In this video, host Curt Janzen introduces concrete‑lifting specialist Adam Dickinson to explain why sidewalks, driveways, and patios appear to sink and how to address the issue correctly. They debunk the common misconception that the concrete itself is faulty, emphasizing that the real problem lies beneath the slab. Three primary root causes are identified: (1) soil washout from poor drainage, downspouts, or grading, which creates voids under the slab; (2) inadequate soil compaction during construction, especially in newer homes; and (3) shrink‑swell cycles of clay‑rich soils that expand when wet and contract when dry, destabilizing the support. Three remediation strategies are outlined: (a) patching or grinding the surface – a temporary fix that does not address the underlying void; (b) fully removing and replacing the slab – a costly, time‑intensive solution that may still fail if the sub‑soil issue persists; and (c) polyurethane foam lifting – drilling holes, injecting expanding foam to raise the slab, offering a quicker, less expensive fix while still requiring the underlying cause to be resolved. Curt stresses the importance of diagnosing and fixing the root cause rather than merely treating symptoms, invites viewers to comment, subscribe, and seek further assistance for concrete or other home‑improvement questions.
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If your concrete's sinking, whether that's your driveway, your sidewalk, or a patio, it's actually not the concrete's problem. There's a deeper root issue. And if you fix it the wrong way, it will simply just come back. Most people assume that if the concrete's falling, it is the concrete's problem, but that's simply not true. They'll put things over top of that concrete, they're going to take out all that concrete and try and replace it, and what they find out is the root issue is actually below that. And if you don't fix that root issue, that problem is going to keep on coming back and back and back again. Once you understand that, you can fix the problem properly without guessing. I want to introduce to you Adam Dickinson, one of our heavyweight concrete lifters, who's going to explain to you exactly what's happening and how you can solve it.
The number one biggest issue why your concrete walkway is settling is soil washout, and that's caused by poor drainage, downspouts, or grading issues. And what's happening is water is getting underneath your sidewalk. It's washing away all that soil that's underneath there that was used to prep the concrete pad, creates a void, and then your concrete pad, your walkway, can fall and shift with the direction of that void. The second biggest issue why your concrete sidewalk is settling is poor compaction, and we see this all the time with newer homes where they can't quite backfill and compact the soil enough. The third biggest issue is drying and shrinking soils. We have a lot of clay content here in Calgary and the surrounding area, Our soils, when they have clay, those, those clay soils will absorb water and expand, and then when they dry out, they shrink. So that continuous expand, contract, expand, contract diminishes those soils, and it will self-compact, creating unstable soils above and voids, and therefore affecting your sidewalk. Here's the 3 solutions you can do to fix your settling sidewalk. Number 1 is patching or grinding that trip hazard. That surface deficiency. You don't want trip hazards. You don't want anyone tripping and falling— your grandmother, your spouse, your child. You could patch or grind it. That's temporary. That's not fixing the problem underneath it. The second fix you could do is just completely replace that sidewalk. You can take out that sidewalk that has a little trip hazard, maybe a crack in it, or just quite not sloping the right way. Have it fully removed and then redone again properly is a fix. It's just a timely and a costly one, and it might not be the right fix from the beginning if it's a settlement issue that you're dealing with. The third option that you could use to fix your sidewalk is to have it lifted. It takes a lot less time and a lot less effort to come in and drill a couple holes and pump in a foam that will expand and correct that sidewalk. It's ready to use Right away, and you're saving yourself the whole fraction of a price of replacing it.
If your concrete is sinking, don't just fix what you can see. Fix the root cause, because sometimes replacing it, putting overlayment on it, or even lifting it may not solve the issue. You want to get down to that root problem, and if you want help figuring that out, let us know. We'd help walk you through that. If you found this video helpful, I'm going to ask that you comment what you found insightful about it. Also subscribe because we're going to be going into more great content such as how do you insulate your house properly and what is it going to cost to do it.
