Lifting Concrete slab on the cheap, a mud jacking and polyurethane alternative.

[@paradoxdea]

The sound quality is amazing!

[@tgoraj70]

🤫

[@cdub166]

I thought my phone speakers weren't working haha. Got me!

[@vikingson9000]

Team Drummond😄

[@abc-bu7nr]

I actually prefer it like this

[@tgoraj70]

In a newer video I narrate and I sound horrible!

[@kauaiittime4724]

Pro Tip: Drill your holes for the wedge anchor bolts all the way through the slab and when you are done and your concrete fill has set you can drive the bolts down with a punch and fill the holes with concrete.

[@backspace4203]

Nice work. I worked with crews that cored the street. They used a grout to replace core that was pulled out. Made the repair less noticeable. Sprinkle the dust from the hole saw on the grout line to blend.

[@ingluv]

Nice work.thanks for sharing. I would think that a self leveling grout or grout with added plasticizer and a concrete vibrator would help fill the void under the slab completely.

[@johnherbert3081]

Great video. I’m going to do this soon. Will drill smaller fill holes and use expanding foam. But you just saved me a lot of beams and crap with the bottlejack method. Bravo !!

[@nitrousman8882]

I hope you had an incredible sense of satisfaction doing this! If you thought of this on your own, good for you. If you cobbled it together (like I'm doing) by looking at the work of others, EVEN BETTER! Thanks for sharing this. Happy Memorial Day. Doug

[@lpnelson6584]

Nicely done. Excellent DIY solution for an inaccessible slab. Most KZbin videos show people digging out the sides of sidewalks and slabs, to get access, there are very few showing a slab next to another slab or house. Gives me inspiration to do mine!

[@tgoraj70]

Thanks! It seemed like a unique problem, it vexed me for years. After getting the $1800.00 estimate, I was determined to find a cheap solution. If this was really visible to visitors. I probably would have sprung for the polyurethane or even had a new slab poured. This turned out “good enough” 🤗

[@asencyel]

@@tgoraj70 how is it holding up after a year? any sinking since then?

[@tgoraj70]

@@asencyel it has been almost 3 years and hasn’t moved at all. The original issue is that they poured it level. And didn’t put any grade on it. Then put the siding on so I could only jack it up so high

[@johnbrevard5966]

this video gives me hope for everything in life.. Wow, No fancy messy foam... no pollution from the empties in the landfill... Just a very smart man applying his head to a Better way!!.... BRAVO

[@jimparsons6803]

Pretty slick. I had heard of the process, but I had no idea how it was done. My thanks for an informative demonstration.

[@OldAndGettingOlder]

Had to read through the comments to figure out what is filling the gap and holding the slab up. You got the job done. You'll inspire other to fix this problem themselves.

[@grantmurphy7965]

Mind posting what he used as fill?

[@OldAndGettingOlder]

@@grantmurphy7965 concrete. He didn't show this. The wood blocks only hold the slab up. The concrete fills the void. Let it dry. Bob's your uncle.

[@stevecuthbert8856]

Good job Tom. Presently I have an appointment for a company to give an estimate to lift a 15 ft by 5 ft slab under my screen room. I'm a DYI'er so I'll decide then if I'll do it myself. I have LVL on the top but I might be able to lift some out to drill cores and fill in underneath with some spray foam. The builder just poured on top of tree roots and stumps and once those rotted out I am stuck with it with no legal recourse against the builder because it's been 7 years. Again good idea using the jacks and chains.

[@ChadBIsRacing]

This is a great idea, I have a unique problem where my garage floor has a large void under it and I'm going to try this before I bust up all the concrete.

[@leomalino2364]

Wow! Good thinking. I'm amazed that core not only found a base but it was solid enough to do the lift. Usually, there is an extensive void under the decking.

[@tgoraj70]

I was equally as shocked. I started off just thinking I would break the core free because the slab was a little thicker than the drill bit could cut.

[@vidacapital1147]

This is exactly what i was looking for. We have 5 older properties and they all have sunken slabs. Doing it myself will save 10's of thousands now and in the future

[@jakefriesenjake]

Do not do it like this. Atleast the backfill method! Wood? First of all it'll rot out to mush. And the little blocks of wood will just push into the dirt...... If the whole slab in 10 years, sunk into the dirt 2", those little things of wood will sink back in, in like 1 weeks time....

