It usually starts with an email to the management company. A resident caught a toe on the walk by Building C. A walker wheel hung up on the stoop at Unit 14. The garage apron at the end of the row holds a sheet of ice every February.
Each one is small. Together they're a list nobody has time to track, and a board that has to decide what to fix now, what can wait, and what it does to the reserve.
Here's how associations around Green Bay can find the problems, rank them, pay for them, and fix them without turning the property into a construction zone.
First, Figure Out Whose Slab It Is
Before anyone asks for a quote, settle who's responsible for each piece of concrete.
| Concrete | Who usually handles it | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| Shared walks, mailbox pads, walks along parking areas | The association (common elements) | Declaration and plat |
| Unit stoops, patios, garage aprons | Often limited common elements, used by one unit; documents vary on who repairs them | Declaration and bylaws |
| Lots in a single-family HOA | Usually the lot owner | Covenants |
| Public sidewalk along a city street | Municipal right-of-way | Your city or village. Green Bay, for one, requires a permit and a licensed sidewalk builder to build or rebuild sidewalk there. |
Wisconsin's condo law defines a limited common element as a common element the declaration or plat reserves for the exclusive use of one or more units, but not all of them. Who pays to fix one is a question for your documents (and your attorney, if they're vague), not the contractor.
The One-Morning Property Survey
You don't need an engineer to find trip hazards. You need a dry spring morning and a system. Wait until the frost is out if you can: a slab that heaved over the winter can drop back once the ground thaws.
Bring a printed site map with unit numbers, a tape measure, a 2- or 4-foot level, your phone, and sidewalk chalk or marking paint (chalk rinses off in the next rain; paint lasts if the work is weeks away).
Mark and photograph each spot
- Number it. Write the number on the slab next to the problem, and the same number on your map.
- Measure the worst point. Stand the tape on the lower slab at the lip and read the height of the higher edge, to the nearest 1/8".
- Take two photos. One wide shot with the building or unit number visible. One close-up with the tape standing at the lip, numbers readable.
- Check the pitch. Set the level on any slab that touches a building and note whether it tips toward the wall.
- Look for the water. Downspouts, sump discharge lines, or a low spot that puddles.
- Note what else is there: railings, steps, AC units, irrigation heads, cracks, crumbling edges.
Sample survey log
| # | Location | Offset | Tips toward building? | Water nearby | Photos | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main walk, Bldg C entry | 3/4" | No | Downspout C-2 dumps on walk | 14, 15 | 1 |
| 2 | Unit 14 stoop | 1/2" gap at wall | Yes | None seen | 16, 17 | 1 |
| 3 | Walk to mailbox kiosk | 3/8" | No | Low spot holds water | 18, 19 | 2 |
| 4 | Unit 22 garage apron | 1" drop at door | Toward garage | Ice reported last winter | 20, 21 | 1 |
| 5 | Side path behind Bldg A | 1/8" | No | No | 22 | Watch |
A spreadsheet with those columns is all the record-keeping you need, and exactly what a contractor needs to quote the work.
Rank What You Found
Rank by height and foot traffic. The ADA standards make a handy yardstick even where they don't strictly apply: a vertical change in level up to 1/4" is allowed, 1/4" to 1/2" should be beveled, and over 1/2" should be ramped.
| What you found | Where | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Slab tipped toward a building | Stoops, patios, walks along a wall | 1: This season. Water at the foundation, ice at the door. |
| Lip over 1/2" | Main walks, entries, mailbox and trash routes | 1: This season |
| Apron dropped at the garage door | Unit garages | 1: Before winter. Meltwater pools and freezes at the door. |
| Lip 1/4"–1/2" | Busy walks and stoop thresholds | 2: This season or next |
| Lip over 1/2" | Side paths few people use | 2: This season or next |
| Lip 1/4"–1/2" | Low-traffic areas | 3: Next phase |
| Lip under 1/4" | Anywhere | Watch. Remeasure next spring. |
| Open joints, slabs level | Anywhere | Maintenance. Caulk before freeze-up. |
| Broken into pieces, crumbling, or pushed up by roots | Anywhere | Not a lifting job. Get replacement quotes or an arborist's opinion. |
Until a Priority 1 spot is fixed, cone it or paint the edge a bright color, and log the date.
