Throughout the years, as heavy rains seep into the ground below your concrete it will be absorbed and drained. As this dirt shifts and settles, voids can be formed. The concrete can settle into these voids and eventually cause cracks to form in slabs or spaces between slabs.
There are numerous factors and situations that can facilitate the settling of concrete. These include major changes in the soil's moisture level from rainy weather or a long period of dry weather that causes the soil to become drained of water and shrink.
The moisture content in the soil will be fluctuating over time, which can cause the concrete slab sitting on top of that soil to become uneven. If the soil becomes saturated due to lack of drainage, this water will cause the soil to become saturated and unable to support the concrete.
If the temperature is hot and dry for long periods of time, it will cause soil to shrink. As the soil becomes dry, it will cause voids to form under the concrete slabs. As time progresses, these voids prevent proper support and put stress on the concrete slab that will ultimately causing it to crack.
As the house is being built, the soil is removed and replaced. After this is completed it is necessary that it is restored to the original density as when it was removed. If the dirt is not correctly compacted, it can speed up the forming of voids under any concrete poured above. These holes will put unnecessary stress on the slab and cause cracks over time.
Any place there is soil below your concrete, there is the danger of needing concrete raising. These are some of the main areas that we've seen both commercial and homeowners needing our services.
The best alternative to removing and replacing your cracked or sinking concrete is polyjacking.
A relatively new advancement that makes use of polyurethane foam to lift and repair these damaged slabs back to their intended position. Historically a method called mudjacking has been used to perform this same procedure. The benefit that polyjacking has over mudjacking is the polyurethane foam will expand to fill the void and then harden to permanently restore the concrete in position.
If you're in need of permanent concrete slab leveling and raising, contact us today for an estimate.