What Is The Difference Between Polyjacking And Mudjacking?

Join us in this episode as the Check A Pro Joe hosts Zachary Zaras from Leveled Concrete on the Check A Pro Radio Show. With their combined passion for home improvement, they delve into online conversations regarding the commonly misinterpreted differences and advantages between mud jacking and poly jacking. Zachary lays out the critical differences between these concepts in concrete work and highlights how polyjacking has revolutionized the industry.

Understand how mud jacking is laid out and why it has its cons, ranging from larger holes to the liability of washing out under the driveway. Learn how polyjacking evolved from this method and why it emerged as a more efficient process. Listen as Zachary explains the science behind the durable, lightweight foaming agent that lifts the concrete, providing a lasting solution for your driveway, walkways, and even pool decks.

You'll also discover the immediate and long-term advantages of this newer leveling method, not only in terms of convenience but also durability. Hear about how that shift affects your home's curb appeal positively and explore exciting understandings behind these robust home improvement strategies. Don't miss the opportunity to vitalize your concrete's endurance through an insight-rich discussion.

 

For more information about Leveled Concrete in Houston, Texas - log on to

leveledconcrete.com or check them out at www.checkapro.com.

 

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Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Check A Pro here on the Check A Pro Radio
Show I love home improvement and helping you the homeowner
with home improvement needs Zachary Zaras
is joining me from Leveled Concrete today here on the program Zachary how are
you my friend i am living the dream how about yourself that's my line I'm living
the dream I love it and I love what you do you know when I drive down the street

(00:24):
and I see my neighbors with their concrete that's not leveled,
I think of you all the time.
I'm glad to hear. I mean, that's the goal out there is to be the guy that you
think about when you drive by and see us or see any kind of concrete problems.
Yeah. You know, for years, there was something called mud jacking.
Some companies still do it, but you do something called poly jacking, which is different.

(00:47):
What are the differences and pros and cons to both?
Yeah so the the largest one uh mud jacking it
is what it is it sounds like it's mud uh we you have to
rely on those contractors to mix the proper amount of portland cement
with the mud the dirt they're using and that way it ideally doesn't wash out
but most of the time we've seen it washes out water gets under the concrete

(01:08):
and it's dirt it gets wet again it washes right back out and you're in the same
situation but it's also not only uses larger holes um size of a coke can generally
is the whole size, whereas about the size of a pencil.
So, you know, it seems to be better.
Also, mud is very heavy, extremely heavy. It's like when you pop it under there,
you're putting a ton of weight under the concrete.

(01:30):
So, you know, I look at it, if you were wearing high heels and you step in mud,
you're going to sink in the mud. It's a very fine load. All your weight is fine on that one spot.
Whereas if you put on, you know, snowshoes for say you walk in snow, you won't sink.
So mud is the same. You put a bunch of mud under someone's driveway, driveway
it can cause that dirt to
settle down some more and your concrete goes

(01:52):
right back to the same place along with the washout whereas the
poly jacking the polyurethane we use level lift is what we call
it that product on an average driveway
we put about 200 pounds under the entire driveway so
I don't know about you but I would a bit more than 200 pounds so it's a little
bit less than me laying down on your entire driveway uh doesn't add enough weight

(02:12):
to substantially changing anything and it also doesn't wash out once it's under
there it's fully reacted it's an inert material it can be recycled if you ever
pull it out for any reason,
but it doesn't leach it doesn't wash out it is just an inner essentially plastic
and underneath your driveway that's never going to go anywhere until you pull it out and recycle it.
Yeah. It's something that's going to last a very, very long time.

(02:36):
What I really think is cool about the process is not only can you really not
tell that you were there because these are pencil size holes,
right? They're very small. all.
It lifts the concrete immediately.
It's not like when you pour new concrete where you have to let it cure.
It lifts immediately. Even if you wanted to, you could probably have a pickup

(02:58):
truck on it and lift that up at the same time. It's so powerful, right?
And so I've seen the videos on your website.
It lifts it up right to where your technician needs it and that's it.
And then the the homeowner can drive on it shortly after.
Yeah. So it is a very fast reacting product.
It fully reacted in about 15 seconds. It's done raising after about 15 seconds.

(03:22):
So we can do subsequent injections to get that elevation where we need it to be.
But once it's where we want it, we stop, it's there. And that's where we put it.
And so with niacinamide polyurethanes, you can drive on that concrete within
about 15 minutes when it's fully, after we're done.
So 15 15 minutes is when it is done in about 90% hardness.

(03:43):
After that, it gets a little harder after that. But 15 minutes,
you can drive on it. Mud, generally, it's 24 hours. You have to stay off of the concrete.
It is still a wet slop underneath the concrete, and you have to wait for it to dry.
So it's a much faster return to service, return to use.
And then as far as lifting, you're absolutely right. We do commercial projects
where we will actually lift the concrete with a heavy forklift on there to ensure

(04:06):
we get the compaction we need for the supporting that supporting loads they put on it.
It's really like magic when you
see it done it's like
come on that foam really can you
know that's because people are used to foam when they're cleaning
something like you know the foaming toilet stuff or

(04:27):
or you know foamy for your face when you're shaving right foam
it's it's kind of like that but it's not i mean
so what's what really makes it so so
so powerful because it is powerful it moves it
and so strong over time yeah so
the the chemical reaction in it is it has to
go somewhere so naturally the foam's gonna find a

(04:48):
path to least resistance and at a certain point there is
no more ground or no more open area for that foam
to go and the only place it can't push the ground down so
it's going to push the concrete out um and it's it's amazing how much weight
it can lift and how much it can push and then hold when it's all said and done
but once it's it's a rigid dense material um it's hard to explain what it's

(05:11):
like but it's almost like a really really just dense plastic at the end of the
day it's almost like you're making plastic,
And plastic doesn't wash away, or at least easily.
I mean, it's got like a half-life of like 150 years. So if you live that long
and it washes out, I'll gladly come replace it if I'm alive too.
It's going to last longer than Zachary. Oh my goodness. And listen up,

(05:34):
everybody. It's not just for your driveway.
It's for your walkways, your pool deck, slabs that may be on your property in
an outbuilding, right? You can do a lot of different things.
Yep. Yep. So we can generally, any amount of flat work, we can do it.
We tend to stay away from home foundations a lot with the polyurethane.

(05:55):
We can do interiors, but most of the time, still a period is going to be needed
on the exterior of the home.
So we'll do that in conjunction with period contractors.
But on outbuilding shops, metal buildings people have, we can,
we see those settle. We can lift those up just fine.
Generally, they don't have enough weight and it's also not a living structure
that we can lift to a polyurethane.

(06:16):
And it's not as as much of a risk to a living structure at that set.
So we've done plenty of outbuildings, walkways, patios, all equipment pads, generator pads.
You don't want your generator leaning because the oil then doesn't slosh properly.
We can come in without disconnecting the generator, without getting the generator
company out there and lift those pads back into place and level those out.

(06:38):
Yeah, there's pretty much nothing concrete that you can't level.
Zachary, thank you so much for joining me today on the program. I really appreciate it.
Not a problem. Thanks for having me. Level concrete. All of Zachary's information
is located in the description of this podcast.