What This Does to the Reserve
Wisconsin's condo statute (Wis. Stat. 703.163) provides for a statutory reserve account in residential condominiums unless the association votes not to have one (small condominiums are exempt unless they opt in). That money is for repairing and replacing common elements, not routine maintenance, and the reserve assessment is supposed to weigh their estimated cost and remaining useful life.
Concrete flatwork is usually one of the bigger items on that schedule. Lifting changes the math:
- A lift keeps sound concrete in service. If a slab only sank, lifting it costs a fraction of tearing it out, and the replacement dollars stay in the reserve.
- Replacement resets the clock on one slab. New concrete poured on the same loose fill next to a building can settle again unless the base is fixed too.
- Mixed plans are normal. Lift the sound slabs, replace the few that are truly broken, and push the big replacement line further out.
Ask your manager or accountant which budget each item comes from. Replacement is the textbook reserve expense; caulking, cleaning, and sealing look more like recurring maintenance. (General information, not legal or accounting advice.)
Phase It Around a Wisconsin Year
You don't have to fix everything in one season. Here's a rhythm that works with our weather:
| When | What the board does |
|---|---|
| Fall | Price out the list and budget for next year |
| Winter | Mark where ice forms, where plows catch edges, and where complaints come from |
| Spring, after the frost is out | Do the survey walk. Clean off winter's salt, sand, and stains. |
| Late spring and summer | Lift Priority 1 and 2 spots. Fix downspouts and sump lines too. |
| Late summer to early fall | Caulk joints on dry days around 40°F or warmer, then seal once the caulk has cured |
| Before freeze-up | Last lifts of the year. No lifting on frozen ground. |
Keeping Residents Happy on Work Day
Residents notice disruption, and that's where lifting and replacement differ most.
| What residents notice | Foam lifting | Tear-out and repour |
|---|---|---|
| Lawn and plantings | Left alone | Often torn up along the edges |
| Noise | A few minutes of drilling per slab, then the hum of the equipment | Saws or jackhammers, a skid steer, trucks |
| Time the area is off-limits | Walk on it right away, drive on it the same day | Days for demolition, forming, pouring, and curing |
| What's left behind | Small patched holes, about the size of a dime | A new slab that stands out next to the old ones |
To make the day go smoothly:
- Send a notice a few days ahead asking residents to move cars off aprons and clear stoops and patios.
- Tell us what's buried. Irrigation lines, landscape lighting, and downspout drain pipes are common in associations, and we need to know where they run before we drill.
Bundle the Small Stuff Into One Visit
Ten small spots spread over a summer means ten trips and ten disruptions. One visit is better for everyone.
- Send the whole list at once. Your survey log and photos are usually all we need to quote it.
- Get each spot priced on its own line. The board can approve the Priority 1 spots now and hold the rest.
- Add caulking to the same visit. Right after a lift, the joints are already cleaned out.
- Fix the water that season. A lifted slab next to a downspout that still dumps on it will be back on next year's list. See how to extend downspouts.
The Small Line Items That Protect the Big Ones
Lifting fixes height. These recurring jobs keep you from paying for the same slab twice:
| Job | What it prevents | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning | Mildew on shaded walks, rust stains from irrigation water, oil on aprons. Concrete also has to be clean before it can be sealed. | Spring, after the salt season |
| Joint and crack caulking | Snowmelt running through open joints and washing out the soil under the slabs. See caulking where concrete meets the house. | Right after a lift, or any dry day around 40°F or warmer |
| Penetrating sealer | Water and deicing salt soaking into the surface. A silane or siloxane sealer soaks in and doesn't leave a slippery film. See why seal concrete. | Late summer to early fall, after the caulk has cured |
When Lifting Isn't the Answer
Some spots on your list won't be ours, and we'll say so:
- Slabs pushed up by tree roots. Foam can't push concrete down, though lifting the neighbors sometimes fixes the trip edge. See tree roots lifting concrete.
- Concrete that's crumbling or broken into many pieces. That's a replacement contractor's job.
- A tiny lip on an otherwise level walk. Grinding may be the cheaper fix.
- Cracks in the buildings' foundations. Call a structural engineer.