4 min read
We lift concrete for a living, so take this with that in mind. But a lift on a slab that should be replaced is a bad job for both of us, so here's how we actually decide.
Four questions
- 1Is it in one piece, or a few big pieces?Yes: liftable. Many small pieces: replace.
- 2Did it sink or get pushed up?Sunk: liftable. Heaved by roots or frost: grind a small lip, or replace.
- 3Do you like how the surface looks?If it's scaled or crumbling and you'd replace it for looks anyway, lifting won't change that.
- 4Are you changing anything?Wider driveway, new layout or added steps means new concrete.
Side by side
Fraction
of what tearing out and pouring new concrete costs
Same day
Walk on it when we pack up. Drive on it in hours, not a week.
No demo
No jackhammers, no dumpster, no torn-up lawn or landscaping.
5/8″ holes
Penny-sized and patched flush. No new slab that won't match.
Stays up
Foam adds almost no weight and doesn't wash out like soil.
Warranty
Written, and spelled out in your quote before you approve it.
| Lift with foam | Tear out and replace | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | One visit, usually a few hours | Several days of work, then about a week before you can drive on it |
| Mess | 5/8″ holes, patched | Jackhammers, dump trucks, forms, torn-up lawn edges |
| Weight added | Foam weighs 2–4 lb per cubic foot | New concrete weighs about 145 lb per cubic foot, on the same soil |
| Waste | Nothing hauled away | A 10×10 slab, 4″ thick, is about 2½ tons of broken concrete |
| Looks | Your concrete, back where it was | New concrete rarely matches the old slabs next to it |
| The cause | Foam fills the voids; we seal the joints | A new slab on the same washed-out base can settle the same way |
Replacement timing is typical; a contractor's schedule and the weather can stretch it. New-concrete cure times from Concrete Network; foam and concrete weights from ArmorThane.
On cost, lifting typically runs a fraction of replacing the same area, because there's no demolition, hauling, base work or new concrete. The leveling cost guide has the numbers.
What a lift looks like
Still unsure? The lift-or-replace checker asks five questions, or just send photos and we'll tell you straight.