Tapered Grind for Sidewalk Settlement

Free graphic showing a potential fix for an vertical offset in a sidewalk.

Taper back approximately 1 in 12.

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Thanks Randy!! Just saved it into my library…as usual. :wink:

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Thanks again, Randy. :slight_smile:

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Awesome, :+1:

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You would propose this as opposed to mud jacking the settled slab ?

It would be cheaper to just just rent a grinder and do it yourself then have a contractor do a small sidewalk project. If you have significant driveway settlement or or other larger project already planned for mud jacking or foam injection then let the contractor do it. In some cases you could tear out a section of sidewalk and repour it. Hiring a mud jacking contractor would be my last resort…$$$

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Always refer Mud or Foam Jacking when practical.

It’s a pretty good remedy for a sidewalk that heaves in the winter and settles back down in summer when it’s by an outward swinging door like commercial store fronts and emergency exits. Done it many times.

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Mud jacking is a waste of money anyway since it doesn’t fix the underlying issue. I have had many many o job that included tearing out and replacing slabs that had been jacked. Not a fan myself…

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" MUD JACKING

Mud Jacking is a common term for lifting sunken or settled concrete.

Mud jacking can lift a settled concrete slab by pumping a grout through the concrete and pushing it up from below. The process is sometimes called “slab jacking” or “pressure grouting”.

1 to 1 5/8th inch diameter holes are drilled through the sunken concrete block/slab at strategic locations to maximize lift.

A dense, finely crushed limestone aggregate (often times combined with Portland cement), is combined with water in a “slurry” consistency and forced into the holes. Initially the material fills any under slab voids that have been created by water erosion or soil compaction. Once the void space is filled, succeeding injections will begin the lifting process.

The procedure is less disturbing then removing and replacing the slab even though both techniques require a lengthy cure period before they can be made use of. It adds extra weight to the area of repair, which can lead to further settlement if the reason for the settlement is incompetent soil that settles due to sole compaction. Lastly, since the process requires pressure, if there is a blowout, it can be difficult to clean up."

This is a farm jack where I am from :grinning:
Farm jack

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Yep! Seen it used on houses, slabs, cars with trees growing through…pretty common around here… :upside_down_face:

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Poly or foam jacking is another “recipe” for raising a slab.

I think grinding is a quick inexpensive fix for residential and commercial.

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I concur. Lol… Farm Jack.
Meant to say Foam Jacking.

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Thank you for the graphic!

This is what the municipality does to the sidewalks around here every couple years. We don’t have frost heaving, but we have tree root heaving and undermining of the sand.

I have saved this graphic to my library also. I see walkways with vertical offsets very often. Whenever I use this graphic in a report, I will ensure the tapered shaving recommendation applies to property and not to the sidewalk which is owned by the municipality.

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Actually, the sidewalk is not owned by the municipality. Most cities consider it your sidewalk, or at least the property owner’s responsibility to maintain at their cost. When they come inspect, they will send the nonconformance report to you for you to repair all trip hazards, severe cracks, missing slabs, or anything that violates the “airspace” over the sidewalk(ie crack weeds, bushes, tree limbs, etc.) Usually they tell you a date it must be repaired by, and give you the option to do yourself or to opt for city to do it, at $X per slab, and that the cost will be due with your next property tax payment. Unless you just have 1-2 slabs to repair, I recommend having city do it. Usually it is same cost but now if not done right it is city’s fault not yours.

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