Saturday 8 August 2015

How To Maintain Safety With Mudjacking Colorado Springs

By Elaine Guthrie


Any paving usually has supporting layers of material underneath for strength and to keep it level. Pavers typically use compacted soil and gravel for this purpose. But sometimes these layers disappear over time, and the rigid concrete remains above, unsupported. The paved surface then develops a hollow area, or cracks into pieces and collapses. Companies who perform mudjacking Colorado Springs CO can solve this issue for you.

Some concrete paving is so thick that you can't work out whether it's hollow underneath or not. It won't even sound hollow if you walk over it. At other times, you can't see what the situation is underneath the paving. But you need to determine the damage first, and how prevalent it is.

None of this solves the problem, though. If a large truck parks on the compromised area, or something heavy is put down there, the surface might unexpectedly collapse. This can happen even where the surface has been reliable for many years, such as in a parking bay. You should try to determine whether you have such areas in your paving as soon as possible.

Where the concrete has already caved in, detection is not the issue. There, it is more about assessing the size of the cavity beneath the surface. You can ask a mudjacking company to make this assessment, and also to try to detect other possible problematic areas.

Once they have done this, the concrete can be repaired. The process is easy - new material is pumped at pressure into the cavity, so that the latter is filled to its capacity and the aperture in the surface is leveled off. Grouting is used for this purpose, which is why mudjacking is sometimes called pressure grouting. Foam leveling involves the use of expanding structural foam, instead of the grouting.

Sometimes, a large piece of concrete or slab moves out of position, perhaps through subsidence of the layers underneath it. It is then shifted back into position through a process known as slabjacking. Slabjacking uses the same principle as mudjacking - material is forced in under the slab, raising it back to its initial position.

A possible risk factor in the process of mudjacking is that sometimes the concrete is structurally unable to survive it and starts to break up. The mudjacking firm needs to inspect it first to ensure that this is not a risk. Also, mudjacked concrete is not necessarily going to stay repaired if the reason for the damage or collapse still exists.

There are many paved surfaces which are used by thousands of people on a daily basis. There are also parking areas and yards which have to sustain the traffic of heavy vehicles or objects. Broken or cracked concrete is a serious hazard and cannot be left to disintegrate. If you see areas like this in your paved surface, you should get in touch with a mudjacking company immediately, so that they can assess the damage and advise you on possible repairs.




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