Concrete Driveway Repair & Leveling
If you have uneven or sunken sections of your driveway, you've got options other than tearing it out and replacing it. This article will show you how A-1 Concrete Leveling can raise and level your driveway at significant cost savings, as well as minimal downtime.
A-1 Concrete Leveling lifts and levels driveways using our environmentally friendly limestone grout. This creates a rock-solid base that keeps the drive level and safe for years to come.
Concrete driveway maintenance is often overlooked, which can result in the need for serious and expensive repairs. Insuring a firm foundation can prevent sinking, cracking, and the need to replace concrete driveways, while also eliminating unsafe conditions and enhancing the appearance of your home or business.
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The Basics of Concrete Driveway Repair
Concrete driveway slabs can present a variety of problems due to soil settling, ground water issues, rodent burrowing and more. And, even though concrete is one of the most durable construction materials there is, without proper maintenance or repair, it will deteriorate over time.
When you are trying to decide whether to repair, or replace your uneven concrete driveway, we want to help you make an educated descision on your best options.
Repairing Concrete Driveways
As much as we like to think Earth is an immovable object and our homes and driveways will remain the way they are forever, that's just not reality. Driveway slabs sink for a number of reasons, but primarily it's due to water. Water can create voids under the driveway slabs, causing them to sink over time.
It is important for you to find a concrete driveway leveling expert who will not only level your concrete back to where it should be but also offer solutions to the cause of your sunken concrete issues. This will often involve fixing downspout drains, or caulking cracks or joints in your driveway. During any assessment from a leveling professional, be sure to ask what they would recommend to keep the issue from happening again. This is the only way to ensure you have beautiful, safe, concrete for years to come.
Learn more about why concrete driveways settle»
Driveway Crack Repair
Driveways can crack along joints and cut lines, but can also crack following random paths across the concrete driveway slabs. All of these cracks are not only ugly, but they can also cause safety concerns when the broken slabs heave or settle thereby creating trip hazzards.
- Driveway Sealing and Caulking: Properly sealing your concrete driveway and caulking the cracks, greatly reduces water's ability to penetrate the concrete's surface and flow under the slab. This dramatically increases the beauty, and lifespan of your concrete driveway. This process starts with pressure washing the surface to lift and remove contaminants and surface stains before applying a sealant. Then, the cracks in the concrete are caulked with long-lasting caulk to prevent water from penetrating within and beneath the concrete. This lessens the impact of the freeze/thaw process and, along with sealing, is an important step to maintain the integrity of your concrete.
Learn more about concrete sealing »
Learn more about concrete caulking »
- Driveway Leveling: In many cases, a crack within a slab, or a joint between slabs, may allow part of a concrete slab to become uneven. Fortunately, concrete driveway leveling can be used to pump material under the lower portion of the slab, to raise it up flush with the other side many times closing the crack in the process. This can eliminate trip hazards while avoiding a long, grueling, and expensive replacement project.
Learn more about concrete leveling »
Concrete Driveway Repair Methods
There are several different ways to repair a sunken, uneven concrete driveway. These include tearing it out and replacing it; mechanically lifting the concrete slabs with some kind of jack system or front-end loader, then filling underneath to keep from settling again; to pumping material under the slab, lifting it hydraulically, and filling in any voids at the same time. All of these options have pros and cons and variations within them.
A-1 Concrete Leveling focuses primarily on the last method. We typically drill small holes in the concrete, then pump a material underneath them and gently lift the concrete back into place. This method is typically much faster than the other options, and less expensive as well. It has the added benefit of creating a compact foundation for your concrete, solving many issues that caused the driveway to sink in the first place.
Concrete Driveway Leveling
The concrete driveway leveling process while simple isn't easy. Our expert technicians have all worked for years honing their craft so they can repair your driveway and bring it back so it's level and beautiful. We start by drilling a small, one-inch hole in the concrete at strategic locations. Then, using our patented equipment our leveling professionals pump material beneath the slab gently lifting it into place. Our process allows for precise control, so we are able to stop the lift at just the right time. We then fill the holes with a non-shrink, color-matching grout. Finally, the driveway is cleaned off and we leave your concrete looking beautiful and better than it's looked in years.
Read More About the Driveway Leveling Process »
Uneven Concrete Driveway Causes
Driveways can sink for a number of reasons, but most of the time water is the culprit. During our free evaluations, we will almost always find the causes pretty quickly. Oftentimes we'll find downspouts that are pouring water onto, or beside the driveway. Another common issue is poorly filled and compacted soil next to the garage foundation. Some builders will even use this area to bury some of the debris from building the house. When A-1 discovers the causes, we will know just what to recommend to fix the uneven concrete, while offering suggestions on how to minimize any issues in the future.
