May 1, 2025 • 6 mins
"Once we know it can be fixed our crews come in and they drill small holes. I tell people the size of a pencil to 3/8 of an inch. So we drill those holes ,we inject the polyurethane below that concrete. It goes in as a liquid and expands out."
- Zachary Zaras, Concrete Expert
Concrete expert, Zachary Zara from Leveled Concrete, answers this question on the program today - "How Does Leveling Concrete Work?"
For more information about Leveled Concrete in Houston, Texas - log on to
leveledconcrete.com or check them out at www.checkapro.com.
Visit Us At -
You Can Call Anytime: (832) 956-1744.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
On the Check.
A Pro Radio show.
I love to talk about things home improvement and I love to talk about things that aren't all that well known.
Zachary Zara is joining me today from Leveled Concrete.
We're gonna talk about something you just may not know.
And this is a great solution for a piece of concrete or a number of pieces of concrete that may not be level anymore.
(00:24):
Zachary,
how are you doing?
I'm doing quite well.
How about yourself?
I am living the dream.
Thank you so much for joining me today here on the program.
I love what you do.
I'm very familiar with what you do,
but I want you to explain to everybody who's watching and listening the process behind leveling a slab or a piece of concrete that may have become unlevel it,
(00:50):
it,
it may have seemed to have pitched up,
it may have seemed to pitch down.
Um What is going on and what is the process to fix this?
Yeah.
So the,
the,
the first process we come in there,
we do the evaluation to make sure it can be fixed.
Uh once we know it can be fixed our crews come in and they drill small holes.
I tell people the size of a pencil to 3/8 of an inch.
(01:12):
Um So we drill those holes,
we inject the polyurethane below that concrete.
It goes in as a liquid and expands out.
It fills any hollow loose spots and compress the soils and then expands and lifts the concrete after about 15 seconds that,
that fo is done expanding.
It's,
it's at its full height and we can add more injections to get the elevation we need.
(01:33):
And once it's elevated where we need to be,
it's done,
it's,
it's an inert material,
we just stabilize and fill the rest underneath the concrete.
Um So it's a very quick process,
often times it can be done in a couple of hours and there's no real disruption to your life.
It is kind of amazing.
I've said before.
It's kind of like magic.
Um Are people really surprised how good their concrete looks after you've leveled it al always.
(02:02):
Um We,
most people don't realize it can be fixed at that kind of level.
They assume they have to replace it for thousands and thousands of dollars and in days of disruption.
So when we can come in there and oftentimes people say,
hey,
I want to watch it and be done like I'm gonna come out in like an hour and watch it by time they come out,
it's,
it's done and they're like,
what,
what happened like we fixed it already.
It lifts very quick,
it gets done very fast.
(02:23):
So,
um,
people love it.
They're,
they're surprised at how good it looks and then we need to combine it with some other services we offer.
It makes it look almost like new concrete.
When I first heard about this process,
I was thinking this thing's gonna break in half,
all that pressure,
but that's not necessarily the case because you guys ahead of time,
(02:44):
know what you're doing in terms of moving that piece of concrete because you do have to be relatively careful that it's all going up at the same time without there being too much of a piece that's not supported,
right?
It,
it,
it,
it's like operating on someone.
You have to have everything done well,
which you understand,
you have to prep it and then when you start doing it,
there's no failure.
(03:06):
Yeah.
So uh what we try to do when we first get there,
we cut around the concrete.
So we run a solid and that frees up the concrete.
So they don't bind on each,
on each other.
So that's number one.
So if,
if anybody comes out,
they don't really free the concrete up and they just start pumping more likely than not,
they're gonna break pieces and it does happen,
concrete does break.
But when we inject that polyurethane spread out about 4 ft,
(03:28):
the 2 ft in any direction from the hole.
So we're supporting a pretty large area of the piece of concrete as we lift it and not just doing little small point lifts.
And so that's what allows us to get the lift we want.
And then oftentimes when the piece is large,
we'll lift here a little bit and then go lift here and lock it up essentially.
And that's to help prevent that cracking.
Now,
you've told me before that if people want to remove their broken or unlevel concrete,
(03:55):
you can pour new concrete,
but there are some downsides to that.
So I wanna let everybody know even though you may have a crack in your concrete,
it's not just maybe on level,
but there's,
there's a crack going through it.
You may be able to lift it in that position and kind of put it back together.
Right.
(04:16):
Yeah.
So if,
even if the concrete is cracked,
we can lift a lot of times and around there and the crack will never go away,
but we seal it.
