When Can't You Level Concrete?

In this episode of the Check A Pro Radio Show, our host was joined by Zachary Zaras from Level Concrete. They discussed common issues found in concrete structures in residential areas, such as houses, driveways, sidewalks, and pool decks.

Over time, irregularities can form in your concrete slabs, causing them to move. In this episode, the host and guest discuss how Level Concrete can fix these discrepancies. Zachary explains how the company manages to repair different types of concrete all day, every day.

The conversation then shifted to the limitations of what they can fix. For instance, if a concrete section is smaller than two foot by two foot or badly damaged, it may need to be replaced. However, the team at Level Concrete often finds workarounds even when other companies suggest full replacements. It's also important to note that while cracks can be filled to prevent moisture and debris from penetrating, they will always remain visible.

They further delve into the process of concrete repair, detailing a process that cleans and grinds out cracks and injects silicone to seal them. By sealing the cracks, the company provides a long-lasting solution to prevent the intrusion of moisture, dirt, weeds, and pests like ants.

In case of severe damage caused by ants or rotting wood expansion joints, Level Concrete has solutions in place. The team removes as much of the damaged material as possible before applying a silicone product that bonds permanently to the concrete, providing protection against water and critters.

Despite the efficiency of their procedures, Zachary clarifies that regular maintenance, similar to house painting or fascia replacement, is still necessary. The episode closes with a reminder of the different types of harm ants can cause to the soil underneath the concrete and how their process can help prevent this damage.

 

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 Joe here on the Check A Pro Radio Show I love doing what I do helping
you the homeowner find pre-qualified home service providers that are experts
in their field, Zachary Zaras is one of those people from Level Concrete hey Zachary how are you,
living the dream memory stall oh you're catching on good living the dream that's great to hear,

(00:23):
as you know I love what you do i believe in what you do I believe everybody
who's who's watching this should watch this full video segment because what you do,
almost everybody can take advantage of themselves or they can tell their neighbor
about it because in the greater Houston area, many of us live in neighborhoods,

(00:46):
house after house after house, driveway after driveway, sidewalk after sidewalk,
pool deck after pool deck, and everybody, I'm telling you, Just about everybody has concrete.
And over time, there's going to be discrepancies in those concrete pieces or slabs.
They tend to move, and you can fix it at level concrete, correct?

(01:07):
Yes, we can. We fix all kinds of concrete all day, every day.
And in previous segments, we've talked about the process.
But now I want to talk about what can't you guys level in terms of concrete.
And so I'll set this up for you a little bit.
Let's say somebody has a quadrant on their driveway.

(01:29):
Everybody can picture this where you have that tic-tac-toe, if you will,
looking driveway and you've got these different pieces of concrete.
What happens if one of them is badly damaged and there's just many, many different pieces?
Is that likely to have to be replaced or can you fix that?

(01:50):
You know, it really depends. So it's a great question, though.
So a lot of times, general rule of thumb, we say is that the little pieces are
less than about two foot by two foot on average, then we cannot fix it.
There are times we fix things that most people go, hey, that needs replacing.
A lot of other companies will say, hey, you need to replace that as well.

(02:11):
But we can often find a fix. Now, the end result comes into is,
again, the cracks will never grow away.
So it does kind of come into a personal preference of If I replace it,
the cracks are still there. If I level it, the cracks are still there.
And you get to decide, are you okay with that? Or would you rather have one
new piece that doesn't match completely?

(02:31):
And so, like we said, about two foot by two foot, the small pieces,
if they're much smaller than that, they're probably not going to move the way you want them to move.
But most of the time, we fix pretty well damaged jarvis.
And a lot of people don't understand that just because there's a crack or two
Doesn't mean you guys can't come in with your process and inject foam in there

(02:54):
and actually lift everything.
And as you said, the crack is always going to be there, but you do fill that crack.
You kind of mend it to keep things such as moisture out.
Yes. So we clean those cracks open. We grind them out a little bit. We apply a silicone.

(03:15):
We call it Level Seal. seal and so it's a full silicone
product and so silicone does not dry out
or water dry out or crack or break with uv
light and so we're in Houston we have a lot of hot summers a lot
of uv light a lot of the materials you
buy at a big box store or other contractors install
is a urethane based sealant which dries

(03:36):
out and cracks so you get a year or two out of them and they start
breaking out and redo it so the silicone we use generally can
last five or ten years or longer depending on how
well it's taken care of but we can seal those
cracks out and that prevents water and moisture and
dirt and debris from getting down below that concrete also
helps keep the weeds from going through the cracks in the joints so if

(03:58):
you don't like pulling the weeds and we be whacking out of your driveway and
you want to look clean all the time or any of your concrete for that matter the joint
sealer can help with that it's so frustrating even
if you don't have cracks where the joints are often
during the process of building
your driveway or walkway they put
these pieces of wood in for

(04:21):
expansion joints over time inevitably those rot away and leave and now you've
got these cracks which are okay but things start to grow through them
And you're letting other things like moisture get closer and closer to the foundation
of that piece of concrete.
So you do have a solution to fill those.

(04:44):
Yes so we pull as much of the wood as that's left and pull
as much as we need out and we and put our level seal again
in there and so it is a silicone product it
stays slightly below the top of the concrete so it doesn't
get nasty from people driving over it or using it but it bonds to the concrete
so it's a permanent application goes in there and it's done and or okay the

(05:07):
permanently bonds to the concrete it will eventually require maintenance to
be replaced over time It is a maintenance item, like painting your house, replacing facias.
But once it's in there, it stops the weeds from growing through,
stops the water from going through, and it keeps ants and other critters out
of the joints and out from underneath your concrete.
Ants can do a lot of damage to the soil as well. So we see ants going through

(05:28):
concrete, through the joints, under the concrete, and they're pulling all that
dirt out, and it creates a little ant mound.
And dirt came from somewhere, and it's underneath your concrete.
So try to keep any of that stuff out will help.
I totally understand I've seen all that happen on my concrete as well uh there's
ants it's amazing what the ants can do and I'm thinking is my driveway going
to just sink into the earth as the ants pull the earth out and i guess over

(05:53):
time the answer would be absolutely,
Zachary thanks so much for joining me I really appreciate it no problem thanks for having me today.