[@rallypoint1]

@@jakefriesenjake what if you stick a brick(s) in there and then backfill with concrete?

[@jakefriesenjake]

@@rallypoint1 yeah, that would be alot better. I'm all for diy, especially when the job is this easy and getting a pro is expensive. I would raise it just a tad higher than you want it to be, maybe 1/16". Jam some bricks in there to keep it at that level. Then mix up some easy flowing concrete, or whatever you think, depending on which way you can get it in there, and fill it up! Not wood.

[@rallypoint1]

@@jakefriesenjake Good idea on lifting it a tad higher!! In case it settles a bit. 👍🏼

[@billmiller7138]

@@jakefriesenjake Self leveling concrete, I've used it for a lot of floor repairs. I think it would work fairly well in this application.

[@williamwixon]

Genius, thank you for the tutorial. I removed the 5’ x 25’ skirt in front of my garage because it sank 3 inches and poured a new slab because I didn’t think I could afford to have some guys lift it with foam but if I had seen this I definitely would’ve attempted it myself! 💔😭🔥👍🙂❤️

[@mitchnelson8340]

@williamwixom Unfortunately I am about to do the same thing across my 3 car garage, I love this approach but not totally confident it will work because my 5x40' skirt has no joints, probably just a bunch of rebar and concrete.

[@OffYourBackBJJ]

i did this to my driveway platform, shover some crushed stone and cement in it, and its still holdign up even with my truck driving over it im sure you wont have any issues for years!

[@caroad2008]

Very slick and effective idea. Well done man!

[@SJR_Media_Group]

Wow... that is ingenious. At first I thought where will the chains be attached to fixed object like overhead beam. Then it hit me, the round concrete from core drill hole is on solid ground. Jack and round piece of concrete stay put, slab rises up above jack.

[@jgg204]

hopefully it lasts. now the entire weight of the patio is concentrated on the block points. any water gets in there after a hard rain and it will sink back down to equilibrium eventually

[@tgoraj70]

Concrete was poured down inside the holes. The blocks were only there to hold it while I took the jacks out

[@ЛотариоЛибертини]

Here's an idea... Instead of packing in mortar like you did... what if you used that expanding foam they use to set fence posts? That stuff sets up real fast. Real dense too.

[@C71-m1l]

I have considered this, but the reason that I will use concrete instead of foam is that rodents can still chew up the foam if they have an access point and foam degrades over a long period of time. Concrete is more stable and doesnt degrade as easily

[@lorigonzalez1196]

That stuff is amazing - just used it to replace 2 fence posts on our Franken-fence project. I told son to cut it off just below the dirt level and cover it - he wants to paint it to look like rocks. I’m not calling it a permanent fix, but it beats spending $40k on the fence I thought I wanted.

[@jturner8922]

Bro……….. This video is so MFn’ EXACT on what I needed to do about my porch slab. Thank you sir.

[@edwardkiepper1563]

You could have made a concrete mix/sand slurry to fill the void. Regardless, I hope it holds up for you.

[@dw3992]

Agree. The wood will rot & the slab will then fall again.

[@gaborbata8588]

He did use concrete once it was blocked up. At 2:39 you can see a glimpse of it, but he clarified it in the comments.

[@ehRalph]

I leveled a smaller 7’x5’ slab on our side porch that dropped 3+ ” about 20 years ago. Didn’t have to bore holes because it was open at the corner to work in a jack. Once up, I just packed sand and rock under the slab with a sledgehammer. After 20 years it’s down an inch and looks like I may have to do over. The issue with mine (I think) is a broken underground downspout line because I remember old ceramic drain pieces in the dirt when we dug… so The real repair is either a rain barrel / runoff line or re-sloping my gutters 35’ to the opposite side of the house. Or work on something else hahahaha

[@assassinlexx1993]

A flexible sleeve though the clay pipe with adapter to the downpipe. This will stop the washout. Mix dry cement with sand. The moisture in the ground will harden the mix.

[@SuperWhizy]

Absolute genius! Thank you for sharing.

[@Okie-Tom]

It worked! That is what counts! Good job! Tom

[@donng6157]

this is so creative that I can try it out on my driveway. Thanks for sharing!

[@coloradostrong]

If you ever decide to paint it, use Rust Bullet DuraGrade Concrete paint. It is a new polyurethane, and it hardens like the concrete you apply it to. No more repainting the concrete like you do with any of the big box store paints and "garage floor" epoxies. It will be the last paint you ever put down on the surface you apply it to. It is totally UV resistant, unlike epoxy. And the higher the humidity in the air, the _faster_ it dries.

[@tgoraj70]

Thanks I’ll check that out!

[@quaoar213]

It takes courage to do this barefooted. That is all

[@charlesblanton1008]

I too prefer to do my concrete work bare footed ...

[@YoureWrongImRightGetOverIt]

Put a planter infront of that bottle jack and call it a day.

[@richardlisiura3025]

Great idea. Noting like thinking outside of the box.

[@Retiredkiwi]

Interesting, as i have been thinking of lifting my single garage/workshop slab, that has dropped 4 inches towards neighbours side(there section is lower down). Was going to do something similar, with large holes in floor, but also putting wooden poles concreted into deep holes outside slab edge on neighbours side (allowed too), and jacking slab from them, filling void afterwards with the similar size holes drilled in garage floor, with fast setting post hole concrete, then cutting poles off flush with ground once its all set. May now do it this way instead, as no need to access neighbours place (garage is on boundary), but thinking i will need at least 8 jacking points all jacked evenly at same time, with having weight of building as well, and under slab is just sand. (insurance wrote garage off, rather than attempt to lift it, after christchurch earthquakes, so would be great to use only minimal $'s from payout, and just fix it cheaply) Demolish and rebuild is unlikely to get approval, due to it being on boundary, and not even shown on current council records (councils changed and records were lost during changeover) but i have since proved they knew it existed in the eighties, when they issued a permit for sewer replacement to entire property, including its extra toilet and laundry, so existing use therefore applies (grandfather clause), if it's just fixed.

[@grantmurphy7965]

I'm surprised your slab didn't crack significantly while lifting. Good work though.

[@stevenjamessmith1]

I love all the comments about why it’s sinking. It’s sinking because that’s what slabs do. I have owned 7 houses and every single one of them needs to be leveled. I’ve never seen an old house without cracked sunken slabs.

[@thewildwilsonshow]

you really did nice!!! I've got a 5/8 inch drop on a side walk next to patio from a bad concrete guy and my carpenter leaving the silcock open and me coming back to town and turning on the water and not hearing it run all night - where did some of that water go? 🤦‍♂🙄 God bless! 🇺🇸

[@Ratimus_]

Are those steel-toed work feet?

[@littlemiamijeff]

😆 they do make steel toe flip flops!

[@gercio2782]

No shoes and bare hands, badass.

[@stevenanderson3386]

At first I’m like what the heck is this guy doing drilling those huge wholes for? 40 seconds later…….WOW THIS GUY IS SMART!

[@Esuper1]

That is ingenious. I am watching it again.

[@plumbproud5292]

This video should have way more likes.

[@alminci6622]

Great idea and pretty straightforward and can see that it would easily work. It's too bad that the base of the jack is so large to compensate for the hole size. I know there are power pack jacks that have a smaller base and then would require a smaller hole to be cored. I guess that the bigger hole would be better as there is more surface area to jackoff of?

[@Jeppedy]

Wish you had shown the concrete-pouring part...

[@tgoraj70]

I’m sorry about that. I was not thinking this would be viewed as much as it has. I just didn’t plan the filming. I originally took pictures and short videos so I could show my elderly father how I did this. There is one scene where I’m using a 4x4 to try and force the mixture into to hole as it was beginning to thicken.

[@metallitech]

Thanks for sharing. Not sure I followed it, but it looked like the slab was propped-up using a relatively small amount of mortar. I wonder if using a flowable concrete might be an alternative. Flowable concretes are quite new and exist thanks to superplasticizers.

