Residential Concrete Mudjacking Services Explained
If your home's concrete pool deck has been undermined by water and a section has sunk, then the problem can easily be solved by mudjacking.
Residential concrete mudjacking is a simple procedure performed by licensed concrete contractors to lift or raise any slab.
The Residential Mudjacking Process
The process is simple and less costly than demolishing and reinstalling the concrete. It can be performed on any slab as long as it is in good condition and not excessively cracked or crumbling.
The steps in the mudjacking process are:
- Rows of small holes are drilled in the section of the pool deck that needs to be raised
- Dense sand-based grout material is mixed with Portland cement and is injected through the holes down into the voids below
- The holes in the pool deck are patched with foam plugs and then topped with a cement patching material
The foam plugs used to patch mudjacking drill holes serve two different purposes. They fill the voids and they also act as shock absorbers from the pressure caused by the natural freeze-thaw cycles.
The Cost of Mudjacking
The cost of residential concrete mudjacking services depends on many different factors, including:
- How much grout mixture is necessary
- How far the slab needs to be lifted
- How large the voids are below the slab
In addition, the cost will depend on labor rates in your local area.
For example, raising a slab in an area with a high cost of living will be more expensive than raising one in a rural area with a lot lower labor costs.
Polyurethane Foam Raising as an Alternative
No explanation of slab stabilization and raising is complete without mentioning polyurethane foam slab raising as a viable alternative.
Similar to mudjacking, foam jacking uses expanding foam instead of the grout mixture.
Similar to the cans of expanding foam you use to seal cracks under a sink or in a garage, foam jacking is the process of injecting foam into the voids below a slab and bringing it back to its original height.
The Advantages of Foam Jacking
The advantages of foam jacking over mudjacking are that:
- The raw material is lighter and easier to transport
- Foam jacking requires smaller injection holes
- Slabs that are raised by foam can be used within an hour of injection
Lastly, no foam plugs are necessary for a foam jacked slab because the foam beneath the slab is not affected by the freeze-thaw cycle in the same way as a mud grout material.
Talk to a company that offers residential concrete mudjacking for more information.