Is My Sinking Concrete REALLY an Issue?

We all have busy lives and our homes are our regrouping place. Your home is your safe place that provides solace from the outside world.

Between meeting deadlines at work, getting the kids to practice and making sure you and your loved ones have what they need, it is easy to dismiss those cracks in concrete in your driveway, or the stairs leading up to your house that are pulling away from the porch.  

We want to provide you information about what you are seeing because chances are (like me before I started working for Frontier) you have never been informed about what is happening and the unfortunate consequences of not being proactive.

What Happens if I Don't Fix My Concrete? 

1. The problem WILL get worse. Once concrete is cracked the problem only gets worse and costs more money to fix. 

2. Resale Value. Not many people jump the gun to buy a house with an unlevel driveway, a stoop pulling from the house, or sinking/cracked floors. 

3. Appearance. Concrete that is not level can cause ugly cracks not only in the slab itself but also on the structure that resting on top of that slab: brick, drywall, plaster, iron and any other material. 

4. Safety. Have you ever tripped walking on sidewalk that was a different level than the rest? Trip hazards can be dangerous and open you up to unwanted liability. 

5. Water Intrusion. Cracks in a concrete slab allow elements from outside, inside. They can let in water, moisture and that can damage your living space in so many ways. 

6. Pooling Water. As concrete cracks settle, it creates a perfect environment for water to pool. When it gets cold, this water can turn into ice which open a whole different can of worms. 

7. Structural Damage. As the concrete settles, the structure above will crack and settle. This can cause doors to stick, windows to bend, and other structural damage to your home. 

 

 

 

Why Does Concrete Sink/Settle?

Slab settlement is the movement a concrete slab experiences when the soil below can longer support the weight of it. You experience cracks and movement when most likely, the soil changed underneath the concrete. 

1. Change's in the soil's moisture content.

2. Wash-Out Soil under the slab. 

3. Poorly compacted fill soil. 

 

How Do You Fix Sinking/Settling Concrete?

1. Mudjacking. This is the old fashioned method that involves drilling a series of holes the size of soda cans into the concrete and pumping a concrete slushy mix, or mud in the void in an attempt to fill it. 

Drawbacks: Messy, Adds significant weight that can make the problem worse, takes days so you can't use the space for several days. 

2. Concrete Replacement. Remove existing concrete with a jackhammer, then use a backhoe or skid steer to haul away debri which means saying goodbye to your lawn. If its in your house then everything must be removed from inside your house, including your floor coverings and interior partition walls. The new floor is poured and allowed to cure for 2 weeks. Then you rebuild the walls, re-install floor coverings, and bring back in home furnishings. 

Drawbacks: Disruptive and expensive. This method doesn't resolve the issue because the issue is the soil underneath, not the concrete itself. 

3. PolyLEVEL System. This is similiar to mudjacking except for you drill penny size holes into the concrete, and use a high density polymer to raise slabs back to original level. After the void is filled, the expansion of the polyurethane allows for precise lift and stabalization.

Drawbacks: Takes 15 minutes to dry.

Advantages:

Less holes, Lightweight, Quick Dry Time, Material is Waterproof, High Capacity Lifting, Reduces Trip Hazards, Environmentally Friendly

 

Now, this information is A LOT to take in and unfortunately, one way or another you will end up paying for sinking concrete but the good news is that there is a solution and even architects and engineers trust PolyLEVEL technology so much that they regularly specify it to suppoer major interstates, highways, and commercial structures!