mudjacking/slabjacking

[ACE58]

Has anyone ever come across any regulations or performance specifications for mudjacking/slabjacking? My company was contacted by a business owner who has a number of sunken (1" to 4") sidewalk panels & is concerned about lawsuits from tripping pedestrians. After determining that the cause was poor compaction & not cavitation or water ponding, we were prepared to recommend slabjacking. We have no firsthand experience with this procedure & can't find any mention of regulatory agencies or construction standards in any on-line information for this remediation. Any direction would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[bridgebuster]

just google mudjacking and you'll find some information. Here's a spec I found.

I had a project about 20 years ago where we jacked some slab panels in a toll plaza. I was the resident engineer. The panels had settled up to 2". We couldn't completely raise the raise the panels; just didn't work the way the designer specified things; but we were able to seal all of the voids.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

If it is only sidewalk panels - it might be just as cheap to replace them??

Mudjacking might not get them perfectly level or aligned....

Mudjacking does however have its place and works quite well with certain applications.

 

[civilperson]

MiketheEngineer has the correct slant, with pressure grout or mudjacking cost 8 to 10 times the sidewalk installation cost. (Even with demolition cost excluded, the replacement is superior to mud jacking).

 

[hokie66]

I don't know about the mudjacking being more expensive than replacing the sidewalks, but the advantage of replacing them is that you can get at the subgrade problem to fix it. The grouting will only fill the existing voids, as you don't have much to jack against. The problem could well reoccur.

 

[msquared48]

I saw one bad result of aq slabjack solution to a settled garage slab. The slab jacking contractor didn't consider the increased fluid pressure against the 8 foot high concrete retaining wall supporting the edge of the settled slab. It cracked the retaining wall, necessitating further repairs.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering