Sinking concrete is an eyesore and a safety hazard. Even when you take good care of your property, you can end up with sinking concrete. What can you do about it?
One of the four common problems listed below is often responsible for sinking concrete. Take a look and see if you can spot your issue, so that you can repair the conditions contributing to the degrading concrete. Once you take care of the source of the problem, you can fix the concrete slab and rest assured that it won’t continue to sink any longer.
Improper Grading
Grading may be one of the single most important factors affecting concrete stability. When the ground is sloped toward a foundation, patio or driveway, runoff spreads and pools underneath, nearby or on top of the slab. Many times, if another structure such as a deck is built on top of a poorly graded slab, it then may become impossible to see the problem or notice pooling water.
Detached Gutters or Downspouts
When you’re dealing with sinking concrete, you may be looking down at the ground to find the cause of the issue, but you may need to look up instead. Proper drainage starts with a working gutter and downspout system. If your gutters are rusting and worn out, they might be pulling away from your home.
If gutter maintenance has been neglected, you could have a blockage that’s preventing the water from flowing properly through the downspout. If the system is simply designed improperly, water could be pooling next to the foundation or nearby concrete.
Undetected Leak
If you have plumbing lines running from the street’s water main to your home or an underground sprinkler system, a leak could be saturating the soil underneath your concrete and you may not even notice. If you have wet soil that is supposed to support your concrete, you could have a major problem.
High Water Table
If the property’s patio or driveway was laid without regard for the water table level, heavy rain could cause erosion in the soil underneath, washing away the solid ground and making sinking a real possibility.
Even the most steeply sinking concrete can be repaired cost effectively. You do not have to completely tear out and replace the entire structure. That’s an expensive job and a waste of money, especially when you have other, cheaper options available that produce quality results.
You can opt for slabjacking repair, a method that injects a stabilizing grout underneath the sinking concrete, raising it back to its previous level. This method only takes a few hours, and you can walk on the concrete right away.
If you’re interested in having your sinking concrete repaired, contact Lift-Up Concrete today and get a free quote.