When walking up steps to a business, shopping plaza, or even your front steps, do you think twice about how safe the steps are? You probably don’t, trusting that they’ll be safe to walk up without any chances of tripping. Unfortunately, not all concrete steps are level and safe to walk on, potentially causing trips and injuries to loved ones, the general public, customers, clients, employees, or yourself.
You want your loved ones and the general public to be safe as they approach your home or business, especially if you have young children, individuals with difficulty maintaining balance, or elderly patients. Unlevel concrete steps present many dangers – keep reading to learn all about the risks of unlevel concrete steps and how you can fix them to make them safer for public use.
3 Dangers of Unlevel Concrete Steps
Unlevel concrete steps present several issues to yourself, employees, loved ones, delivery drivers, mail carriers, neighbors, and the general public. You want them to be safe when they approach or leave without worrying about a serious injury caused by unlevel concrete steps. Below are some dangers of unlevel concrete steps:
1. Slips & Falls
When concrete is unlevel, part of the step is usually higher while the other is lower, creating an uneven step that can trap a foot stepping up or down. This area of unlevel concrete can cause even the healthiest adult to slip and fall, let alone children, the elderly, or those with disabilities or balance issues.
If you own a home with unlevel concrete steps, your loved ones, delivery drivers, mail carriers, neighbors, friends, and guests could slip and fall on your steps, potentially resulting in serious injury. Likewise, a commercial property with unlevel concrete steps can cause employees, patients, clients, customers, and delivery drivers to slip and fall, resulting in serious injury and a potential lawsuit.
2. Pooling Liquid
When concrete steps are unlevel, part of the step sinks below the other, collecting and trapping liquid that can cause injury or the concrete to break down even more. Precipitation, whether snow or freezing rain in the winter or torrential downpours in the summer, will collect in the space between the unlevel concrete, creating a large section of pooling liquid. Over time, the liquid will seep further into the concrete, washing away the organic material and worsening the sunken step.
Pooling liquid can also be slippery, even during our warm summers. Of course, pooling liquid in the wintertime will freeze, causing an extremely slick surface on your unlevel concrete steps, increasing the risk of serious injury to your loved ones or the general public.
3. A Missing Banister
While some concrete steps at businesses have a banister to help people hold their balance, not all commercial properties do. Likewise, not many homes have a banister alongside outdoor steps. This combined with unlevel steps is a recipe for disaster, causing extreme injury to anyone visiting your home or business.
How to Fix Unlevel Concrete Steps
If you have unlevel concrete steps, you might wonder if they can be fixed or need replacing. Unlevel concrete steps can be repaired with concrete leveling, a cheaper and more environmentally friendly option than an entire concrete replacement. Concrete leveling techniques like mudjacking, DIY concrete repair, and polyjacking are ways to fix unlevel concrete steps.
DIY Concrete Leveling
Are you thinking about a DIY concrete leveling option? Think again! There are many dangers of DIY concrete leveling from safety risks to destabilizing the soil/concrete and miscalculations. It’s best to steer clear of DIY concrete leveling and hire a professional concrete leveling company in Kansas City.
Mudjacking
Mudjacking involves pumping organic material like sand or dirt combined with concrete to lift unlevel or cracked concrete. It’s a better solution than the early days of mudjacking when literal mud was used to lift concrete, but it’s still a temporary solution. Why? For one, mudjacking doesn’t fortify the soil underneath, inevitably causing the concrete to sink again. Next, it leaves unsightly holes that take away from the curb appeal of your home or business. Mudjacking isn’t water resistant, so it’ll get washed away and the material will slowly break down.
Polyjacking
Polyjacking lifts concrete by injecting polyurethane foam under unlevel or cracked concrete. Polyjacking is the most durable concrete leveling solution that fortifies the soil underneath the concrete, preventing it from sinking again from shifting soil. Polyjacking is also environmentally friendly and creates less waste than concrete replacement since tearing up and discarding waste from a concrete replacement is avoided. Polyurethane foam is also chemically inert, meaning the foam won’t release chemicals in the soil or air once cured. It also requires zero maintenance unlike mudjacking that needs replacing.
Trust Pro Polyjacking with Your Residential or Commercial Concrete Leveling
For concrete leveling for your commercial or residential property, trust the pros at Pro Polyjacking. Our polyjacking process stabilizes the soil and, as a result, lifts concrete to fix cracks and level the driveway, patio, sidewalk, or foundation of your home or commercial building, keeping loved ones and the general public safe.
Foundation cracks, unlevel driveways, spalling sidewalks, and other damages are unsightly, especially if they go unrepaired. Trust the team at Pro Polyjacking in Kansas City for your concrete repair now, regardless of season. Contact our team for more information about our concrete repair service!