When you walk out to your driveway in Eugene or step onto your patio in Springfield and notice a significant dip or a jagged crack, your heart probably sinks as fast as your concrete. For many homeowners in Lane County, the immediate assumption is that the concrete is “broken” and needs to be ripped out and replaced.
However, before you call for a jackhammer and a costly new pour, there is a more efficient, affordable, and sustainable solution: Professional Concrete Leveling.
At Oregon Concrete Leveling LLC, we specialize in helping property owners across Lane and Douglas Counties restore their surfaces through mudjacking and polyjacking. In this guide, we’ll dive deep into why leveling is almost always the superior choice over a full replacement.
1. The Financial Reality: Saving 50% to 70%
The most immediate benefit of choosing concrete leveling over replacement is the impact on your wallet.
The High Cost of Replacement
When you replace a concrete slab, you aren’t just paying for new material. You are paying for:
- Disposal Fees: Hauling tons of debris to a landfill.
- Site Prep: Re-leveling the ground and setting up new forms.
- The Pour: The current market price for concrete delivery and finishing labor.
The Efficiency of Leveling
In contrast, concrete leveling (whether through mudjacking or polyfoam) utilizes your existing slab. By drilling small, penny-sized holes and injecting a stabilizing material underneath, we raise the original concrete back to its intended height. Because we eliminate the need for demolition and new materials, the cost is typically a fraction of a new pour. For families in Junction City or Creswell looking to maximize their home maintenance budget, this is a game-changer.
2. Speed: Hours vs. Weeks
In our modern, busy lives, convenience is king. A full concrete replacement is a massive disruption to your daily routine.
- The Replacement Timeline: From the time the old concrete is ripped out to the time you can finally drive your car on a new driveway, you are often looking at 7 to 10 days. You have to wait for the contractor’s schedule, the weather to cooperate for the pour, and the “curing” time required for the concrete to reach full strength.
- The Leveling Timeline: Most concrete lifting projects in Lane County are completed in a single afternoon. Because we aren’t waiting for a chemical cure like traditional wet concrete, you can often walk on the surface immediately and drive on it within 24 hours (or even sooner with polyjacking).
Whether it’s a commercial parking lot in Eugene or a residential garage floor in Veneta, the reduced downtime is a massive advantage.
3. Addressing the Root Cause: Soil Stabilization
One of the biggest “secrets” in the roofing and construction industry is that new concrete does not fix bad soil. If your driveway in Florence or Coburg is sinking, it’s rarely the concrete’s fault. It’s the soil underneath. Soil erosion, poor compaction during original construction, and the heavy rainfall common in Western Oregon create “voids”—empty pockets of air beneath the slab.
If you simply pour new concrete over those same voids, the weight of the new, heavy slab will likely cause it to sink again within a few years. Concrete leveling solves this. By injecting material into those voids, we create a solid, stable foundation that supports the weight of the existing slab and prevents future settlement. We aren’t just fixing the surface; we are curing the underlying disease.
4. Aesthetics: Maintaining Color Consistency
Have you ever seen a house where one square of the sidewalk is bright white and the rest is a weathered gray? That is the result of a “patchwork” replacement.
Concrete ages over time, developing a unique patina and color based on the local sand and minerals used in the original mix. When you replace just one section, it rarely matches the rest of your property, which can actually decrease your curb appeal.
By leveling your existing concrete, you maintain the visual consistency of your home. We use small injection holes that are patched with a color-matched mortar, making the repair nearly invisible once it dries. Your home in Pleasant Hill or Oakridge stays looking uniform and well-maintained.
5. Environmental Responsibility
As residents of the beautiful Willamette Valley, many of us prioritize “green” solutions. Concrete replacement is an environmentally taxing process.
- Landfill Waste: Old concrete is heavy and takes up massive amounts of space in our local landfills.
- Carbon Footprint: The production of new cement is one of the leading industrial sources of $CO_2$ emissions.
Concrete leveling is a “recycling” project in its purest form. We are salvaging a perfectly good slab of concrete and extending its life for another 10, 20, or 30 years. By choosing mudjacking or polyjacking, you are keeping waste out of the dump and reducing the demand for new cement production.
6. Protecting Your Landscaping
A full replacement requires heavy machinery. Skid steers, jackhammers, and large concrete trucks can wreak havoc on your lawn, flower beds, and irrigation systems. Homeowners in areas like South Eugene or Harrisburg often spend hundreds of dollars extra just to repair the grass and landscaping after a concrete contractor leaves.
Oregon Concrete Leveling LLC uses a minimal impact approach. Our equipment is portable. We don’t need to drive a 30,000-pound truck across your lawn. We simply run a hose to the site, perform the lift, and leave your yard exactly as we found it—just with much flatter concrete!
7. Safety and Liability: The “Trip Hazard” Factor
In Lane County, the wet climate can make uneven concrete even more dangerous. A 1/2-inch lip on a sidewalk becomes a major tripping hazard when it’s covered in rain or moss.
As a property owner, you are legally liable for injuries that occur on your walkways. Waiting weeks for a replacement contractor puts you at risk. Because leveling is so fast, you can eliminate these hazards almost immediately, protecting your family, your mail carrier, and your guests.
Conclusion: Make the Smart Choice
While there are rare cases where concrete is so crumbled that it must be replaced, 90% of sinking slabs are perfect candidates for leveling. It’s faster, cheaper, more eco-friendly, and more durable.
If you’re ready to fix that sinking driveway, tilted porch, or uneven pool deck, don’t settle for a “demolish and replace” quote. Contact Oregon Concrete Leveling LLC today. We provide free estimates throughout Lane County, including Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, and beyond.
Let us help you lift your concrete and your property value at the same time!