[@tgoraj70]

I made a loose mixture of cement and poured it in. it was starting to harden, that’s the part where you see me trying to compact it with a 4x4

[@Cooldad87]

You can also fill the hole with concrete or grout

[@riebread13]

There is a guy on here that used a shopvac to lift these aswell

[@ebonycombs1677]

This is great. Can you list in detail all the tools you used?

[@tgoraj70]

I rented a heavy duty hammer drill and a 4” bit. Purchased 2 husky 2 ton jacks, a 4 foot 4x4 , 1/2 inch masonry bit, 8 1/2 inch anchor bolts, and 2 4 foot pieces of chain. Sorry I didn’t narrate the video or add any captions.

[@ebonycombs1677]

@@tgoraj70 thanks!

[@EntelaPone-y8b]

Here is an improvement to this method that avoids the cost of a high power drill and an expensive large concrete drill bit. Instead of the large 4" or 5" diameter hole, drill a smaller hole about 1" in diameter. Place a closely matching steel pipe in that hole (the outer diameter of the pipe is very close to the inner diameter of the hole). Hammer the pipe down into the soil as far as it can go. Clean and sand the outside of the exposed pipe. Cut the exposed pipe so that, after the slab is fully lifted to its desired location, the top of the pipe will be about 1/4" below the top of the slab. Coat the outside of the pipe with slow-curing epoxy cement from the top of the pipe down to the top of the slab. Securely mount the jack on top of the steel pipe, connect the top of the jack to several chains that are attached to the slab by concrete anchors (as shown in the video). To mount the chains to the slab, use removable concrete anchors (the ones that that have a removable bolt). When drilling the anchor holes, drill all the way through the slab. Jack up the slab to the desired location. Allow enough time for complete curing of the epoxy between the steel pipe and the 1" concrete hole. Then the slab will be held up by the steel pipe. Remove the chains. Unscrew the bolts in the concrete anchors, revealing holes inside the anchors that go all the way through the slab. Use the anchor holes to fill the void under the slab with mud, cement or foam that is closed cell and waterproof. Patch the holes with matching cement.

[@joelallen247]

I wonder what size of jack 2 or 4 ton ?

[@tgoraj70]

They are 6 ton jacks, and very easily did the job. If all you have is a 2 ton jack, it will probably work.

[@brett6314]

Clever as hell my man. Very cheap. You traded brains for a lot of money.

[@HoustonMedicareHelp]

Thats incredible man!

[@user-fx4qz8pt3w]

I like it, gonna give it a try on my garage floor.

[@rocknral]

I reckon that's going to sink again. If slab has settled at that height, just top it with a screed or leveling compound. But for a quick fix it seemed to do the trick.

[@tgoraj70]

It’s over 2 years now and still holding

[@rocknral]

@@tgoraj70 Ok. Well nice work then.👍

[@bruce-le-smith]

@@tgoraj70 that's good news, seems there's a good chance it was the standing water that was softening it in the wet seasons, so if you fix/remove the standing water problem/root cause then the sinking problem/symptom goes away?

[@jujjuj7676]

Damn bro...i was very curious if that would work and you pulled it off. Damn fine job... i would have bought some expanding foam to spray down the whole for good measure and the wood would rot over time. But very impressive job ..make more video..

[@tgoraj70]

Thanks! I know the video is not done very well. I did use cement, the wood blocks were temporary so I could remove the jacks from the other holes.

[@hamjudo]

@@tgoraj70 you could copy this reply as a comment and pin it. Also put it in description. It answers some obvious technical questions. Likewise, include the original reason for posting the video to explain why there is no sound. Mention that newer videos have sound, etc... I don't believe you can edit the audio, but you can edit the title and thumbnail. However, if you change the title or thumbnail such that it changes the percentage of viewers that watch to the end, the KZbin algorithm may shun you and your channel. (Or not, the algorithm is constantly mutating.) This video works so well because the method shown is so useful.

[@irfanashraf1238]

Less than a minute and you got a like. Good job

[@AmB39]

It won’t just crack soon since it’s weight is all on those pieces of 2x4?

[@HellhoundDieselCrew]

That was badass! ~ T.

[@Derek_Garnham]

wise use of a long lever on the bottle jack - for several reasons :)

[@tgoraj70]

Yep, I didn’t want to take a chance in cast that chain snapped!

