Covered porches are popular in the Midwest. They let people sit outside without really sitting in the sun or the wind or the rain. There is an exit door to one side, in case anyone wants to go outdoors, and lots of windows for looking around. However, the problem most people have with their covered porches are the slabs of concrete on which these porches rest. If your concrete slab foundation under your covered porch seems to be sliding uphill and down under your feet, you should get it leveled. Here are three ways to do just that.
Concrete Leveling via Underground Injections
Underground "injections," or "mudjacking," is the preferred means of leveling concrete. The contractor looks for just the right spots to push a metal injector pump underneath unlevel slabs of concrete. More concrete is pumped through the pump's hose and metal injector head underneath the slabs until they begin to rise and become level. Then the pumping stops and the metal head is moved to another location under another piece of the slab that needs leveling.
The process is repeated until an entire slab is all the same height. The contractor tests this by rolling a marble across the floor above the concrete slab. If the marble does not roll any particular direction and does not gain momentum rolling this or that direction, the concrete slab below is level. (He/she can also use a bubble level on the floor to check for level surfaces, too, but the marble is a little more fun.)
Raise the Porch and Pour a New Slab
This option will leave you without a covered porch for a time, but it does resolve a problem in a very permanent matter. The porch is lifted up and supported by cinder blocks or wood supports. Then the old slab foundation is removed. The contractor's crew gets under there, levels the ground, and pours a new slab foundation. When it has cured, the porch is slowly lowered back down on top of it. The result is a perfectly level slab with minimal deconstruction.
Total Porch Overhaul
In this scenario, your contractor removes the entire porch structure from the house, exposing the slab of concrete underneath. Then the crew rips up the slab, levels the ground, and pours a fresh new slab. No crawling or excavation is required because the porch was torn away. When the slab is ready, the contractor replaces every bit of the porch or builds you a new one.
Contact a company like Crackerjack Mud Jacking Inc to learn more.
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