See More Reasons Concrete Driveways Sink »
Concrete Driveway Leveling Examples
A-1 levels dozens of driveways every week across our nationwide locations. Take a look at some examples below of before and after photos to get a sense of what we can accomplish.
Concrete Driveway Leveling and Repair
The second most common area we level are driveways, and one of the issues we most often see is driveways sinking at the apron where they meet the garage. This is often due to poor backfill around the garage footer when it was built.
The concrete driveway apron is down pretty much the same all the way across. This is a perfect example of a situation where the ground fill around the garage foundation wasn't filled and compacted correctly.
A-1 was able to bring the driveway back up to level across the entire length of the garage. We also used a flexible caulk to fill in the joints between the drive and garage to keep water from getting under the slab and causing more damage down the road.
Concrete Driveway Leveling and Repair
Driveways can get uneven for many different reasons. Some will have slabs that seem to move independently of each other even in the middle of the drive. A-1 can level these slabs and bring them all even with each other.
Even concrete slabs like this can be leveled and made even with one another. Even slabs that appear to be lifted can sometimes be lowered on one side by raising the other side of the same slab.
Working around the concrete slabs, strategically, our exert technicians can even up even the most out-of-level driveways.
Concrete Driveway Leveling and Repair
See More Concrete Sidewalk Leveling Before and After Photos »
Concrete Driveway Leveling Costs
Looking at what can be a large expanse of concrete, may make you think it's going to be too expensive to repair your out-of-level concrete driveway, but fixing your driveway doesn't have to break the bank. In fact, our repair process can oftentimes cost up to 70% less than the cost of replacing it. While we can't give you exact costs, you can rest assured that you aren't going to find a better value when it comes to concrete leveling for your driveway. But, you don't have to take our word for it. Contact us today for your Free Estimate so you can find out just how affordably you can get your driveway repaired.
Professional Concrete Driveway Leveling vs. DIY
Leveling a concrete driveway as a do it yourselfer, for the most part, isn't an option. Even if you had all the right equipment, you'd still be missing out on the most important consideration, and that's the expertise it takes to do the job right. Professional concrete repair technicians have years of experience and know exactly where to lift, and how much they can push a driveway slab. Concrete reacts a certain way when you exert pressure to it. It can crack, or shift farther than you expect it to. Or collapse mere weeks after you do the job if it's not properly supported. There is much in life you can do yourself around the house, but concrete driveway repair and leveling is really something best left to the concrete leveling professionals.
Concrete Driveway Leveling vs. Mudjacking
The terms “concrete driveway leveling” and “driveway mudjacking” are often used interchangeably, but they can actually mean two different processes.
Driveway Mudjacking typically uses one of a few different mixtures consisting of topsoil, water, and sand or cement and often requires far larger holes to be drilled (up to 3 inches in diameter).
A-1’s concrete driveway leveling process, by comparison, is a much faster and lower-impact process that uses a pulverized limestone slurry that offers far more compressive strength and only requires a 1-inch hole.
Choosing Concrete Driveway Repair Contractors
We hope by now you are seeing the value in choosing a professional concrete leveling technician for your driveway repair project. The next question you probably have is how to choose the right company for your job? Be sure to look at how long they've been in business. Definitely check out their reviews online. Do they seem to only push you in one direction without considering other options, like when should foam leveling be used vs. stone slurry grout? There is no one size fits all answer, so be sure to keep that in mind when talking to concrete leveling contractors. They should know the best practices and be able to articulate why one approach is better for your particular concrete driveway leveling project.
A-1 Concrete Leveling is the Easy Solution
- Save 50% - 70% over the cost of replacement
- Ready to use the same day
- No job is too large or too small
- Environmentally friendly
- Our work is guaranteed
- Locally Owned and Operated
- Supported by our National A-1 Franchise Network
- A-1 is a fully insured contractor
- Professionally-trained technicians
- Patented state of the art equipment
A-1
LEXINGTON / CHARLESTON
Featured Team Member
Steve is the owner of A-1 Concrete Leveling Lexington. He knows just what it takes to level any concrete slab back to its original beauty and safety. When he quotes a job, you should feel assured that he will evaluate your particular needs and offer the absolute best option for repair. He doesn't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions.
Every representative I met from this company was friendly, polite, professional, and knowledgeable.