Mud jack/raise driveway concrete slab now or later?


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Old 02-25-15, 01:30 PM
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Arrow Mud jack/raise driveway concrete slab now or later?

Just moving into a new house this month. So the inspector and realtor didn't think it was much of an issue, and we know them so it's not just a sell job. We live in Utah where there's almost no freezes and no rain or snow to speak of. (Compared to the north/midwest)

If you look, it's sinking on the top (farthest from you) left corner by that red pot. It's just down in that one corner, and about 3-4 inches so far. I'll get better pictures if needed. There are three here:
http://imgur.com/lVYKs94,QF4jTW6,EX6VMRj#0

I'm mostly worried if it will do any permanent damage, and how much of a hurry we should be in to fix it. Eventually it will get done, but should we budget for it this week, within 6 months, within a year, or within 5 years?
 

Last edited by mattsk42; 02-25-15 at 01:50 PM.
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Old 02-25-15, 01:31 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

Sorry, can't tell anything from your picture.

How long has this been sinking and why are the questions that need to be answered before urgency can be addressed.
 
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Old 02-25-15, 01:41 PM
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As long as you do not have large amounts of water pooling against your foundation or running in the house, I would not say it is urgent. I would however want to know why it is sinking. Is this a newer driveway?

There are two ways to fix this.

You can have that square jackhammered out and repoured, giving you the opportunity to see why it is settling and correct it.

There are also specialized companies that can jack a slab like this up. They will drill several holes in low part of the slab and inject something similar to expanding foam, which will work its way under the area and pick the slab up. You may have trouble finding someone in your area that does this work.
 
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Old 02-25-15, 01:45 PM
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So the inspector and realtor didn't think it was much of an issue
Little surprise there. Their job is to sell a house, and the inspector is a facilitator. Mudjacking can work, but in Utah in the winter.......ain't good. Do it in spring or do a demo and repour with proper rebar/fence inside and tied to the adjacent slabs.
 
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Old 02-25-15, 01:48 PM
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OK, wait until it's done being "winter", got it thanks.

Is this something I should do right away, or could I wait a year or so?

We're thinking that maybe the downspout originally fed onto the driveway and that might be what caused it. (previous owner did this) It's now going underground away from the house so we shouldn't have any problems anymore.

I edited original post, too.
 
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Old 02-25-15, 01:52 PM
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I see no reason why it couldn't wait for a while. Only issue is water laying up against your foundation because it can't run away due to the pitch of the slab. If you have very little rain or snow, that should not be a problem.
 
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Old 02-25-15, 01:58 PM
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We're thinking that maybe the downspout originally fed onto the driveway and that might be what caused it. (previous owner did this) It's now going underground away from the house so we shouldn't have any problems anymore.
If you're right, shouldn't be any urgency.
 
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Old 02-26-15, 12:46 AM
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From looking at the pix, it appears that several areas of concrete need adjusting. Mud-jacking to raise the settled areas, and some careful grinding to remove the tripping hazards where uplift has occurred.
 
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Old 02-27-15, 07:36 PM
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Actually it might look a lot better after the ground thaws and everything moves back to where it wants to be. Some of those three sections could be caused by frost heaves.
 
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Old 02-27-15, 08:30 PM
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The OP's first post mentioned "almost no freezes." Significant frost heave isn't very likely, assuming he's not at altitude, in Utah.
 
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Old 02-28-15, 02:22 PM
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i'm w/bridge on this 1 caution: diamond grinding will change color & texture of conc so be prepared
 
 

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