Concrete Lifting

Something that goes by many names, concrete lifting, concrete leveling, polyurethane lifting, polyurethane foam lifting, concrete foam lifting, poly jacking, concrete jacking. All of them are talking about the same thing “Polyurethane Structural Foam Lifting”.

What Causes Concrete To Sink?

Erosion: Improper drainage, improperly placed downspouts, leaking or broken water and sewage lines are the most common for this issue

Biological Decay: most common are construction trash pits buried underground, rotting root systems, old structures and even graves

Expansive Soils: soil beneath the ground continuously cycle through wet and dry spells. These cycles cause the earth to expand and contract causing voids. The weight of the structure above pushes down on the earth closing the voids and thus causing the settling of the structure.

Poor Compaction: When backfilling with fill soils, the intent is the heavy machinery will compact the fill soils into the soil layers below. This doesn’t always happen however. There are even situation near pools and next to foundation walls that soil cannot be fully compacted because it could damage the structure that is being built. We often see this with front porches, and pool decks.

What is Concrete Foam Lifting & how does it Work?

Polyurethane structural foam lifting, or concrete lifting as a lot of people like to call it, is the process of injecting structural foam beneath the surface of an affected slab, surface or structure, in order to hydraulically lift it back into its original place. This process also stabilizes and re-supports the undermined structure by recompacting the soil beneath. It also adds a structural element to bind the structure and ground works to support the weight in order to prevent future collapse.
3/8 inch holes are drilled into the affected area of the slab. Once the holes are drilled, we inject our A/B polyurethane mixture. Parts A and B are heated to specific temperatures and combined by a proportioning pump to get a true 1:1 ratio of the chemicals. Those chemicals are mixed in the “mixing block” portion of our proportioning mixer then injected beneath the surface and begin to react. This chemical reaction of our closed cell polyurethane foam is what creates the hydraulic lift. Once the chemical is injected, it flows into the voids and begins its process. The foam reacts compressing the earth beneath it first, then begins lifting the structure above. Once the structure is at the desired height, the holes are sealed up. The foam is at 90% strength in just 15 minutes and 100% cured in just 45 minutes! Watch below to learn more.

Pros of Concrete Lifting

The process is fast:

It reaches 90% strength in 15 minutes and is 100% cured in 45 minutes. A normal job takes about 4 hours.

Low impact to you:

There is no demo and you don’t have to wait a week for concrete to be hard enough to park a car on.

Cost effective:

Most jobs come in under 50% of what it would cost to replace with new concrete.

Pricing is stable:

Polyurethane prices have NOT increase in the last 3 years. However, concrete has gone up 55%.

Durability:

These chemicals are made to outlast concrete. This means your concrete driveway we lift will fall apart to the elements of nature well before our foam goes anywhere.

Concrete Lifting vs Grinding

Before

After

Concrete Lifting

Not only does concrete lifting save you time and money, it also results in a better aesthetic finish. Concrete lifting does not alter the surface of your existing concrete compared to concrete grinding which strips the top layer of concrete. This results in a new color concrete while lifting allows for a consistent look.