Concrete Repair & Replacement in Schenectady, NY

Concrete Repair & Replacement starts with a diagnosis. In Schenectady, with so much concrete poured decades ago and winters that freeze and thaw it again and again, most homeowners have something cracked, sunken or flaking. Some of it can be repaired for far less than a new slab. Some of it is past saving, and money spent on patches is money spent twice. We judge the entire slab and tell you which case you are in.

Typical problems and the usual fix

• Fine shrinkage cracks: expected in most slabs; cleaning and sealing them keeps water out.
• Wider cracks with both sides level: routed out and filled with a flexible sealant so water cannot get in and freeze.
• Sunken but unbroken slabs: raised with mudjacking or polyjacking, provided the concrete is sound.
• Light scaling: sometimes resurfaced, but only over solid concrete.
• Broken or deeply scaled panels: sawn out at the joints and repoured.
• Slabs failing throughout: removed and rebuilt from the base up.

Lifting a sunken slab

If a walk, patio or driveway panel has dropped but is still in one piece, it can often be raised back to grade. Mudjacking injects a cement-based slurry beneath the slab through drilled holes; polyjacking uses expanding foam and smaller holes. HomeGuide's leveling guide lists mudjacking at $4 to $9 a square foot and polyjacking at $8 to $25, and puts the life of professional leveling at 5 to 10 years or longer. A slab that sank because of water will sink again unless the water problem is solved, so downspouts and grading get checked as part of the job.

When a new slab makes more sense

According to HomeGuide, replacement may be the better long-term choice when cracks run wider than 1/4 inch, when there is heavy spalling, or when the concrete has badly deteriorated. The slab itself usually makes the case: if it has broken into many pieces, moves differently each winter, or has lost its surface over most of its area, crack filler will not hold it together. Replacing costs more at the start but begins again with a proper base, air-entrained concrete and planned joints.

Get a Free Estimate

Replacing only part

The right answer is often in the middle: the worst squares of a walk, a driveway apron, or a set of steps, with the sound sections left alone. We saw clean lines or cut back to existing joints, pin new concrete to old with dowels where it helps, and match the finish as closely as possible. Fresh concrete reads lighter than weathered concrete for a while; the contrast fades with time.

Heading off the next repair

• Direct downspouts and sump lines away from slabs and the soil along their edges.
• Seal open cracks in the fall, before freezing weather arrives.
• Reseal exposed concrete every few years.
• Use de-icers sparingly, and avoid them entirely on concrete less than a year old.