The term "mud jacking" sounds like you are attempting to hijack mud, but who would want to do that? Actually, that is not what mud jacking is at all. Here is a closer look at this process, what it is used for, and why you would want to hire a mud jacking contractor.
The Actual Process
A contractor drills holes underneath broken slabs of concrete. A very long drill is used to get all the way under the sinking and broken slab parts. Then the contractor inserts a long tube connected to a machine that is filled with wet concrete mix and presses a trigger button. The concrete mix is under pressure and is injected into these holes. As the concrete fills the pre-drilled holes completely, the broken pieces of slab concrete are elevated back into position to meet with the main body of the slab. This fixes the sinking issues and readies the pieces to be rejoined along the broken seams.
Mud jacking may also be used to elevate a complete slab above low-lying plains where water may swamp over the top of the slab and freeze into ice. The water freezing to ice would cause structural issues for the slab over time. So, mud jacking the entire slab upward and out of the low-lying area keeps it from being swamped by water.
What It Is Used For
Repairing concrete slabs rather than replacing them can save you thousands of dollars. It also restores a fairly usable piece of concrete where it already sits. Many times it is useful for repairing the floor of a garage or shed, but it can also be used to restore commercial floors on ground level when there are not successive building levels about the ground floor. Once in a while, it is used for making a concrete driveway completely level.
Why You Would Hire a Contractor for This Process
This is not a DIY sort of project. It takes a long time for a concrete contractor to learn how to do this procedure correctly and to become certified in it. Doing the job improperly can cause much more damage than a concrete slab already has, and then you would still have to hire a professional to fix it. You would also hire a pro to do mud jacking to save a lot of money, since this process costs significantly less than tearing out the old slab of concrete, preparing the ground, and pouring an entirely new slab.
Call a company like Tilted Concrete Solutions, Inc., for more information about mud jacking.