The concrete around your business – driveways, patios, and sidewalks – should improve your quality of life. But when it cracks, sinks, or becomes uneven, suddenly you are faced with concerns such as pooling water, sloping surfaces, and potentially dangerous trip hazards. And, cracked concrete just doesn’t look good.
Fortunately, thanks to our innovative technology and methods, Foundation Recovery Systems can lift and protect concrete. This way, your concrete can look as good as new and work as it should. This not only helps uphold your building’s value but also restores your peace of mind.
Causes
Concrete is a remarkable material. It can be poured, molded and made into just about anything you like. However, even though it’s incredibly sturdy, it’s not indestructible. So, when you see cracked concrete, a driveway or patio that has sunken, or stained and broken slabs, there are reasons behind these issues.
When your building structure was erected, the contractor likely stirred up the soil surrounding the building site resulting in poorly compressed soil. And even when it is compacted well, it’s never as stable as the original soil. Eventually, this may result in the slab settling and voids to form underneath.
Another cause of settlement is drought. During a dry climate or even just during periods of warm weather and low precipitation, the soil under your concrete will dry out and contract, forming voids. The concrete sitting on this soil eventually cracks and sinks into these empty spaces.
When the rains return, the water can easily get under the slab due to cracks and gaps left over from the dry period. The wet, soft soil is just too weak to support the concrete above it. In the worst case, the soil wears down and washes away completely, leaving behind large voids that cannot support the weight of the concrete above.
Moisture does the most damage to concrete. It seeps into the pores of untreated concrete, and when temperatures drop, especially during freeze-thaw cycles, that trapped moisture expands as it turns to ice. This expansion destroys the pores and weakens the concrete. This results in concrete slabs that can pit and flake. Concrete’s porous nature also makes it prone to staining when left untreated.
As a business owner, you don’t just have to worry about your own concrete slabs; you should be concerned with the slabs that make up the street that goes past your business.
During colder months, your street’s slabs contract, opening up the joints between them. Those joints then become filled with gravel and other debris. Then, when the warm weather returns, the slabs expand again — only the joints that were designed to absorb this expansion are now filled with fragments that won’t compress. This leaves the expansion pressure nowhere to go except up your driveway. This “street creep,” as it is known, exerts high amounts pressure on your building and can cause a variety of issues.
Cracked and sunken concrete isn’t the end of the world, however. With the right technology and the right know-how, it can be lifted and leveled, so that it can be enjoyed as it was meant to be.
CONCRETE LIFTING
When concrete slabs crack and sink due to soil compaction or wash-out, they not only turn your once-new driveway, patio, or sidewalk into a blemish, they can also create potentially dangerous tripping hazards. So, what’s the best solution for cracked and sunken concrete?
The PolyRenewal™ Solution
Recently, technological innovation has provided a simple and effective solution for lifting concrete slabs. PolyRenewal™ is a lightweight, durable high-density polyurethane foam that is inserted beneath concrete slabs through tiny ports smaller than the size of a penny. Initially, PolyRenewal™ flows like water, filling even the most minuscule cracks and crevices in the soil. It quickly expands and solidifies, lifting the concrete slabs above it and compressing the soil around it at the same time. PolyRenewal™ is waterproof, so it will never wash out, and it won’t deteriorate over time due to temperature extremes. Best of all, PolyRenewal™ cures rapidly, allowing your concrete to be used as normal the same day.
Traditional Concrete Lifting
Before PolyRenewal™, there were two basic options for lifting concrete: mudjacking and slab replacement. Both approaches have restrictions and drawbacks.
Mudjacking
- Can be extremely invasive
- Leaves large and noticeable patched holes in your concrete
- Is extremely heavy, adding more weight on the soil which can result in more sunken and cracked concrete later on
Slab Replacement
- Can be costly
- Is inconvenient — concrete slabs can take days or even weeks to cure
- Involves pouring new concrete over faulty soil, which only postpones the issues
- Can leave an unappealing patchwork of old and new concrete
PolyRenewal™ Advantages
- A lightweight solution that does not further compromise existing soil
- An eco-friendly substance that will not deteriorate over time
- Polyurethane foam is impermeable and won’t wash out
- High capacity allows for lifting of heavy loads
- Cures quickly — concrete can be used as normal in hours, not weeks
Let our Concrete Lifting Experts help you
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