How Do You Know If Your Sinking Concrete Driveway Is A Good Candidate To Be Fixed By Mudjacking?
Mudjacking is an inexpensive way to raise the concrete slabs on a driveway that's starting to sink, and it can be used to make a sunken driveway level again. The process involves cutting a small hole into the concrete and using high-pressure equipment to inject a sand and cement slurry underneath it. Filling the area underneath the concrete with the sand and cement mixture will raise the sunken areas.
Mudjacking is much less expensive than removing a slab and replacing it, which usually makes it the best option if you need to raise a sunken driveway. It's also much quicker to raise a driveway using mudjacking compared to replacing sunken sections. However, it's not appropriate for all situations. How do you know if your sinking driveway is a good candidate for mudjacking? Read on to find out.
Your Driveway Doesn't Have any Deep Cracks
In order to be a candidate for mudjacking, your driveway needs to be in good condition. If the sunken slab has deep cracks that extend all the way through the concrete, it will split apart when the mudjacking equipment starts to raise it. Successfully raising concrete using mudjacking requires the slab to be in one piece, since it all needs to raise evenly together in order to make it level again. If you need to raise a sunken slab that is badly cracked, you'll need to remove it and replace it.
Water Isn't Washing Away Soil Near Your Driveway
A sinking concrete slab can be caused by poor drainage in your yard. If water regularly flows near the edge of your driveway when it rains, it will carry away the soil that's providing support for the concrete. Mudjacking will raise the slab, but it will be a temporary fix — the soil underneath can still be carried away by water.
Your driveway may still be a good candidate for mudjacking, but you'll need to divert water away from the driveway in order to prevent the soil from being worn away again. This may require extending your gutter downspouts or installing a trench alongside your driveway to collect water.
The Soil Underneath Your Driveway Has Finished Settling
Soil compaction can also cause a driveway to start sinking. Concrete slabs are heavy, and the weight will push down on the soil underneath them. If the soil underneath your driveway wasn't properly compacted when your driveway is installed, your driveway may start sinking as it starts compressing the soil. This is is most likely to happen shortly after the driveway has been installed.
Before you use mudjacking to raise your driveway, you'll need to wait for the soil underneath the driveway to become fully compressed. You'll know this has happened when your driveway finally stops sinking. Once it stops, you can use mudjacking to make it level again.
If you're wondering if your sinking concrete driveway can be fixed by mudjacking, have it inspected by a residential concrete mudjacking service in your area. They'll measure the cracks in your driveway to determine if it can withstand mudjacking, and they'll also look at the surrounding soil to determine why your driveway started sinking. With these two pieces of information, they'll be able to tell you if mudjacking is the best solution to raise the concrete slabs in your driveway.
