Mudjacking in the Atlanta area (coupon, price, businesses)

[RainyRainyDay]

A coupon advertisement from Mudjack Atlanta caught our eye recently. We have a section of our front walk that's dropped and husband had been considering ripping it out and repouring. However, a quick bit of googling suggests that mudjacking might be a better solution. This technique is new to us, so I'm interested to know local experiences with it.

1. Does it work?

2. What does it cost?

3. Any recommendations or cautions about local businesses?

[K'ledgeBldr]

It works-
But here's the "catch"; you said it was your front walk- so I figure you're talking about a walk that is approx. 3' wide and the section that sunk is approx. 4-6' in length(?). The cost of the mud jack would most likely be more than just taking out the damaged section and re-pouring.
The main thing about doing that is tying the new to the existing (so you don't have the problem again) with rebar which requires drilling into the edge of the existing about 4-6" and inserting a 1' piece of rebar. Need about three on each end.
And with all the rain we've gotten lately it would be sometime before I'd try for the repair.
There is also one other "method"- it's basically the same principle just a different material. The material is expanding foam. That's right; just like Great Stuff only on a grander scale.

[RainyRainyDay]

Thanks for the info. Actually the dropped section is a curved piece that leads up to the front door, and also has the first riser of the front steps (which are brick) sitting on it. The dropped section is in perfect shape (no crack). It's hazardous because there is not only a ledge in the walk, between sections, but the height of the second step (from the riser to the stoop) is unnaturally high - because the riser is dropped - which is very hazardous as well. In fact my aging mom fell on this step a couple of years ago, banged herself up and had to go to the emergency room.

So we could either rip out the dropped section, and the step, and rebuild the lot, or we could jack up the dropped section. The idea of jacking it up is appealing because the rip-out-and-rebuild option seems likely to be messy, with the involvement of the step as well, and it would be unlikely that the new concrete and step would match the old sections around them, since it's a 20 year old house. I guess we should at least get a quote on mudjacking.

I agree, with this rain, we'd want things well dried out and resettled before actually proceeding with this kind of work.

[K'ledgeBldr]

I've seen your scenario on numerous occasions- When the foundation is poured there are usually stem walls (they support the slab that the porch/stoop is built on) for the front stoop/porch. But when the concrete gets poured for the stoop the concrete guy doesn't put a loop of rebar into the slab that will be bent down into the walk when it's poured. If it were done, then the walk would be physically "attached" to the foundation. The sinking is usually due to the over dig from the foundation- and years of gradual compaction.

[2Bfrank]

I had the same problem with my curved sidewalk leading to the front door. A friend referred a guy to me for mud jacking the concrete. He fixed the problem in 1-2 hours. It was an amazing process to watch and the end result is a great looking sidewalk with no more trip hazards. The price was less than tearing out the sidewalk and putting it back.

[eye595]

Hi,

Did you ever get this serviced by mudjackatlanta.com and if so, would you recommend them? I just received a reasonable quote from them for our drive way situation (will have to look for the coupon!) so doing some additional research.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

A coupon advertisement from Mudjack Atlanta caught our eye recently. We have a section of our front walk that's dropped and husband had been considering ripping it out and repouring. However, a quick bit of googling suggests that mudjacking might be a better solution. This technique is new to us, so I'm interested to know local experiences with it.

1. Does it work?

2. What does it cost?

3. Any recommendations or cautions about local businesses?

[RainyRainyDay]

No, we still haven't gotten around to it -- other things intervened. Please post your further research findings and experience, if you can.