What to Do When Your Concrete Slab Needs Repair

If your concrete floor, sidewalk, or pool area are in need of repair, you may want to do your homework before replacing the entire concrete area.  Here’s what to do when your concrete slab needs repair.

Concrete slab repair is definitely one of the expense-efficient approaches to completely replacing the affected area.  What this basically involves is raising and leveling the area back to their original height or grade. Many homeowners assume once an area has sunken, the entire surface needs to be repairs but the good news is, you have options!  A concrete repair professional can raise sunken, submerged or tilted concrete sidewalks and slabs of homes, commercial and even in industrial locations such as driveways, runways, walk ways, grounds, warehouse floor repair, swimming pool decks, etc. As you can image, especially in a commercial location, this can result in savings thousands of dollars.

How is the concrete slab repaired?

This distinct process involves drilling holes through the cement slab in order to raise it to its original level. Applying pressure, the grout is injected into the access holes to raise the sunken concrete slab. After that is complete, the holes are repaired with a quick setting cement so the slab is back to new! This method is known as “slab jacking” and is a powerful method for concrete repair.

Concrete grinding can also be used to re-level concrete around a home or building.  Be sure to ask a professional to come out and assess the situation to determine if slab jacking or concrete grinding will resolve your issue.

Is slab jacking really less expensive than replacing the concrete slab?

The short answer is yes!  Not only can slab jacking save you significant money over replacing a concrete slab, you can also be protected from future commercial sidewalk repair liabilities as well. Uneven sidewalks, pool areas and other concrete slab areas are a trip hazard, and left uncorrected can cause significant expense to the home or business owner.  For those looking to sell their property, this is a fantastic solution to your issues when you’re under time restraints such as being in the process of buying or selling a home.

How common is this problem?

Some of the more common problems that occur are dropped concrete step near front entrance stairs, settled garage floors, dropped driveway slabs, tilted concrete pool decks, and sunken concrete porches. All are fairly common over time, or if the original slab was installed incorrectly.

If you have an area of concrete that needs to be repaired, get the opinion of repair professionals before you endeavor to replace the area altogether.