We try to prevent water and debris from getting in there,
which is gonna make that crack larger if you don't take care of it.
Um But once we seal and protect it,
the crack is not letting water and dirt in.
So it's gonna help protect the soil so that concrete doesn't settle in the future,
like you said,
(04:36):
I mean,
we can replace when needed.
Um We try not to as much as possible because it doesn't just because you put new concrete,
doesn't mean it's not gonna settle again in the future.
You have to take care of the other solution.
The other reasons of why it happened.
So lifting it,
lifting,
it truly is just a quick,
I'm gonna fix it today.
It's like putting a band aid on a bullet hole.
If you don't take care of the actual thing,
(04:57):
you know,
do the stitches on a bullet hole,
you're,
you're still gonna,
you know,
have problems.
But so we,
you know,
do the joint ceiling,
we do the crack seal and trying to prevent everything from getting under the concrete to give you a life.
So just getting new concrete isn't gonna one all solve problem.
Just like just lifting without protecting isn't a one all solve problem.
Exactly.
And in almost all instances when you replace a piece of concrete that is in,
(05:23):
I've said before,
like quadrants on your driveway.
If you can picture this or a walkway,
if you replace one or two pieces,
they're not going to match what's there.
So,
so when Zachary lifts the concrete,
it's the same piece.
It's,
it was all poured at once,
1020 30 years ago,
whenever it was.
And when you pour something new,
(05:45):
no matter how much you guys try to match everything,
the texture and everything,
the color is not going to be the same.
Yeah,
that's,
that's true.
So we,
you know,
if you wanna replace concrete just might as well look at a checkerboard or chess board in your driveway forever.
Um,
it'll never match no matter what you do.
And if you come in and try to stain it,
uh,
the stains will take differently on the concrete.
(06:06):
You can do a complete overlay on it,
but those aren't permanent either.
That's a very short fix as well.
So,
um,
I,
I don't,
I don't recommend those options and place it.
You have to replace it.
There's no,
no,
no other options on it,
but we try to fix everything we can and we fix the majority of what we see.
Yeah.
No,
this has been fantastic.
Thank you so much for coming on the program and being an expert on leveling people's concrete,
(06:29):
like I've said before,
it could be your pool deck,
could be your driveway,
walkway,
sidewalk,
uh,
foundation.
Almost anything that you have that is concrete.
That is no longer level.
Zachary's team can help you out.
All of Zachary's information is located in the show notes of this podcast,
so it is all available for you.
He is one click away.
(06:51):
Zachary as always.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
No problem.
Thanks for having me.
On the Check.
A Pro Radio show.
I love to talk about things home improvement and I love to talk about things that aren't all that well known.
Zachary Zara is joining me today from Leveled Concrete.
We're gonna talk about something you just may not know.
And this is a great solution for a piece of concrete or a number of pieces of concrete that may not be level anymore.
(00:24):
Zachary,
how are you doing?
I'm doing quite well.
How about yourself?
I am living the dream.
Thank you so much for joining me today here on the program.
I love what you do.
I'm very familiar with what you do,
but I want you to explain to everybody who's watching and listening the process behind leveling a slab or a piece of concrete that may have become unlevel it,
(00:50):
it,
it may have seemed to have pitched up,
it may have seemed to pitch down.
Um What is going on and what is the process to fix this?
Yeah.
So the,
the,
the first process we come in there,
we do the evaluation to make sure it can be fixed.
Uh once we know it can be fixed our crews come in and they drill small holes.
I tell people the size of a pencil to 3/8 of an inch.
(01:12):
Um So we drill those holes,
we inject the polyurethane below that concrete.
It goes in as a liquid and expands out.
It fills any hollow loose spots and compress the soils and then expands and lifts the concrete after about 15 seconds that,
that fo is done expanding.
It's,
it's at its full height and we can add more injections to get the elevation we need.
(01:33):
And once it's elevated where we need to be,
it's done,
it's,
it's an inert material,
we just stabilize and fill the rest underneath the concrete.
Um So it's a very quick process,
often times it can be done in a couple of hours and there's no real disruption to your life.
It is kind of amazing.
I've said before.
It's kind of like magic.
Um Are people really surprised how good their concrete looks after you've leveled it al always.
(02:02):
Um We,
most people don't realize it can be fixed at that kind of level.
They assume they have to replace it for thousands and thousands of dollars and in days of disruption.
So when we can come in there and oftentimes people say,
hey,
I want to watch it and be done like I'm gonna come out in like an hour and watch it by time they come out,
it's,
it's done and they're like,
what,
what happened like we fixed it already.
It lifts very quick,
it gets done very fast.
(02:23):
So,
um,
people love it.
They're,
they're surprised at how good it looks and then we need to combine it with some other services we offer.
It makes it look almost like new concrete.
When I first heard about this process,
I was thinking this thing's gonna break in half,
all that pressure,
but that's not necessarily the case because you guys ahead of time,
(02:44):
know what you're doing in terms of moving that piece of concrete because you do have to be relatively careful that it's all going up at the same time without there being too much of a piece that's not supported,
right?
It,
it,
it,
it's like operating on someone.
You have to have everything done well,
which you understand,
you have to prep it and then when you start doing it,
there's no failure.
(03:06):
Yeah.
So uh what we try to do when we first get there,
we cut around the concrete.
So we run a solid and that frees up the concrete.
So they don't bind on each,
on each other.
So that's number one.
So if,
if anybody comes out,
they don't really free the concrete up and they just start pumping more likely than not,
they're gonna break pieces and it does happen,
concrete does break.
But when we inject that polyurethane spread out about 4 ft,
(03:28):
the 2 ft in any direction from the hole.
So we're supporting a pretty large area of the piece of concrete as we lift it and not just doing little small point lifts.
And so that's what allows us to get the lift we want.
And then oftentimes when the piece is large,
we'll lift here a little bit and then go lift here and lock it up essentially.
And that's to help prevent that cracking.
Now,
you've told me before that if people want to remove their broken or unlevel concrete,
(03:55):
you can pour new concrete,
but there are some downsides to that.
So I wanna let everybody know even though you may have a crack in your concrete,
it's not just maybe on level,
but there's,
there's a crack going through it.
You may be able to lift it in that position and kind of put it back together.
Right.
(04:16):
Yeah.
So if,
even if the concrete is cracked,
we can lift a lot of times and around there and the crack will never go away,
but we seal it.
We try to prevent water and debris from getting in there,
which is gonna make that crack larger if you don't take care of it.
Um But once we seal and protect it,
the crack is not letting water and dirt in.
So it's gonna help protect the soil so that concrete doesn't settle in the future,
like you said,
(04:36):
I mean,
we can replace when needed.
Um We try not to as much as possible because it doesn't just because you put new concrete,
doesn't mean it's not gonna settle again in the future.
You have to take care of the other solution.
The other reasons of why it happened.
So lifting it,
lifting,
it truly is just a quick,
I'm gonna fix it today.
It's like putting a band aid on a bullet hole.
If you don't take care of the actual thing,
(04:57):
you know,
do the stitches on a bullet hole,
you're,
you're still gonna,
you know,
have problems.
But so we,
you know,
do the joint ceiling,
we do the crack seal and trying to prevent everything from getting under the concrete to give you a life.
So just getting new concrete isn't gonna one all solve problem.
Just like just lifting without protecting isn't a one all solve problem.
Exactly.
And in almost all instances when you replace a piece of concrete that is in,
(05:23):
I've said before,
like quadrants on your driveway.
If you can picture this or a walkway,
if you replace one or two pieces,
they're not going to match what's there.
So,
so when Zachary lifts the concrete,
it's the same piece.
It's,
it was all poured at once,
1020 30 years ago,
whenever it was.
And when you pour something new,
(05:45):
no matter how much you guys try to match everything,
the texture and everything,
the color is not going to be the same.
Yeah,
that's,
that's true.
So we,
you know,
if you wanna replace concrete just might as well look at a checkerboard or chess board in your driveway forever.
Um,
it'll never match no matter what you do.
And if you come in and try to stain it,
uh,
the stains will take differently on the concrete.
(06:06):
You can do a complete overlay on it,
but those aren't permanent either.
That's a very short fix as well.
So,
um,
I,
I don't,
I don't recommend those options and place it.
You have to replace it.
There's no,
no,
no other options on it,
but we try to fix everything we can and we fix the majority of what we see.
Yeah.
No,
this has been fantastic.
Thank you so much for coming on the program and being an expert on leveling people's concrete,
(06:29):
like I've said before,
it could be your pool deck,
could be your driveway,
walkway,
sidewalk,
uh,
foundation.
Almost anything that you have that is concrete.
That is no longer level.
Zachary's team can help you out.
All of Zachary's information is located in the show notes of this podcast,
so it is all available for you.
He is one click away.
(06:51):
Zachary as always.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
No problem.
Thanks for having me.
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