Mud-jacking and re-surfacing a concrete sidewalk

[maurice]

My front sidewalk is about 40 years old, and is pretty much one big slab from the front porch to the driveway. It's fallen as much as three inches in one corner, which means that rain and melting snow puddle all the time. Also, the surface of the concrete is pretty bad, probably from all of the ice-melting agents the previous owners likely used to deal with the ice build up from the puddling. However, the slab has no cracks in it.

On one side of the slab is a big brick planter, which I'd like to keep. With today's price of concrete, I'm wondering if it's worth it to jack the slab up and refinish the top? Also, I heard of a process that uses Urethane foam instead of mud to jack the slab, apparently it results in smaller holes and less settling. Any experience here on this issue? And any suggestions on the topping to use?

I'm in a cold climate (Northern Alberta, Canada) so frost heave is always a problem (though this problem is probably more related to settling.

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

[Lawrence]

i don't have any experience with the mud jacking or resurfacing but considering the age and condition of your walk I bet most posters will suggest that you replace it. 40 years is good service for a sidewalk and you will have a good opportunity to improve upon the old one.

[nowforsale]

Concrete gets its hardest at 100 years old and all concrete cracks.

Slab jacking can get expensive if you're wanting to keep what you got instead of a tearout and replacement.

You didn't mention the square feet of your sidewalk aka "one big slab", nor how far off grade the slab is where it has fallen, both variables effecting a good answer for you.

[maurice]

I've priced out concrete replacement vs. slab jacking, and the jacking is lots less - roughly $1000 vs. $4000. However, this doesn't include the topping process, and I'm also not sure if this is as good a fix as new concrete. As stated earlier, part of my problem is that I don't want to have to rebuild the attached planter, which is brick and complements the entranceway nicely. We're in a booming economy here right now, and it's tough enough to get a concrete contractor to pour a small pad, let alone a competent and reliable bricklayer.

The slab is roughly 20' x 8', with one joint in the middle and the brick planter on top of the concrete along one edge. It has settled as one big piece, with no apparent cracks. The settling ranges from 1" at the highest point to about 3" at the lowest point.

I have the habit of selling my house every few years when I find a suitable (read: fixer-upper) replacement. I like to leave things in good repair for the next owner, and while the sidewalk is still serviceable, I think it would improve my curb appeal and be a nice upgrade to fix this problem.

Hope that describes the issue a bit more clearly. Thanks.

[roger61611]

I'd even it out however you want, and slabjacking (aka mudjacking) will probably work.

(Where mudjacking doesn't work worth a **** is inside a house, like if your slab has cracked and settled because the bathtub drain had come apart years ago and the bathtub had been draining under the **** foundation for heaven knows how long.)