You are a homeowner who finds yourself looking at concrete slab repair. The last thing you want to do is pay to have all of the old concrete removed before replacing it with a new pour. You’ve heard about slab jacking, but you are not convinced this allegedly ‘new’ technology is worth trying.

First and foremost, slab jacking has actually been around for decades. It didn’t become widely known among homeowners until recent years because traditional concrete replacement has been the norm. But rest assured the technology that contractors rely on to jack up slabs has been around since the 1930s.

Believe it nor not, a slab jacking process utilizing jacks and piercing materials was deployed to prevent the Leaning Tower of Pisa from sinking any further, according to Salt Lake City’s Concrete Raising Company. They say that if slab jacking is a good solution for one of the world’s most recognized pieces of architecture, it is a good solution for residential slab repair.

How It Works

Slab jacking takes its name from the same principle that raises your car off the ground. When you have a flat tire, you jack up the car in order to replace that tire. Your car rests safely on the jack or, if you prefer, jack stands. Jacking up a slab of concrete works on a similar principle. The only difference is the chosen material.

Let’s say you have a sinking patio slab off the back of your house. You could tear up the entire slab, re-level the soil, and poor in the slab. You are talking major bucks and quite a bit of time. Alternatively, you could choose slab jacking. A contractor like the Concrete Raising Company can jack up your patio safely and effectively.

They start by drilling holes around the affected area of the slab. Then they use pumps to inject (under pressure) a mixture of water, clean soil, and concrete into the holes. This mixture fills the void that is causing your slab to sink. It also begins pushing up on the sinking soil as well. This levels your slab. Finally, the holes are filled with concrete and the job is done.

A Less Expensive Option

The main appeal of slab jacking is cost. Doing things the old way means a hefty bill covering the cost to remove old concrete, fill soil voids, level and compact the soil, prepare the ground, and pour new concrete. And yes, much of that expense is tied up in labor. Replacing sinking concrete is a very labor-intensive job.

Slab jacking can literally be done by one person if necessary. Most companies use a crew of at least several experienced workers. It takes minutes to drill the holes, another few minutes to inject the concrete mixture, and just a few more minutes to seal up the holes. What it takes a traditional replacement crew days to do can be completed by a slab jacking crew in a couple of hours or less.

That means homeowners are paying less for labor. They are not paying the costs associated with running a backhoe or front loader. They are not utilizing a crew of 10 workers to pour a new slab.

Slab jacking has been around for decades. It is by no means new. Maybe you’ve never heard of it only because no one in your neighborhood or circle of friends has needed it. If you are looking at a sinking slab, you’re in luck. Slab jacking can solve your problem in short order and at a fraction of the cost of total concrete replacement.