Concrete Repair & Leveling in St. Louis, MO

Concrete repair and leveling can save a driveway, walk, patio or stoop for a fraction of the cost of new concrete, but only when the problem is on the surface or the slab is still in one piece. In St. Louis, freeze-thaw winters, old fill around century-old houses and water from downspouts and gangways all cause slabs to sink and flake. We find the cause first, then show you what a repair would cost next to replacement.

Matching the fix to the damage

• A sunken or tilted panel in one piece: leveling can usually raise it back into place.
• A panel broken into several pieces: usually needs to be cut out and replaced.
• Light scaling on a sound slab: a bonded resurfacing layer gives it a new top.
• Hairline cracks: cleaned and sealed to keep water out.
• Wide cracks: HomeGuide's resurfacing guide says cracks wider than 1/4 inch usually point to a foundation problem and can return through a new surface, so those sections usually come out.
• Broken edges and step corners: cut back and re-poured.

Mudjacking and foam lifting

Leveling raises a sunken slab by pumping material under it through small drilled holes. Mudjacking uses a cement-based slurry. Polyjacking uses expanding polyurethane foam, which is lighter and needs smaller holes. Both fill the void that let the slab drop. HomeGuide's leveling guide says professionally leveled concrete generally lasts 5 to 10 years or more, with mudjacking typically 5 to 7 years and polyjacking often longest. It works well on walks, stoops, patios and driveway panels that have dropped near the house or garage.

When sinking keeps coming back

Most settling we see comes from water washing out the soil under a slab, or from loose fill placed when the house was built. Fixing the water, by extending downspouts or regrading, is part of a lasting repair. Wikipedia also notes that parts of St. Louis are karst, with numerous sinkholes and caves south of downtown. If a slab keeps dropping in the same spot after it has been lifted, we will tell you it needs a closer look rather than pumping it again.

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Resurfacing

Resurfacing bonds a thin new layer to old concrete. It suits a slab that is level and structurally sound but has lost its surface to salt and freeze-thaw. Prep decides how long it lasts: we clean the surface and remove loose material so the new layer bonds. HomeGuide says resurfacing typically lasts 8 to 15 years and recommends replacement instead for large cracks, crumbling, heavy spalling or a repair that would need a layer more than 2 inches thick.

Replacing a few panels

A few bad sections do not always mean a whole new driveway or walk. We saw-cut the failed panels out along joint lines, rebuild the base and pour new sections doweled into the old concrete. New concrete looks lighter than weathered concrete at first and blends in over time. If the bad panels are in the public sidewalk in front of a city home, remember that the 50-50 Sidewalk Program may cover half, or all of it if a City tree caused the damage.

When it is time to replace

• Scaling, cracking or settling across most of the slab
• A base that washed out or was never built properly
• A slab that sends water toward the house
• Patches that fail every spring

In those cases we price new concrete and explain why a repair would not last.