April 28, 2021
Thanks to the constant expansion and contraction of Austin’s clay soils, concrete slabs tend to settle and shift. Mudjacking addresses these movements and provides a strong, supportive base for the concrete slab.
Hydraulic mudjacking, or grout leveling, involves drilling small holes in the concrete slab and pumping limestone slurry hydraulically into the holes, where it fills any voids under the slab. The high pressure allows the slab to be lifted and leveled, then supported once the slurry hardens into a solid foundation. The holes are filled with color-matched non-shrink grout, leaving behind no trace of the work that was performed. This method produces the strongest subsurface of any leveling procedure.
The other type of mudjacking uses a cement mixture that sometimes contains admixtures such as clay, fly ash, sand, gravel or lime. The method is similar to grout leveling – holes are drilled in the slab and the slurry is injected, building pressure that lifts the slab into a more suitable position. The holes are then filled with color-matched grout once the slurry cures.
The difference between this process and the previous is the amount of pressure used to inject the slurry under the slab. While grout leveling uses a hydraulic pump to create high pressure, this method is lower-pressure and is ideal for instances in which there’s a risk of the slab cracking under pressure or a more controlled lifting is desired.
Mudjacking is highly effective and provides long-lasting results – up to a decade in most cases. The process is also fairly quick; depending on the size of the job, most mudjacking projects can be completed in just a couple of hours. Once it has several hours to cure, the concrete slab can once again bear heavy loads.
Mudjacking works for most settled concrete slabs, including:
For heavier concrete structures, mudjacking is most effective when used in conjunction with slab piers.
Generally speaking, mudjacking can raise and restore almost any concrete slab. There are, however, a couple of exceptions:
In cases where mudjacking isn't a viable solution, installing slab piers can be recommended instead. Talk to your local foundation/concrete contractor to find out what the best solution is for your particular situation.
Mudjacking is a highly cost-effective solution to settling or sagging concrete and will save at least half over a slab replacement.
While mudjacking is minimally invasive and corrects underlying concrete problems, it does not typically address problems with the soil, so unless you also have soil stabilization services performed, the new surface could also settle and crack in the future.
While every project is different, the typical cost of mudjacking is under $1,000. Your cost, of course, will vary based on the amount of material used as well as the accessibility of the area to be repaired.
To learn more about how mudjacking could help your Austin property, contact Douglas Foundation Solutions at 512-291-0709.