Concrete steps may sink due to erosion, unstable soils, or poor concrete installation. But regardless of the reason your concrete steps aren’t level, polyjacking is a quick fix that will bring your steps back up in line with the rest of your home!
Leveling concrete is not something we recommend doing yourself, as doing so without proper training can result in further damage. But if you’re wondering how exactly we level concrete steps for our clients and what the process might look like for you, keep reading!
Why Polyjacking is the Best Way to Level Concrete Steps
Polyjacking’s predecessor, mudjacking, requires larger injection sites, takes longer to install and set, and often doesn’t last very long before it needs to be done again. Why? Mudjacking uses very heavy and thick materials to lift concrete. This material inevitably weighs down your concrete steps, and makes them sink again over time.
Using very lightweight but sturdy polyurethane foam, polyjacking ensures your steps will stay level permanently by using very lightweight but sturdy polyurethane foam. The process is also extremely quick, leaves behind no damage, and takes no time at all to set. That means you can start jogging up and down your steps again almost as soon as the work is done!
How to Level Concrete Steps
The exact process your polyjacking contractor will follow may vary depending on the size of your steps and just how unlevel they are. While the steps may be concrete, the process to repair them is a lot more flexible depending on your unique situation. With that in mind, here are the basics of the process we follow to level concrete steps:
1. Use Professional-grade Equipment
Whether your concrete steps are small and only slightly sunken or large and heavily damaged, we always use the best polyjacking equipment to get the job done. With the highest quality polyurethane foam materials on the market and the latest in concrete leveling technology, you can trust that your concrete steps will be given the royal treatment they deserve!
Just as a professional weight lifter needs the right shoes and lifting belt to do their job safely, so a professional polyjacker relies on the right gear to handle the pressure! Here is all of the equipment we may bring along to level your concrete:
- Electric drill
- Mechanical purged spray gun (or polyjacking injection gun)
- 6-mil polyethylene moisture barrier
- Rubber mallet
- Wrench
- Micrometers
We’ll explain the use of each of these items as they come up throughout the next steps.
2. Inspect the steps
We start by inspecting your concrete steps to identify the problem areas. This is where it helps to be professionally trained. Here at Pro Polyjacking, we bring more than 30 years of experience with concrete leveling. So when we inspect your steps and decide where to polyjack, it’s not just guesswork!
3. Protect the surface
The goal is always to create a small and tight injection site that doesn’t allow any foam to push back up to the surface during injection, but sometimes a little bit manages to sneak through. We cover the area with a 6-mil polyethylene moisture barrier to protect your concrete steps from this foam before setting up the injection site.
4. Drill hole for injection site
The next step is to drill a small ⅝-inch hole through the surface of the concrete to create a pathway for the polyurethane foam to reach underneath your concrete steps, filling voids and lifting them back into alignment with your home. Compared to the two-to-three inch holes mudjacking requires, this singular injection site is so small you won’t even know it’s there once we’re finished!
5. Tightly install the injector into the hole
To keep the foam from spraying back up through the injection site, we hammer the injector head down into the hole with a rubber mallet and then tighten it in place with a wrench. After this, we can attach the rest of the mechanical purged spray gun to the head to prepare for injection.
6. Set up micrometers at lifting points
We want to ensure your concrete steps are perfectly level when our work is complete, which is why we always set up micrometers at the lifting points to help us track even the slightest movement throughout the process.
7. Start lifting!
Now that we have everything in place, we’re ready to begin leveling your concrete steps! We inject polyurethane foam beneath your concrete steps with just the right amount of pressure—enough to force its way under your steps and start lifting them, but not so much that it will cause any damage. We watch the micrometers the whole time and check the problem areas to ensure everything is lifting nicely and smoothly.
8. Remove equipment, patch, and clean
With your concrete steps perfectly level, all that’s left to do is remove our equipment, patch the injection hole, and clean up our workspace! To cover the injection hole and make it practically invisible, we use a quick-setting mortar mix that blends beautifully with the rest of your concrete.
To give your concrete steps a little something extra, we also offer concrete cleaning and sealing to make them look as good as new!
Step Into Level Concrete with Pro Polyjacking!
Now that you know what to expect when working with us, you just need to invite us over to give your concrete steps a look! Contact us to schedule your free consultation and give your steps a boost in curb appeal.