I know someone who has a section of sidewalk that has settled in the wrong direction, about 3′ x 10′.
It looks like it needs to raised 2″ along one long side.
He has tried and tried to get a mud jacker to fix it, and can’t get anyone to even come and look at it.
Is there any way to do this job ourselves?
There are two kinds of people who never amount to much:
those who cannot do what they are told, and those who can do nothing else.
Replies
I'll be interested to see the answer. I have been thinking about leveling my HVAC heat exchanger. I bet there are a few million out there that are angled. A good contractor could make a pretty good living doing this job when times are slow. A snake could make a pretty good living full time scaring old ladies about the dangers of a tilted HVAC unit. I am mostly interested in cosmetic issues.
Tentatively, my plan was to lift the small slab up mechanically to level, and then to pump in a slurry of left-over mortar mix, grout, portland cement, and whatever I forgot to mark before putting leftovers in plastic ice cream pails. Since I don't have a miniature concrete pump, the operation would probably involve placing a barrier on the low sides, and pouring from the high side.
I think that would work Ok if you have some room to get aroung the unit.
We really need a miniature concrete pump, do you know where we can get one?
There are two kinds of people who never amount to much:those who cannot do what they are told, and those who can do nothing else.
We really need a miniature concrete pump, do you know where we can get one?
I think they've got some at the rental place in Lilliput.http://grantlogan.net/
But you all knew that. I detailed it extensively in my blog.
Those are only rated for 3/8" thick concrete...
There are two kinds of people who never amount to much:those who cannot do what they are told, and those who can do nothing else.
Bwahahahahttp://grantlogan.net/
But you all knew that. I detailed it extensively in my blog.
Sorry, I have no idea, but maybe if I have time I will google it.
http://static.monolithic.com/gallery/equipment/gas-pump/index.html
Here's one. I googled small concrete pump. Got lots of hits.
Here's another: http://www.concretenetwork.com/trailer-pump-buyers-guide/
, and another: http://www.westernmanufacturing.net/brochures/w30sd.pdf
I bet you could rent one of these, depending on where you live.
Thanks for the detective work, I will give the local rental yard a shout.
There are two kinds of people who never amount to much:those who cannot do what they are told, and those who can do nothing else.
Good Luck!
I've done this twice: Cut the control joints so you have some managable pieces. Get a fulcrum and a spud bar or two. Lift up the low side of each piece and wedge it high enough so you can add fill. Level it and repeat on the next section.
http://grantlogan.net/
But you all knew that. I detailed it extensively in my blog.
Edited 4/21/2008 5:50 pm ET by seeyou
Yeah, that's my plan B.
The side that would need to be lifted is a little close to the house. I don't know how much room for levers there is.
There are two kinds of people who never amount to much:those who cannot do what they are told, and those who can do nothing else.
About 15 years ago, we had a problem like that with a deck made of 8'x8' slabs at my parents' house. A couple of the inboard ones were broken, so I cut them up into stepping stones using a concrete saw. Then I shoved the good outboard ones into the vacant places, and leveled them. I did it all with a 12 ton bottle jack and a bunch of wood blocks and scraps of four by.
In your case, dig out a place to put the bottle jack. Always have wood between the jack and the concrete. That distributes the stress and reduces the tendency to slip. Lift it just a tad bit higher than it needs to go, then cram the space under it full of sand, pushing it in firmly with the end of a 2x6 or whatever. Lower it, measure, and repeat the Jack and cram sand process until it stays where you want.
I was down there over the weekend, the slabs are still unbroken, and very close to where I had left them. Note that this is in Southern CA, there are no winter freezing issues.
-- J.S.
Sounds like a good idea, thanks.
There are two kinds of people who never amount to much:those who cannot do what they are told, and those who can do nothing else.
They've already said it: levers or jacks. Either way will work fine.
Bob's next test date: 12/10/07