Hiring someone to work on your house is easier when you know what's coming. Who shows up, how long they're there, what it looks like when they leave, and whether you need to take the day off.
We don't have a fancy name for how we lift concrete. It's just the way we do it, and it's the same on a single sidewalk square as it is on a whole driveway.
Here's every step, start to finish.
The Process at a Glance
| Step | What happens | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Photos | You send a few pictures of the sunken concrete | Snap 3–5 photos on your phone |
| 2. Quote | We review them and send you a quote | Read it, ask questions, say yes or no |
| 3. Scheduling | We set a date | Clear the slab and tell us what's underneath |
| 4. Lifting day | We assess, drill, lift, patch, and clean up | Not much. Watch if you like |
| 5. After | The slab is ready to use | Fix the water source so it stays put |
3D renders with the ground cut away, simplified to four ports. Most residential jobs take a few hours, and you can walk on the slab when we pack up.
Step 1: Send Photos
This is the part that saves everybody time. No appointment window, no salesperson at your kitchen table.
Grab your phone and take:
- A wide shot of the whole area, so we can see how the slab sits next to the house, the lawn, and the slabs around it.
- A close-up of the worst edge with a tape measure standing up next to it, so we can read how far it dropped.
- Your downspouts and sump discharge if any of them empty near the slab. Odds are one of them is part of the story.
- Anything sitting on or touching the slab, like an AC unit, a gas meter, steps, or a post.
- Big cracks or broken corners, up close.
Send them through the quote page with a sentence or two about what's bugging you. "It catches the snowblower" or "water pools against the garage door" tells us a lot.
Step 2: We Review and Quote
We look at three things in your photos:
- 1Is this a lifting job?Sunken and in decent shape, yes. Pushed up by roots or frost, crumbling, or broken into lots of pieces, probably not. If it isn't, we'll tell you what kind of fix it probably needs, even though that means you don't hire us.
- 2What sank it?Usually something you can see: a downspout, a washout along the edge, a low spot that holds water.
- 3What will it take?How many slabs, how big, how far they need to come up, and anything that complicates things, like a slab tucked under siding.
Then you get a quote with the price and what's included. If something isn't clear from the photos, we'll ask for one more picture or a measurement rather than guess. No pressure, no follow-up calls every other day. If the timing's not right, it's not right.
Step 3: Pick a Day and Get Ready
Once you say yes, we set a date. A few things help the day go smoothly:
- Move cars, grills, planters, and furniture off the slabs we're lifting.
- Tell us what's under or next to the slab. Buried downspout pipes, sump discharge lines, drain tile outlets, sprinkler lines, pet fence wire, landscape lighting. We don't want to drill into any of it, and foam travels into open pipes and gaps, so we want to know where they are.
- Let us know about any recent work near the slab, like a new patio door, a repaired water line, or a sump pump that was just moved.
- You don't have to be home for the whole job, but it's nice if you're around at the start so we can walk the slabs together and agree on the finished height.
Weather matters in Green Bay. Frozen ground can make a slab sit higher than it will in summer, so we schedule lifts around what the soil is doing.
Step 4: Lifting Day
We look before we drill
First we walk the slabs again in person. We check the height differences, tap for hollow spots, look at the joints where the slab meets the house, the garage floor, and its neighbors, and find where the water is coming from. We also confirm what "done" means for your slab. A walk might need to be flush with the next square. A garage apron needs to meet the garage floor and still drain away from the door. A patio needs to pitch away from the house.
We free up the joints
Dirt, gravel, and old caulk packed into a joint can lock a slab to its neighbor. We clean out joints and gaps where the slab needs to move, so it rises freely instead of dragging something with it.
We plan the hole pattern
Holes go where the support is missing and where the slab needs to move the most. A small sidewalk square might need just a few holes. A big driveway slab needs more. We mark them all before drilling, so the plan is set before the first hole goes in.
We drill
Each hole is 5/8", about the size of a dime. The drill makes some noise and dust for a few minutes, and that's the loudest part of the day.
We inject a little at a time
High-density structural foam goes in through one hole at a time. It fills the voids first, then starts lifting. We put in small amounts, move to the next hole, and come back, working the slab up gradually instead of shoving one spot up fast.
We watch the slab the whole time
Between every shot of foam, we check the slab against a level, a straightedge, and the slabs around it, and we keep an eye on the joints and existing cracks. That's the part of the job that separates a good lift from a bad one. We wrote a whole separate piece on it: Precise Concrete Leveling.
We fill the holes flush
Once the slab is where it belongs, every hole gets filled level with the surface. The patches are small, but you'll still be able to see them, especially on older, weathered concrete. A dime-sized dot is a lot easier to live with than a new slab that doesn't match the old ones.
We seal the joints (if you want)
Right after a lift is a good time to caulk the joints and cracks. The slab is clean, the joints are already cleared out, and closing them up means the next storm's runoff stays on top instead of heading for the foam. We can do it the same day. Just ask for it in your quote.
We clean up and walk it with you
We sweep up drilling dust and any foam overspray, pack up, and walk the finished slabs with you. Step on it, roll the trash can over it, check the drainage with a garden hose if you like.
How Long It Takes
Most residential sidewalk and walkway jobs are done in a couple of hours. A small AC pad can be under an hour. A full driveway or a garage floor with several slabs takes longer. Your quote will give you a realistic idea of how long we'll be there.
Step 5: After We Leave
- Walk on it right away. The foam sets fast, and there's no curing period to wait out.
- Drive on it the same day. We'll tell you when before we leave.
- Fix the water. This is the step that decides whether your slab stays put. Extend downspouts well away from the slab. Point the sump discharge away from the house and the concrete. Fill low spots and build the soil up so it slopes away from the foundation. For new homes, the national model building code calls for a drop of at least 6 inches within the first 10 feet, and that's a good target for any house.
- Keep joints sealed. Caulk wears out over time. If you see gaps opening up, reseal them before winter.
- Snap an "after" photo. Take it from the same spot as your "before" photo. If anything looks different next spring, you'll have something to compare it to.
What We'll Tell You Up Front
A good lift makes your slab level, safe, and drain the right way. It doesn't make old concrete look new. Existing cracks will still be there, even if both sides end up at the same height. Surface flaking from salt and freeze-thaw stays too. If your slab has any of those, we'll point them out in the quote so nothing surprises you on lifting day.