Concrete Leveling vs. Foundation Repair: What's the Difference?
Sunken or uneven concrete can mean two very different things. Here is how concrete leveling and foundation repair differ, and which one your situation actually calls for.
Sunken or uneven concrete is a common worry for Colorado homeowners, and it is easy to confuse two things that are actually quite different: concrete leveling and foundation repair. Knowing which one you are dealing with tells you who to call.
Foundation Professionals of Colorado is a foundation repair company. We do not offer standalone concrete or slab leveling, meaning we do not mudjack or foam-lift driveways, sidewalks, and patios as a service. What we do handle is the foundation settlement that is often the real cause when concrete tied to your home starts to move.
What Concrete Leveling Is
Concrete leveling raises a slab that has sunk back toward its original height. A contractor pumps a material, either a cement slurry (mudjacking) or a polyurethane foam (polyjacking), through small holes drilled in the slab until it lifts.
It is a surface level fix for detached flatwork: driveways, sidewalks, walkways, patios, and pool decks that have settled but are not part of the home's structure. This is a real and useful service, and a dedicated concrete leveling contractor is the right call for it. It is not a service Foundation Professionals of Colorado provides.
What Foundation Repair Is
Foundation repair stabilizes and, where possible, lifts the structural foundation your home sits on. Instead of pumping material under a slab, it uses engineered systems such as helical piers, push piers, and wall anchors that transfer the weight of the home to stable soil or bedrock.
This is the work Foundation Professionals of Colorado does across Colorado Springs and the Denver metro. It applies when settlement is affecting the foundation itself, the basement or crawl space walls, or the floors tied to the structure.
Learn more about our foundation repair services.
Concrete Leveling vs. Foundation Repair at a Glance
What it fixes
Concrete Leveling: Detached flatwork that has sunk, such as driveways, sidewalks, patios, and pool decks.
Foundation Repair: The structural foundation your home sits on, including footings, walls, and the floors tied to them.
Typical method
Concrete Leveling: Mudjacking or foam (polyjacking) pumped under a slab to raise it back toward grade.
Foundation Repair: Engineered helical or push piers, wall anchors, and related structural systems.
Who performs it
Concrete Leveling: A dedicated concrete or slab leveling contractor.
Foundation Repair: A licensed foundation repair company such as Foundation Professionals of Colorado.
When it applies
Concrete Leveling: The slab has settled but your home's foundation is sound.
Foundation Repair: Movement is affecting your home's foundation, walls, or interior floors.
How to Tell Which One You Need
- A driveway, sidewalk, or patio that is sunken while the house itself shows no cracks or movement points toward concrete leveling.
- Stair-step cracks in foundation walls, sticking doors and windows, or floors that slope inside the home point toward foundation repair.
- Concrete that is part of the structure, such as a garage slab or basement floor that has dropped with the foundation, is a foundation repair question.
- Detached exterior flatwork that has settled on its own, with a stable foundation nearby, is a concrete leveling question.
Not Sure Which You Have?
If you are seeing foundation cracks, doors and windows that stick, or floors that slope inside your home, that points to foundation settlement rather than a surface slab issue. Foundation Professionals of Colorado offers a free foundation inspection and will tell you plainly what is going on.
For a detached driveway, sidewalk, or patio that has sunk on its own, a dedicated concrete leveling contractor is the right fit, since that is not a service we offer.