Mudjacking explained, and how it compares with foam lifting.

What to know about mudjacking and how the method works.

Mudjacking works on simple hydraulics. A crew drills access holes through the sunken slab, sized for a slurry hose, and pumps a cement based mixture through them under pressure. Because the slurry cannot compress, it spreads under the slab, fills the void first, and then lifts the concrete as pumping continues. When the surface reaches grade, pumping stops, the holes are patched, and the slurry cures into a dense, heavy base. Mudjacking is the older member of the slab jacking family of lifts. The newer member, polyjacking with expanding foam, works on the same idea with a far lighter material: two liquid components mix at the nozzle, expand into the void through holes about the size of a coin, and lift the slab in small, controlled stages. Dalinghaus lifts sunken concrete with injected polyurethane foam and does not mudjack. Whichever method a slab is quoted for, the soil comes first: a measured concrete evaluation shows why a driveway dropped before anyone decides how to lift it.

The symptoms that usually lead to mudjacking are on the concrete leveling problem signs page, alongside the other signs that point to the same underlying cause.