| All pictures are the work and property of Classic Concrete Raising. |
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| Basement before. Notice that the wall has stayed on top of the foundation, floors are poured seperately, therefore it is not structural. This picture is the property of Classic Concrete Raising. |
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| basement after. This picture is the property of Classic Concrete Raising. |
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| What is Mudjacking/Power grouting? |
Mudjacking is a cost effective way to lift sinking concrete by drilling 2 inch core holes through the top of the slab and, under high pressure, pumping a mudjack grout mixture which includes a structural fill, sand and cement through the core holes, filling the void beneath it and floating the slab back up. Mudjacking does not adjust a slab that has moved sideways, however it can fill the void and lift it . If there is only a void beneath the concrete but it hasn't sunk yet (and it will) we suggest you power (pressure) grout the slab, which is the same process of mudjacking without pumping unti it lifts up, thereby stabilizing the slab and preserving it from falling and possibly causing it to break up.
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| What causes slabs to sink or become void? |
Slabs sink because of: ground settle, poor compaction during the building process, negative drainage situations, poorly installed or maintained downspouts, broken sprinklers/heads or sprinkler heads too close to the slab, poor excavating for drainage away from the slab and/or foundation, broken or perforated water pipes/plumbing, or small animals burrowing beneath them.
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| Does having something mudjacked mean there were structural problems? |
Absolutely NOT! If a slab needs to be mudjacked it is because it is sinking on its own. Slabs that are mudjacked are "free floating" they are poured separate from your foundation and serve absolutely no purpose in the stabilization of you home. They do not have foundations on which they are supported. The majority of neighborhoods in Colorado will have had homes that have had their concrete slabs mudjacked, and many of the ones that haven't went ahead and replaced their slabs instead because they didn't know about mudjacking. Walk down a middle class neighborhood just about anywhere in Colorado and you will find driveways, sidewalks and front porches that have sunk, none of them are coming down because of the foundation. It is not a red flag to home buyers as to whether or not to purchase a home. However, if you have a slab that is sinking towards the foundation, water will be able to enter in and thereby cause eventual depletion of soil at your foundation which can cause water flooding in your basement, and it can eventually cause serious problems with your foundation if it is not corrected. Notice the picture of the basement above, note that the walls have stayed where they belong, on top of the foundation. The only thing that sunk was the floor. Mudjacking not only fixes the problem but it is a preventative measure for serious complications. There are only two ways by which sinking concrete can be fixed:
1) Break out and replace - Time consuming, messy and expensive.
2) Mudjacking - done in a matter of a couple hours, does not tear up landscape and is economical.
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| Before: This porch has a large void under it and the sidewalk has sunk. This picture is the property of Classic Concrete Raising. |
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| After: The void has been filled, the slab is now stabilized, and the sidewalk has been mudjacked. This picture is the property of Classic Concrete Raising. |
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| What is a core hole? What does one look like? |
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| Mudjack corehole. These pictures are the property of Classic Concrete Raising. |
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| Patch corehole with concrete |
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| Finished corehole, the concrete slab will lighten up as it dries. |
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In the mudjacking process, we drill small core holes through the top of your concrete. The number depends on the size of the slab and possition of the sinking or void. We then access the void through the hole with our high pressure pump nozzle and fill the void and/or lift it back into place. The coreholes will not be an exact match to your concrete, because your concrete slab is older and has been bleached by the sun and has cured over time. But the corehole will eventually do the same.
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| How can I prevent my slab from becoming void or sinking again? |
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| We never leave without cleaning up. |
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You can help to prevent your concrete slabs from sinking in the future by:
♦ Create positive drainage around the perimeter of your house and
concrete slabs:
♦ Removing water consuming ground cover
♦ Backfill concrete areas to divert water from slabs and foundations
♦ Avoid Putting sprinkler heads close to the slabs
♦ Correct or install downspouts
♦ Check plumbing/pipes for breakage/leaks
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| What can be mudjacked? What cannot? |
Mudjacking can be done on most any free-floating slab, such as; concrete porches, patios, basements, baths, bedrooms, driveways, garage floors, entryways, sidewalks, etc. Foundations cannot be mudjacked, for this you will need a pierring specialist, as foundations are not free floating and need a special expertise to stabilize and lift them. You can know if it is a foundation if the walls are cracking, your house is tilting or windows and/or doors are out of alignment, with the exception of rooms or additions that were installed over an existing slab, such as additions over a patio slab, or a slab that has no foundation supporting it, these we generally can mudjack.
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Replacement is messy, time consuming and expensive. There is no good reason to replace a perfectly sound slab of concrete when mudjacking will do the job for you at a much more reasonable cost, unless the slab is badly cracked (in pieces), or heaved. Of course, if you are interested in a purely cosmetic application, or you want to cover cracks, or there is spalling (topical damage) or staining of your concrete slabs, then mudjacking is not the procedure for you, unless you consider having the slab re-surfaced after the mudjack or power grout is completed. If there are voids or the slab has sunk re-surfacing should not be done unless the slab is first stabilized by power grouting and/or mudjacking.
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| When can you mudjack/power grout? When can't you? |
Most any time that the ground is not frozen mudjacking or power grouting can be done. Keep in mind that northern exposures will take much longer to thaw out than other exposures. Extremely nasty weather will hinder us from getting to the job sites and will slow us down. We work all year around as long as the weather is permitting.
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