What are Other Concrete Lifting Methods?

Injecting polyurethane foam may be the best solution for lifting and leveling your concrete sidewalk, but it is certainly not the only repair option available. Two other common concrete lifting methods include mudjacking and complete slab replacement. 

• Mudjacking 

Mudjacking is an extremely messy process that involves pumping a mixture of sand, cement, and soil below your collapsed concrete slab through the holes at the top. This will then cause the concrete to lift again, but this comes at a steep cost. 

Not only is this haphazard mixture of materials not at all immune to washing out, but it is also likely to shrink or break down far easier than a polyurethane foam would. This can leave large patchy holes in the concrete after completion or after just one particularly grueling storm. 

The solution is also extremely heavy, which means your concrete is liable to collapsing or cracking again in the future. The weight of the concrete is what likely caused settling or cracks in the first place, so implementing a heavy solution will only cost you more money in the long run. 

• Complete Slab Replacement 

Slab replacement requires tearing up your sidewalk and completely replacing it with new slabs. This is a very expensive and time-consuming process that will take days or even weeks to cure. It does not help that this does not compact or replace any loose soil support that may lie underneath. It may also leave an unsightly mismatch of new and old slabs that did not have any existing problems. Tearing up concrete slabs indiscriminately might also cause irreparable damage and cost you a lot more in the end. 

Concrete repair can grow more and more costly the longer you let problem signs linger. This is why polyurethane foam injection is the best solution for your concrete sidewalk. Its lightweight, cost-effective solution will both elevate your curb appeal and your sidewalk as a whole. It is also a much cleaner repair than a complete replacement of your concrete slabs. This foam leaves no dust or waste of any kind behind. 

It is best to leave any concrete sidewalk repairs you need to the experts at JES Foundation Repair. We have all the right tools and knowledge to implement the best possible solutions to keep your concrete sidewalk permanently lifted and leveled out.