MUDJACKING
Facts & Information to Know
Mudjacking is an eighty plus year old process dating back to the 1930’s. The word is often spelled with variations such as mud jacking or mud-jacking. It is also referred to as: Concrete leveling, concrete raising, or concrete lifting.
How it’s done:
Holes typically one inch, or the size of a quarter are first drilled through the concrete slab. A mixture of Portland cement, sand and other natural, earth-based materials are then mixed and injected beneath the slab with a hydraulic grout pump. Once the concrete is floated back up to it’s original position, a high strength cement is then used to fill the access holes.
Mudjacking has been used successfully for decades to raise pool decks, patios, garage floors, and more. These sinking concrete slabs can not only result in property devaluation and home sales and are often a safety liability that can result in injuries, insurance policy cancellations, and or lawsuits. The Mudjacking process can take your concrete from liable to reliable in just hours, not days! ™
Mudjacking is a time proven process. When lab tested to ASTM standards, Mudjacking grout provides strengths five times that of chemical poly foams and can be custom mixed onsite to provide 50 times the strength of foam.
How long does the process take?
Depending on your type of job, most residential concrete repairs with mudjacking are completed on the same day with some being completed in just hours.
What is the cost?
Mudjacking typically averages one third to half the cost of concrete replacement. For example, if the concrete replacement cost of a patio is $6000, mudjacking will typically average between $2000 to $3000 dollars. However, in some cases such as stamped concrete pool decks or areas with difficult access, the cost savings can be higher.
There are rare cases such as with a small sidewalk slab where equipment mobilization cost may offset savings over concrete replacement.
Will mudjacking disrupt my yard or landscape?
When compared to concrete replacement which typically requires machines or concrete trucks to gain access to the work area, concrete raising with the mudjacking process just requires access to the work area with a small pump which can fit through an average size pool entry gate. The process avoids the damage associated with concrete replacement.
How will mudjacking affect appearance?
While concrete raising does require drilling small holes the size of a quarter through your concrete, it is much less disturbing to the appearance of your concrete than replacing one section. Most replacement leaves an unsightly result with major differences in slab color. Less disruption to your concrete appearance along with cost savings makes mudjacking a much better alternative.
Can all concrete be raised with mudjacking?
While mudjacking is a great process with many benefits, there are certain instances where it may not be the best option. Such as:
Concrete which is badly cracked or broken-
If a crack or two exists in your concrete, but your concrete still has good long-term stability, it is generally repairable with the concrete lifting process. However, once concrete has been badly broken into several pieces, it may not be a candidate for the process or provide a long-lasting repair.
Concrete that is deteriorating-
Once concrete begins to disintegrate, it gets progressively worse and has a diminished service life. Also, patching concrete with this type of damage is very short term.
Concrete that is in an area with an ongoing drainage or water problem-
It is common to receive calls to use concrete lifting as an approach to raise concrete to prevent water from standing on the surface. However, the issue is with standing ground water. Water causes soil erosion and failure to the sub soils you concrete has been placed on. If the drainage issue is not corrected, concrete problems will reoccur. Also, in a climate with frost, water causes ground expansion in low temperatures which will cause slabs to heave or crack, further damaging the concrete.
It is extremely important to have a proper concrete assessment from a qualified, experienced, tradesmen to spend your money sensibly on the correct repair the first time!
I read or heard through a contractor that there is a better new process that uses poly foam. Is that a fact?
When it comes to product information regarding concrete leveling products, mudjacking or more recently, poly foams are being used. There are many contractors and material manufacture’s that put out product information based on what is financially beneficial to them. This can make it difficult to separate “opinions and misrepresentations” from facts when selecting a product.
The following page link shares information regarding flammability, toxicity, strength and recyclability, based on documented test and studies from civil and environmental engineers, along with the NIOSH and the CDC. You can use this information in your research to determine the best product based on your needs.
https://concretechiropractor.com/our-services/concrete-polyleveling/