Sidewalk concrete patch

[Puddin' Man]

Re: Sidewalk concrete patch

Greetings,

I live on a hill. Everything shifts a little as time goes by.

My concrete sidewalk slabs misalign. The corner of one will elevate up to about 3/4" above the adjoining one.

So folks won't stub their toes, I've patched such places with vinyl concrete patch and regular concrete mix. Neither lasts thru a winter before cracking to hell and gone.

Anyone know of a better patching substance to use in this situation?

TIA, Puddin'

[Joseph Meehan]

The only fix is to tear it out and replace it with a good foundation below the frost line. You can even add a little rebar.

[New & Improved - N/F John]

I've heard you can move the slab to fit it better. I know a 75 year old guy who did it himself.

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

I don't know if our sidewalks are similar or if you can do this, but. . . My [30 year old?] sidewalk is 4" thick concrete laid out in mostly 36" squares. There is no rebar tieing them together.

Two winters ago I went through and 'leveled' my sidewalk with pressure treated wooden shims.

First I cut an assortment of shims from 1x6 pressure treated. I used

6" lengths and tapered the last 5" down to points. [If I remember right I ripped them into 1x2 1/2 before tapering.]

Next locate the highest point & mark the grade with a string on each side of the sidewalk. Then work both ways from there, digging out the sod beside the joint so you can get your wedges in.

I laid a 6x6" piece with the grain following the sidewalk & straddling the joint in each spot I needed to shim, driving it under the sidewalk with a 3lb hammer. Then I shimmed the two sides separately until they were level-- and cut off the excess.

This was done as a temporary measure as I intend to replace the sidewalk with pavers at some point and I thought I'd have to adjust it in the spring, but it has gone without shifting for 2 winters now.

Jim

[Puddin' Man]

I've got one 36 x 55 x maybe 4" slab that's all cockeyed, slid down the hill maybe 2 ". I'd *love* to be able to reseat it.

I thought of this but couldn't figger how to move it. Can't do it by brute force: I'm 130 lbs and my back is funny. Don't know any Suma wrestlers ... :-)

If you've any details on how he did it, I'm all ears.

Thanx, Puddin'

[Puddin' Man]

Pretty much same here.

So far, so good ...

Could be I'm losing you, here.

Definitely losing you, here.

The shim is 2.5 " wide, 6" long, and tapered? What is the 6 x 6"??

You gotta dig 4+" down and 2.5 " wide and maybe 10 " length so you can swing a hammer in the slot? And it raises the hideously heavy slab without splintering the shims?

Use a post-hole digger, maybe?

Knock on wood. S'long as it works, beats hell outa spending $3k on a contractor or breaking your back ...

Thanks, Puddin'

[Bruce]

Try mud jacking.

[Jim Elbrecht]

We might have a different problem. Mine was frost heave of a few slabs. As I reread your post I wonder if you have slabs slipping sideways.

Just a piece of 1x6, 6" long. It serves as a 'footing' for the shims.

That sounds about right. The shims will take it. You're only lifting about 50lbs. If a shim starts to splinter it is probably because it hit a rough spot in the slab. Slip another between the shim and 'footer' and try again.

I used a round shovel & replaced the sod when done. In a month you couldn't tell where I'd dug.

Amen. My brother in law, who has worked construction all his life, suggested taking all the blocks out, leveling a base & replacing them. [Of course 'on the job' he would be assisted with a back-hoe to lift the slabs and replace them.]

Jim