Blog Post

WAYS TO FIX SUNKEN CONCRETE SLABS

  • By Southport Concrete Corp.
  • 20 Jul, 2018
Concrete slabs around your home, such as the concrete on your driveway, in your garage and on your patio, should stay flat and even. If you have any concrete slabs around your home that have sunk, they can be fixed through concrete lifting or by removing and replacing the concrete slab.
Why Concrete Sinks

The most common reason that concrete slabs sink has to do with the soil underneath the concrete slab. The soil under the concrete slab may not have been properly compressed before the concrete was laid on top of the soil, which can lead to the soil shifting over time.

Certain types of soil also expand and contract due to external temperatures, which over time can cause the concrete on top of the dirt to shift and sink. This process can take anywhere from a few years to a few decades to occur.
Problems with Sunken Concrete

Sunken concrete creates a variety of safety and drainage problems, which is why it’s important to take care of these sunken slabs.

Safety Issues

Safety is one of the biggest concerns created by a sunken concrete slab. Sunken concrete slabs can create tripping and safety issues. For example, if one of the slabs on your driveway have sunken, and others around it have not, that creates an edge that anyone walking on your driveway could potentially trip and fall over. If one part of your patio is higher than another, this too presents a tripping risk.

Drainage Issues

Next, sunken concrete slabs can create drainage problems. When concrete is poured, it is poured at a slight angle to ensure water drains away from your home and towards the proper drainage channels. When concrete slabs sink, water may no longer drain away from your home and in the proper direction. This can lead to water pooling up in the wrong spaces every time it rains.

Depending on where the sunken concrete slab is located, a drainage problem could simply create unwarranted puddles or it could lead to larger issues, such as washed out landscaping, basement water leaks and foundation damage. Water needs to be able to drain properly away from your home to prevent these issues from occurring.
How to Fix Sunken Concrete

If some of your concrete slabs have sunk over time around your home, you can fix the damage. The two most popular ways to fix sunken concrete slabs are replacing the concrete as well as raising the concrete slab back to its proper height.

Replacing the Concrete

When replacing the concrete slab, it will be removed, typically using a jackhammer or similar tool. Then, the pieces of broken concrete will be hauled away or put in a rented dumpster. After that, new concrete will be poured. Replacing concrete can be expensive as you will have to pay demolition and removal costs, as well as installation costs for the new concrete slab.

Raising the Concrete

Another option is to raise the concrete slab. This process is called concrete lifting or sometimes slab jacking.
First, a powerful saw is used to bore holes all the way through the concrete slab and the dirt underneath it. Numerous holes are bored throughout the concrete slab.

Once the holes are in place, a hydraulic concrete pump is used to pump a special mixture of concrete and sand through the holes. This mixture goes under the concrete slab and lifts the concrete slab up until it is level and provides a solid base.

The concrete mixture that is pumped under your current slab is designed to cure quickly. When the mixture has cured, the holes that were drilled into your slab are filled with concrete.

Talk to the experts at Southport Concrete Corp about the best way to deal with your sunken concrete.
By Southport Concrete Corp. 20 Jul, 2018
When completing any construction project that involves a foundation, the use of concrete pilings is essential. These columns that have been pre-cast and cured before installation provide needed support and reinforcement to the foundations used by your home or business. They have many qualities that make them beneficial to a variety of projects:

  • Cost effective: When anything is manufactured on a massive scale, your costs decrease substantially from having something custom poured.
  • Superior quality: Being pre-cast, pilings are checked for every sort of defect before being installed, giving them an additional safety advantage.
  • Underwater usage: There are several instances in which the pouring of concrete in certain types of subsoil or other environments won’t set. The use of formed piles easily takes care of that issue.
  • Convenience: With a wide selection of piles all ready to go, you are able to select what you need and install them at your convenience.
  • Adaptability: Trying to pour the exact shape you need is a thing of the past with concrete pilings available in square, round, octagonal and other shapes.
  • Incredible strength: Because of the nature of the piles, the reinforcement used inside is more likely to stay put without getting disturbed or moving its place. They also have high bending and lateral resistance to hold their strength in adverse conditions.
  • Eco friendly: With no leftover materials to clean up at the installation site, piles are the most environmentally friendly option when supporting your foundation and in other applications, such as retaining walls, embankments and cofferdams.
By Southport Concrete Corp. 20 Jul, 2018
Southport Concrete Corp is a leading builder of seawalls  in the Southport area. A seawall is a barrier that prevents waves from inundating property and land. These concrete walls are ideal for areas that are susceptible to hurricanes and frequent flooding. During storms, the sea level, as well as lake and river levels, can rise dangerously high and threaten communities and natural areas. The wall stops the water in its tracks and keeps communities from sustaining millions of dollars' worth of damages. Despite their name, our walls can be built near any large body of water, and our company can construct the following types:

