If you own a business, work for the city parks and recreation, or have completed a concrete leveling project at your home, you know it’s an investment. While concrete leveling isn’t inexpensive, it’s necessary for your clients, family, friends, and the general public’s safety.
Understanding that concrete leveling is an investment, you’ll want to do everything to get the most bang for your buck and ensure the project will last for many years. Continue reading to learn what concrete leveling is, how long concrete leveling lasts, and about concrete leveling methods.
Why Does Concrete Need Leveling?
Have you ever walked on a sidewalk where the concrete was split and uneven? If so, you know how unsightly it can be and the dangers; it can cause trips and falls, harming the public. It can also be dangerous to park in a driveway that’s unlevel or have clients walk a pathway into an office or community building that is unlevel.
So why does concrete need leveling? Leveling concrete helps to ensure the rest of the concrete surrounding the cracks and damage doesn’t continue to spread, ultimately protecting it. Concrete also needs leveling to protect the general public, clients, family, and friends. Consider concrete leveling to make the concrete level on any driveway, flooring, sidewalk, building entrance, and anywhere else with unlevel concrete.
Concrete is made from the following ingredients: sand, crushed rock or gravel, cement, and water. Though these ingredients harden and concrete is very durable, it can crack and become uneven. How? It could be caused by several things: wrong control joints were used, the concrete dried too fast, the wrong strength was used, or naturally shifting and contracting soil beneath the concrete.
Concrete needs leveling to fix uneven spots and cracks in the concrete, and to create a smoother and more professional appearance. Concrete leveling offers many benefits compared to completely replacing the concrete, some of them being that it’s an easier project that doesn’t require demolition, the repairs stay hidden, and leveling concrete saves money down the road.
What is Concrete Leveling?
Concrete leveling is repairing unlevel and sunken or unsightly concrete. A few concrete leveling methods exist, the most common being mudjacking and polyjacking. Though the goal of even concrete is the same, these two methods are entirely different, with polyjacking being the most permanent solution.
Mudjacking has been used since the early 1900s when mud was applied to the cracks in roads and foundations using hydraulic pressure. Though it did repair cracks in concrete and unlevel concrete, mudjacking wasn’t and still isn’t a long-term solution. Though technology has advanced in the past millennium, mudjacking still isn’t a long-term solution and doesn’t offer the benefits of polyjacking. Mudjacking levels concrete by filling holes with dirt, sand, and cement, offering a sturdy yet short-term repair.
Polyjacking is a newer concrete leveling method, using water-resistant polyurethane foam to fill cracks and holes to raise and level concrete. Unlike mudjacking, polyjacking fortifies the soil under the concrete, making the concrete leveling method last longer than mudjacking which doesn’t stabilize the soil. Soil naturally shifts from rain and other causes that shift soil, and polyjacking lasts much longer than mudjacking since it fortifies the soil underneath.
Never attempt to level concrete yourself; it’s a dangerous job that should be left to the professionals with experience and the right tools. If you DIY a concrete leveling project and it goes awry, you can expect a nightmare to repair.
How Long Does Concrete Leveling Last?
We know concrete can crack from natural causes or errors made when pouring it, but how long will it last once leveled? That depends on which method you use: mudjacking or polyjacking. If you go with mudjacking, it’s a short-term solution and you can expect the concrete leveling to last a few years. The mudjacking process requires drilling large holes to pump mud into the slab, harming the underlying soil.
However, if you choose polyjacking, the polyurethane foam and leveling process makes the concrete leveling last many more years, possibly decades. Why? Unlike the mud mixture mudjacking uses, polyurethane foam lasts a lifetime and stabilizes the concrete and soil. Polyjacking only requires a dime-size hole to inject the foam, putting little stress on the concrete. Therefore, polyjacking is a long-term solution.
Unlevel concrete is unsightly and a safety hazard, especially if it’s on the property of a commercial building you own, your home’s foundation, an uneven driveway, patio, or other concrete structure. Trust the professionals at Pro Polyjacking in Kansas City for your concrete repair, whether residential concrete leveling or commercial and industrial concrete leveling. Our polyjacking process is simple with three steps: an initial assessment, creation of the injection sites, and the polyurethane injection.
Polyjacking offers more than excellent concrete leveling. When you choose polyjacking versus mudjacking, you’ll add curb appeal, longevity to the concrete and soil, and more value for your money. Contact the team at Pro Polyjacking for more information about how to make your concrete level!