Concrete is guaranteed to do three things: get hard, turn grey and crack. As concrete cures, it begins to crack within the first 24 hours of installation. And if your soil has a low compaction rate, you can bet that those cracks will accentuate over time as the soil compacts beneath your concrete slab. When these problems are evident, mudjacking is the traditional solution to repairing these problems. Starting in the summer of 2012, Spray On Systems will be offering Polyurethane Mudjacking.
What is Mudjacking?
Mudjacking is the process of injecting concrete slurry beneath a concrete slab to raise dips and sags caused by soil compaction. Concrete is pumped under pressure into the soil beneath a drooping slab to raise it back to its original, level position.
Why Use Polyurethane Mudjacking Instead of Concrete?
Traditional mudjacking using concrete injection has been around for decades and is in use all over the world. Polyurethane is a more recent addition to the mudjacking industry and certainly has multiple benefits and disadvantages when compared to conventional concrete mudjacking methods. A few advantages of using spray foam polyurethane are:
- Spray foam mudjacking is more stable compared to concrete when applying it in weak and loamy substrates like clay, peat and sand.
- Polyurethane foam leaves smaller visible injection holes (1” or less) compared to concrete injection holes (up to 3”)
- Polyfoam compresses at a consistent Psi rate, eliminating over compression of the soil (and wasted materials)
Is Polyurethane Mudjacking for Me?
Spray foam polyurethane mudjacking materials aren’t for everyone. While traditional concrete mudjacking methods can be more cost effective, they can easily become more costly when used in conjunction with poor soil. Be sure to ask your mudjacking contractor to explain the benefits and disadvantages of using polyurethane foam on your slab raising project before you commit to using any traditional materials.
Spray On Systems is always dedicated to finding new ways to use polyurethane and to offering our customers new products and services. Look for polyurethane mudjacking services in 2013.