  • Curved
  • Vertical
  • Mound
By Southport Concrete Corp. 20 Jul, 2018
You have a lot of options when it comes to building materials in Southport, but there are some that are more high-quality than others. At Southport Concrete Corp., we offer ready-mix concrete. As a product that is made in a factory, it offers the highest quality possible, as it is regulated under specific conditions. Being carefully monitored while it is mixed, it allows maximum economy at every turn. It is a convenience for contractors because it can be delivered to most jobsites. If a truck can get there, the ready mix can get there. It can also be poured directly from the truck into handling equipment or formwork, minimizing loss and mistakes.
By Southport Concrete Corp. 20 Jul, 2018

Although the terms cement and concrete are often used interchangeably, cement is actually an ingredient in concrete.

Concrete is basically a mixture of paste and aggregates. The aggregates are crushed stone or sand and gravel; the paste is made of water and Portland cement. Concrete material happens to get stronger as it gets older. Portland cement is not the name of a particular brand of cement; it’s the generic term for the type of cement utilized in almost all concrete (ex: stainless is a type of steel and sterling is a type of silver).

Pervious concrete, also known as "green concrete," is a choice that helps combat building code issues with storm water run-off.

Cement is composed of 10 to 15 percent of the concrete mix, by volume. Then through a process called hydration, the cement and water harden and bring together the aggregates into a rocklike form. This developing and hardening process continues for years, again meaning that concrete gets stronger as it gets older.

By Southport Concrete Corp. 20 Jul, 2018
There are many residences that need to use a septic tank. If you find yourself in such an area, consider what Southport Concrete Corp. can do for you. We can cast septic systems  for you, and we have been operating in Southport for almost 20 years. We can inspect your location to design a septic system that is perfect for your expected needs, bringing you long-term plumbing solutions.
By Southport Concrete Corp. 20 Jul, 2018
Concrete driveways are durable and attractive, and they provide a solid, reliable parking surface for vehicles. However, maximizing the lifespan and appearance of your concrete driveway depends upon making the right choices both before the concrete is poured and for many years after that, too.

Below, we’ve listed some important things to keep in mind in order to prevent premature concrete driveway failure.
By Southport Concrete Corp. 20 Jul, 2018
Concrete is an ideal construction material for countless numbers of applications due to the substance’s strength, reasonable cost, and ease of installation. Paving surfaces is one of the many uses for this flexible medium. However, concrete is prone to crack, and it is normal for even the best-laid concrete surface to develop hairline crevices.

While these tiny cracks are often insignificant, they are unsightly and detract from the overall appearance of the paved surface. You can preventing these cracks by installing contraction joints; below is more information about these important features and their installation.
By Southport Concrete Corp. 20 Jul, 2018
If you're hoping to replace your tired old countertops with something more modern and durable, you've likely considered popular options like quartz, granite, marble, or solid surface. However, many homeowners do not realize that concrete makes an excellent countertop and has plenty of advantages.

Just like any other countertop surface, there are specific advantages that concrete offers. How do you know if concrete is the right choice for your new or remodeled kitchen?
By Southport Concrete Corp. 20 Jul, 2018
Concrete is one of the most versatile construction materials currently available. You'll find concrete used for everything from seawalls to countertops.

But not all concrete is exactly the same. When you choose concrete for a building project, you may have several options for the mixture contents and the laying process.

In this blog, we compare two common laying processes: precast concrete and onsite ready-mix pouring.
By Southport Concrete Corp. 20 Jul, 2018
Though concrete is incredibly strong and resilient, untreated concrete can be stained in some circumstances. This is primarily due to the internal crystalline structure of concrete at the microscopic level.

Concrete consists of tiny cement particles locked together with sand and other crushed materials. In between these particles lie tiny air gaps that can be filled with just about any liquid that comes their way. That includes water, paint, oil, and other fluids dropped on the surface of unsealed concrete.

As a consequence, you can’t merely wipe concrete stains away. Instead, you have to treat the stains with the right methods, chemicals, and tools.

Below is a brief guide to removing two common but tough stains that affect concrete.
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