[@Derek_Garnham]

@@tgoraj70 and makes for a good action shot, felt like a "first person" video game

[@stevebabiak6997]

@@tgoraj70 - wrap a blanket around the chains to limit the damage just in case they do snap.

[@glennsouthard9208]

Are those steel toed bare feets??

[@tgoraj70]

😆

[@weirdmatter]

You should of used spray foam under the slab.

[@tgoraj70]

Yea, looking back, that would have worked, probably would have gotten away with smaller holes on each side of the jack

[@luisderivas6005]

Is that a 5 inch Carbide Rotary Hammer Core Bit ?

[@willpulera7303]

Good idea but mud jacking with poly is a much better long term solution that fills the entire void under the slab while filling in cracks starting in the slab at the same time. For as much work as this method was it is even easier to use the ploy foam to jack up concrete.

[@brainwashingdetergent4322]

Do you think this would work on a garage floor? It’s small single bay and the floor has pretty much cracked right down the middle from front to back. The side walls are an inch or two lower that the middle.

[@johnnylogan22]

So it’s August 5 of 2022 how has it worked out how about some updates?

[@capitolrefrigerationheatin7501]

When you jacked it up did it stay up,in order to remove jack and stuff support under the concrete?

[@tgoraj70]

I made two holes in each segment, so 4 total. While the jacks were holding it up, I forced pressure treated blocks as far as I could into the open holes, and then made a loose batch of concrete and poured that in. Once the concrete set, I did the same thing to holes that the jacks were in.

[@austinwolfe7295]

One corner of my garage has sunk and is causing water to coming in and rot the studs. Any suggestions on how that could be lifted?

[@sigvicious5599]

Great job. I have a similar issue with my patio. It's 48' wide and about 12' deep. I built my house 21 years ago. After my slab and patio were poured, I told my contractor the patio didn't have sufficient relief joints and it's going to crack. He assured me it would be fine. Well, it wasn't fine. Half of it cracked within the first 2 years and he had to be re-pour it. The other half waited a couple of more years before it cracked. Which is obviously now my responsibility. Before I bust it out and re-pour it, I'm going to lift it. But I'm going to use a polymer foam to fill it.

[@tgoraj70]

Yea the polyfoam is the way to go. I recently saw a video of someone using consumer grade insulating foam from a can, and it really worked!

[@Z-Ack]

Foam costs like 13$ a lb.. sometimes it only takes 100 lbs to lift an entire area.

[@roscoeroscoe8695]

only?

[@scole901]

pretty slick tom

[@IppiopaidFEEDBACK]

Nice work.

[@ronaldwilletts6906]

why doesn't the slab just fall back down when he releases the bottle jack?

[@CatLady-ix8zx]

It’s not as clear as I would have liked it to be shown. I poured cement into to void

[@jormaker5952]

What happened to the sound ?

[@devo076]

So you put blocks of wood underneath but didn't fill the voids?

[@tgoraj70]

I guess you didn’t see the part where I’m forcing concrete into to holes. Either way you’re missing the point. The video shows how the jack up the slab when there’s no other way to get under it.

[@raybin6873]

I've seen a guy drill strategically placed holes in a slab then inject a "soupy" concrete mixture under pressure into holes. The concrete mixture having lots of hydraulic pressure lifted the slab up. Let the concrete harden and was done.

[@tgoraj70]

The estimate I got was for $2200.00 to have that done, and $3500.00 to pour a new slab. I figured I would give this a try first.

[@raybin6873]

@@tgoraj70 It's definitely worth a try! I believe it will fix it.

[@JCnordic2983]

How large of area was your slab?

[@CatLady-ix8zx]

The part that sunk was like 4X8 feet, maybe 5X10 at the most

[@olgajoachimosmundsen4647]

How come you didn't fill the holes with wet concrete in order to create something better for the slab to sit on?

[@tgoraj70]

I did

[@miles4874]

Cinematic history!

[@petermarks431]

what happens when the timber blocks ror or sink?

