Thrasher Commercial offers affordable, permanent repairs for all sunken concrete problems. When a concrete surface is no longer providing safe, solid support due to settlement issues, prompt action is necessary before the problem gets worse. Before you demolish the concrete slab, consider the advantages of PolyLevel® or Low-Density Cellular Concrete (LDCC). These are lower cost alternatives to common concrete remediation methods like mudjacking, concrete grinding, or total concrete replacement. 

PolyLevel used to lift and level concrete beneath railroad track
Advantages of PolyLevel®:
  • Lightweight –Weighs approximately 4 pounds per cubic foot- almost no additional load to supporting soils.
  • High Capacity – Lift action is a result of the expansion of the foam, allowing for much larger loads 
  • Accurate Lift – Calculated reaction time of polyurethane foam allows for precise lifting
  • Waterproof – It is hydrophobic and can be used to under-seal the slab and stop other infrastructure leaks
  • Quick Cure Time – Allows for even heavy traffic just 15 minutes after completion of the injection of the material

Advantages of Low-Density Cellular Concrete:
low density cellular concrete supporting flood damaged road
  • Low-density - By controlling the foaming action, it’s possible to create densities ranging from 15 to 120 lbs. per cubic foot
  • Excellent pumping qualities - thanks to its high air content and low density, cellular concrete is easy to pump – even over long distances 
  • Light and durable - Cellular concrete is typically stronger than compacted fills or soils, even at its lower densities.
  • Permeable or non-permeable - Can be formulated to stop water penetration or allows it to drain through the material.  
  • Self-leveling - Excellent flow characteristics. It performs well at filling voids and flowing to form a level surface.
  • Insulating - Captured air bubbles give the material much better insulating qualities than other masonry materials.
inspecting a void beneath a road, to be filled with low density cellular concrete
One example of a dramatic pavement repair using PolyLevel and low-density cellular concrete was a Void Fill on Q Street.

In this case study, Thrasher Commercial was called in by Douglas County, NE engineers. They were scrambling to find a solution for four large voids, caused by flooding of the Elkhorn River in Western Douglas County. The flooding washed away chunks of the street and the sub-base that supported a 2-year-old bridge. Read the full Case Study here. The Thrasher crew used more than 200 yards of LDCC, taking just 2 days to complete the job. They delivered on time and under budget, so that evacuation and rescue transportation could continue.

What causes a concrete slab to sink?

Concrete is hard to beat as a construction material for all kinds of load-bearing surfaces, from driveways and sidewalks to floors, roads, and airport runways. However, concrete has two characteristics that can cause problems: it’s heavy and it’s brittle.

The weight of a concrete slab can sometimes cause the soil beneath the slab to compress. When this happens, all or part of the concrete slab will sink down under its own weight, often cracking in the process. The cracking occurs because concrete isn’t a resilient material. If a slab is unevenly supported, it’s likely to crack because it can’t stretch or bend.

In addition to unsightly cracks, slab settlement problems can also result in potential accidents, poor drainage, tripping hazards and expensive property damage.

Level or Fill

Big lifting power through small holes. To lift a settled concrete slab with PolyLevel®, 5/8″ diameter holes are drilled through the slab. After an injector port is screwed into each hole, a special nozzle mixes two reactive materials and sprays the expanding mixture beneath the slab. The PolyLevel product is lightweight, high capacity and waterproof.

For void filling, Low Density Cellular Concrete (LDCC) may be the right solution. Compared to standard concrete which is a dense, heavy material – cellular concrete is relatively light. Cellular concrete is made by replacing the stone aggregate used in standard concrete with air bubbles. These tiny bubbles are created by blending foaming agents into the concrete during the mixing process. LDCC is lightweight, strong and self-leveling.

Seal the Cracks 

At Thrasher Commercial, we use a silicone-based crack and joint sealer developed by our sister company, Supportworks, called NexusPro. It offers a long-lasting and durable solution that will keep moisture from seeping beneath your concrete, where it can cause further problems. When we install NexusPro, we prepare and clean the concrete cracks, install the product and then finish it off with native sand to give the whole surface a clean, finished look. 

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Thrasher Commercial is your expert for concrete leveling and repair in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri. Contact us today to schedule an on-site consultation and find out how PolyLevel® or LDCC can solve your concrete issues, and we will provide you with an estimate for your commercial project. We are experts in these and many other commercial applications and we bring the technical know-how to make sure our part is installed on-time and on-budget.

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