Concrete Lifting

When we are asked how much concrete lifting costs, generally our customers want to know if it is less expensive than removing and replacing the concrete all together. After all, who wouldn’t love a brand new driveway, walkway or patio?

Typically you will pay half of what it costs to lift your concrete than to remove it and replace it. Obviously,  this only helps if you know what you are going to have to pay  someone to remove and replace the slab. Note: This does not include paying your cousin, dad or friend to do the work.

We have found that in a stable economy, you will pay $7 – $10 per square foot to replace your flatwork. This is assuming that you are going to pour back a standard 4” slab with non colored or stamped concrete, without rebar, gravel underlay, or strengthening fiber. If you are looking for a stamped pattern with coloring, your price is going to move up to $12 – $15 per square foot. Each of these pricing categories should also include removing and hauling away what you have down already as well as sealing the concrete during and after the pour.

Here are the top 3 reasons your concrete is lifting.

• A tree root, even if it is far away could be growing underneath your concrete slab and causing it lift.
• As odd as it may sound, you could actually have expansive soils below your driveway walkway, or patio. Expansive soils can be literally expand or heave if water is introduced to them.
• And for extra credit, here is a tricky one. Some concrete will heave during the winter and drop back down as the weather warms up. Why is this? Well, during the winter months the moisture in the soil can freeze and push the slab upward. Once the soil thaws out below the slab, it will settle back down into its original resting place. Crazy, Right?!

1. Small, ⅜” holes are drilled in the surface of the slab.
2. Expanding structural foam is injected into the holes.
3. Voids below the slab are filled with the expanding foam.
4. Once the holes are filled, the pressure from the expansion pushes against the earth and raises the foam back into place.

Depending on the severity of the problem, concrete leveling with polyurethane foam should last a lifetime. Here is what we mean. If the slab is placed on top of deep excavation, like right next to a foundation wall with a basement wall, the lift could be compromised over time because there is so much fill that can still settle below the foam we inject.