Problem: Sunken, Cracked and Dirty Patio in Need of Help
In this Featured Rescue the team at Concrete Hero was able to offer these lucky customers a complete patio makeover. New to the area and not knowing how to bring new life to their old patio, these smart homeowners went and googled St Charles concrete raising and well the rest is history. Read below to learn how we were able to offer an easy and cost effective solution.
After deciding to move to St Charles to be closer to family and downsize from a larger home, these homeowners went right to work renovating and improving their cozy ranch home located in a quite neighborhood near the heart of St Charles.
One of the main items on the list was doing something to the old patio. The 30-40 year old patio has started to show its age. The sections along the home have sunken and settled about 4”-6” inches, creating a dangerously high step-up to the two stoops leading the back doors. Also, having the concrete pitched towards the home rather than the yard can cause possible major structural issue to the home’s walls and foundation. Along with settling and poor drainage, large cracks have formed through the patio creating an eye sore and an uneven surface, which has made it difficult for their grandchild to ride their bike on. Lastly, after years of neglect the surface of the patio was covered in dirt.
Replacing a large patio this size and with limited access (tight space between homes would require work to be done with wheel barrels) would have cost the new St Charles homeowners around $7,000-$8,000. This was way more than what they had budgeted for improving the yard. Along with the cost of replacement, the lawn and landscape would have to be restored after construction. Lastly, the project would have taken at least a week to complete and would require obtaining a permit from the village of St Charles building department.
Solution
After contacting and meeting with Pete from Concrete Hero, the homeowners were thrilled to learn that we were able to offer solutions to restoring rather than replacing their old patio. To address the sinking and settled slabs, geotechnical polyurethane expanding foam was injected below the slabs to raise the patio back to the original level along the home. The polyurethane foam process was selected over traditional mudjacking due to foams ability to last longer and requires smaller holes, which are hard to notice. Next all the dirt and grim was removed with a good power washing. Finally, the large cracks were seal-up and filled with silicone caulk. Below is an outline of the process.
- Drilled holes around area to be repaired and injected polyurethane foam below slab to raise and stabilize settled slabs.
- 4000 psi commercial power washer used to clean away dirt from surface
- Injection holes get filled with mortar
- Large cracks are filled with silicone caulk and tooled smooth. The silicone remains flexible after curing, which prevents crumbling and cracking again.
Results
What was once a dangerous eyesore is now a fully restored patio that looks great and is safe to use again all completed for a fraction of the cost and time of doing a full replacement with minimal disruption to yard. Since polyurethane was used for raising the slabs and silicone for repairing cracks, the homeowners have peace of mind knowing the repair will last for many years and not need to be redone again. Lastly, the small holes used to inject the material are barely noticeable.
Project Summary
Location: St Charles IL
Services: Concrete Lifting, Power Washing, Crack Caulking
Materials Installed: Polyurethane Expanding Foam, Silicone Caulk
Time: 1/2 day to raise and clean and another 2 hours the following day to caulk and fill holes
