Supportworks Slab Push Piers

Concrete Slab Replacement

To replace a concrete slab, all home furnishings, floor coverings, and interior partition walls must first be removed. Then a jackhammer is used to break the existing floor slab into small pieces, and the pieces are removed from the home by hand.

Next, a new floor is poured and allowed to cure for at least two weeks. The interior partition walls will need to be rebuilt, the floors will need to be installed again, and the furnishings can be brought back in.

This is a disruptive and expensive solution, and it doesn't address the issue that caused the problem in the first place. The soil below can cause the same problems for your new floor, causing new cracks and breaks.

Mudjacking

To mudjack a slab, a series of holes are drilled throughout your concrete floor. Then, a high-pressure grout is pumped beneath the slab to fill in the void below.

The high-pressure grout is messy, spewing grout out of other holes and cracks in the slab. The grout alone may not be able to lift heavy partition walls that are sitting on top of the slab back to their original, level position. If the slab does lift, it will be very difficult to control the lifting evenly.

Most importantly, mudjacking is not permanent. Even with the voids filled underneath the slab, the soil will continue to settle, and you'll have to call the contractor back for more mudjacking -- or to fix the problem with a different option.

Releveling Grout On Top Of The Slab

To relevel the grout on top of a slab floor, the floor coverings and furniture on top will first have to be removed. Then the floor will need to be prepped so that grout will be able to bond to the slab surface. A self-leveling grout is poured over the surface of the slab, where it begins to fill in the lowest position of the floor to create a level surface. The grout will need several days to cure before the floor coverings and furniture can be replaced.

If the floor is not prepared properly, the grout may not bond well with the surface of the floor, causing it to break off in chunks.

Additionally, because this grout adds weight to the slab, the situation may become potentially worse as it sinks into the soil further. And, because the soil is not addressed, there's no reason that the problem that damaged your first floor wouldn't persist, damaging the repairs as well.

Slab Piers

Slab piers are steel piers which are driven or advanced deep below your floor slab to a stable soil layer. These piers are driven deep into the ground past any troubled soil so that your slab is supported by a strong, competent material.

Slab piers use small installation equipment that can be used in tight-access areas such as bathrooms or laundry rooms. They provide an opportunity to lift the concrete slab back to its original position, often closing cracks and eliminating trip hazards.