# Covered front porch- concrete sagging in the middle



## fourempties (Mar 31, 2007)

All down the whole width of my covered front porch the concrete has sunk down in the middle- so you step up to the porch, kind of walk downhill then back uphill to the front door. It is about 40 feet wide across the front of the house and about 12 feet deep. The house is 85 years old. Can this be "filled" with any kind of leveler? Thanks for any advice.


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## Square Eye (Mar 31, 2007)

I don't know of a leveler that will taper out to a feathered edge and be stable in the deep part of the sag.
Your best fix would be to get under the slab and repair the swag from there.
Cost a bit to have concrete forced under a slab though.


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## mudmixer (Apr 3, 2007)

Contact a "mudjacker", "concrete raiser" or "slab raiser". That is what they do. It sure beating replacing the existing.

They drill holes in the slab and pump in a cement based mixture to level a surface.

They can do sidewalks, driveways, etc. I saw them level a 4'x6' stair stoop that had 4 risers.

Its worth a call and they are not as expensive as you would think (1 or 2 men - in and out fairly quick) if they think they can do it. The process has been around a long time.


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## fourempties (Apr 4, 2007)

Are you serious? Where in the heck do I find a mud-jacker?


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## mudmixer (Apr 4, 2007)

Mud jacking has been used for commercial work longer than you or I have been around.

If you are near a decent sized,metro area, look in the yellow pages or Google.

They may be under concrete contractors, slab raising, concrete raising, mudjacking or similar terms.


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## Mephistopheles (May 19, 2007)

Hmm.
How about the obvious question... is this a supported slab, earth filled or solid concrete..how many steps up to the landing?


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## glennjanie (May 19, 2007)

It sounds like a dirt-filled porch with a concrete slab on top. One of the greatest mistakes contractors make in this type of backfill is to dump all sorts of trash in it. Anything to help fill it up. Then the wood rots, the drywall disolves, the dirt settles, etc. This allows the slab to sink in the middle. I have seen a whole garage floor suspended 1-1/2" to 2" above the fill and didn't have a crack in it.......yet.
Clean fill and thorough compaction is critical to keep the slab intact.
Glenn


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