How to Repair Your Concrete Front Porch in Fort Wayne, IN

Your concrete front porch is a place to relax, look out at your yard, and entertain guests, so you’ll want to repair it as soon as you notice any damage. Otherwise, you could experience more serious and expensive problems in the future.

Various geological and weather conditions in Fort Wayne, IN, might lead to a sinking, settling, or cracked porch. However, the right concrete porch repair specialist can help you overcome these challenges and restore this structure to its original state.

What Is Concrete Front Porch Damage?

Concrete porch slabs can crack, sink, or become uneven over time for different reasons, which we’ll explain in the next section. This damage not only looks unsightly but might increase the risk of trips and falls, especially for children and older adults.

If soil or foundation movement is the cause of your damaged porch slabs, you might notice other problems on your property, such as:

Try not to ignore these issues. Contacting a concrete lifting and leveling specialist like Groundworks can help you maintain the structural integrity of your home.

What Causes Concrete Porch Damage?

Several factors might damage your concrete front porch, including:

Clay soils: Soils rich in clay, common under homes in Fort Wayne, expand during wet conditions and shrink when it gets dry. This constant soil movement can cause your porch slabs to sink or crack.
Freeze-thaw cycles: When water in soil continuously freezes and thaws, it can expand and contract, putting pressure on the surrounding concrete. Freeze-thaw cycles happen frequently in Fort Wayne and other parts of Indiana during the winter.
Improper construction: If a contractor hasn’t mixed concrete properly or used a poor-quality material, concrete might deteriorate over time.
Growing tree roots: Trees with extensive root systems, such as oak trees, can damage your foundation by disturbing soil or exerting pressure directly on the structure.

How To Fix Your Concrete Front Porch

Concrete porch repair might involve a concrete patch compound to conceal minor cracks and a concrete sealer to prevent future damage. However, for more extensive repairs, we recommend professional concrete lifting. This involves a contractor raising and potentially leveling sunken concrete slabs to their initial position, restoring the look and stability of your porch.

Traditionally, mudjacking has been a popular method for concrete lifting. The problem is that the mudjacking mixture can break down or wash out depending on the soil conditions around your home. It’s also a temporary fix that doesn’t address the root cause of your porch damage, meaning further problems might occur down the line.

Polyurethane foam is a better option for restoring a sinking porch. It won’t erode or wash away and cures in just 15 minutes — much faster than mudjacking. Our PolyRenewal™ polyurethane foam solution is lightweight, won’t damage your yard or the environment, and is suitable for various concrete applications.

Here’s how we install PolyRenewal™:

Drilling penny-sized holes into your concrete porch slabs
Inserting injection ports into the holes
Injecting the foam into the ports and waiting for it to expand and fill voids under the concrete
Removing the injection ports
Sealing the holes

If foundation problems have led to a damaged concrete front porch, we can also restore this part of your home with products such as push piers and helical piers.

Concrete Porch Repair in Fort Wayne

By investing in repairs, you can enjoy your concrete front porch again. Groundworks’ concrete lifting and leveling service stabilizes this structure, improving your family’s safety and preserving your home’s value. We serve homeowners across Fort Wayne and the surrounding areas, so get in touch with one of our team today.

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