting higher than the other. Even a half inch catches a toe and tells you the base under one panel is moving.
A slab that has tipped will hold water, or send it toward your foundation instead of away from it.
Tap it or walk it and listen. A drummy, echoey note means there is air under the concrete rather than compacted base.
Movement under a step or a tire means the concrete is bridging a gap and only touching down in places.
Concrete separating from a foundation, a porch or a landing is settlement, and the gap gives water a direct route underneath.
A crack that widens season to season is the slab responding to something moving beneath it, not the concrete simply ageing.
Lifting works when the concrete itself is still sound and the problem is what is underneath it. A slab can be cracked and still be an excellent candidate, as long as the pieces are large and intact enough to take pressure.
It is the wrong call when the concrete has failed as a material. Badly spalled or crumbling surfaces, slabs broken into many small pieces, or concrete so thin and deteriorated that it will shatter under pressure need replacing, not raising.
There is also the case where lifting works but will not last, because the cause is still active. A downspout emptying at the slab edge or a leaking irrigation line will wash out new material the same way it washed out the base. We flag that at the estimate so you can deal with both.
Same position, before and after.
Before: a five inch drop measured between the slab and the siding.
After: the slab back at grade and closed tight to the wall.
Before: a sunken slab with an open void along its edge.
After: level walkway with the patched injection hole visible in the slab.
A finished five inch lift, seen along the length of the slab.
The same job from the far end, joints matched to the neighbouring concrete.
How much can you actually lift a slab?
More than most people expect. We have brought slabs up five inches and more in a single job. What limits it is not the pumping, it is whether the concrete can take the movement without breaking apart, which is a judgment call we make on site.
Will the lift crack my concrete?
Concrete that is already cracked will move along those cracks. Sound concrete usually comes up intact. A slab in poor condition can crack further, and if we think that is a real risk on yours we will tell you before we start rather than after.
How visible are the holes afterwards?
Visible up close. They are patched flush and they weather in over time, but on a smooth or decorative finish you will be able to find them. Bring it up at the estimate if the finish matters and we will walk through where the holes would land.
How long before I can use it?
Foot traffic is generally fine right away. Vehicles and heavy loads wait for a cure period that depends on your slab, the weather and how much material went underneath. We give you that number before we start.
Is it cheaper than replacing the concrete?
Consistently, and by a wide margin on the same slab. You are also skipping demolition, disposal, forms, a pour and a cure, along with the damage that heavy equipment does to a lawn getting the old slab out.
Free on site estimate and a straight answer, including when the answer is no.
Most of it can. Get a free estimate and a straight answer about what your slab needs.