[@tgoraj70]

What you aren’t seeing, and I guess you didn’t read the comments… I am filling that void with concrete

[@cernstormrunner7263]

we had a concrete step in the back that is sinking - wonder if this would work

[@tgoraj70]

I’m not an expert, this was a last ditch effort before spending thousands to get a new slab poured. I would think that a step might be too narrow and might break. Can you get to it from the sides? If you can, dig next to it and jack it up from underneath.

[@cernstormrunner7263]

@@tgoraj70 probably not, i would have to go into the neighbors yard. But this does give me an idea! thank you!

[@msp9810]

What did he do? Did he just put a few wood shims and patched the hole? How did you fillthe void? So confused

[@tgoraj70]

I poured cement into the hole. But the point of the video was the technique for jacking the slab since there was no way to get under it

[@billpbritt]

Good idea but i would think those small block supports will eventually sink in.

[@tgoraj70]

Yea, I apologize I didn’t show it better but the blocks were only temporary while the cement dried and so I could take the jacks out. I poured quite a bit of loose cement down there. Thanks for watching!

[@Muscleupsanddangles]

Getting it done right isn't that expensive in my area thankfully.

[@95mustangguyful]

@Tom Goraj what about all of the emply void around the concrete that is now pathways for water to your foundation? You have to fill the void completly if you want a proper fix but for a quick fix to sell a house it would work i guess

[@Backyardmech1]

What was used to fill the void space under the concrete?

[@tgoraj70]

I made a loose mixture of quick drying cement. It took about 3 80lb bags

[@philipstreechon4523]

Hi interesting idea and it looks like it worked but take one step further and drill thru the foundation and slab and insert rebar and epoxy the reason why it failed a piss poor job to start with good luck I will try this method thanks Phil

[@stevenjamessmith1]

I wouldn’t use wood. It will rot. I wouldn’t use concrete because if you have to lift it again. It will be harder. I’d use dirt. It will settle so build it up a little higher. I’d fill the hole with a thin layer of cement so you can bust it out easy in the future if you want. You don’t want to have to drill holes again.

[@HRradness]

Tom where did you get a concrete hole saw that big?

[@tgoraj70]

Home Depot rents them. It was barely enough to go through the block. I really wanted the one from sunbelt rentals. That one can go 16 inches, but they weren’t open.

[@HRradness]

@@tgoraj70 awesome. I'm trying to lift my slab so this may work for me I'll let you know

[@poisonduckee]

I would have expected the cement break.. how is it holding up 2 years later?

[@tgoraj70]

Still holding!

[@poisonduckee]

@@tgoraj70 Never seen anyone do this. Very cool man

[@babooll5632]

Did you fill the void with a loose mix concrete ?

[@tgoraj70]

Yes

[@creatingcryptowithfreedomf4017]

Brilliant!

[@littlemiamijeff]

How did you fill the void under the slab you raised?

[@tgoraj70]

I made a mix of loose concrete and funneled it in. I used the pressure treated blocks to hold it in place while the cement dried and so I can remove the jacks.

[@MuddyHelmutant]

Very clever

[@93blacksrv]

This is a great idea, Please list the materials used (hole size), jack size etc in the description!

[@jenny-DD]

One man with big liability for law suits 2 pieces of wood 🪵

[@stevenjamessmith1]

Wtf are you talking about. He is fixing the liability you dunce

[@mcsmith7606]

Sound? Audio?

[@gradoisx2348]

How do people work barefoot?

[@paulwetherilljr6424]

What's it cost

[@urieaaron]

Do it yourself. Do it barefoot. Save money. A man after my own heart.

[@bruce-le-smith]

We humans existed for millions of years, long before the rise of cars, planes, and other everyday machines in the early 20th century. It's amazing how quickly our species has forgotten we all used to do it like this all the time. The pyramids and Roman colosseum were probably built barefoot :)

[@stevenbarry9983]

Where do you get the whole saw to cut the hole in the concrete? What brand name and price did you pay?

[@tgoraj70]

I rented it from Home Depot. Its a makita hammer drill with a 4” concrete hole saw

[@nosoupforyou425]

Excellent method ! 🍻

[@BorkBloxYT]

1:43 thought someone was using their butt to bottle jack

[@tgoraj70]

That would be impressive 😂

[@shanepowers7566]

Good job.

[@JCnordic2983]

Beautiful, just like our fore fathers!