Replacing four sidewalk slabs?

[Monkeyleg]

Twelve years ago we had a lot of basement/sidewalk/porch work done by a guy named "Whitey." Two months after he was done, he went out of business.

Most of his work was ok, but he didn't pack the ground down properly next to one basement wall. There's now a stretch of four sidewalk slabs that have sunken about 6-8" and are acting like a funnel for water. They abut the concrete back porch slab. And they're an embarassment.

A neighbor of mine has a friend in the concrete business, and I got a quote from him of $2900 to replace just those four sections of sidewalk. And that was supposed to be a good deal?

Anyway, it's been probably thirty or more years since I helped my father-in-law put in a new sidewalk. Sadly, he's not around anymore to give me advice.

Add to that the fact that I have a problem back.

I know I'll need a compressor, jackhammer, and cement mixer. And, because of the back, I'll need help from  young friends and relatives.

I have to fix this section of sidewalk before the neighbors start burning crosses on my front lawn.

Any suggestions/advice as to how to proceed?

[Greg L]

Are they broken/crumbling or just slanted because the dirt has settled?  Around here there is a company that will inject something (concrete?  I don't know I haven't needed to look into it) under the slab to lift it back to the level it should be.  It would probably be cheaper but I don't know by how much.  We had some poured last year but it didn't require any removal & minimal site prep - it still came to a little over $5/square foot.

[Guest]

He's crazy. I just had a section about that big done and it cost me $235.00. The city was installing new sidewalks and I had the same company do it at the same time which saved me some money, but still..

[Larry Ashcraft]

$2900?  Concrete (around here) just hit an all time high of $100 per cubic yard delivered, 4 yd minimum.  A yard of concrete will pour about 85 sq feet of cement (2x4 forms).  I think he's a little on the high side.

"Around here there is a company that will inject something under the slab to lift it back to the level it should be."

Yes, check into "mud jacking".  They may be able to lift the existing slabs back into place cheaper.

[caseydog]

Just from your description it sounds like your dealing with maybe a cubic yard or so, two thoughts of things to look into :

An electric jackhammer - 60lb equivilent , unless you have easy access to a compressor cheap an electric will do a small job like this easily and is much easier and safer than a towable compressor and hammer.

You -haul-it concrete outfits , we have 2 around here , they sell you a yard of ready mix in a small towable dump trailer , much preferable than a mixer and the old 3-2-1. Truck delivered ready mix will cost you a fortune unless you meet the minimum (usually 4 yd as Larry said)

[Larry Ashcraft]

Good point Caseydog, I forgot about those little trailers.

Have some help though, that stuff sets up too fast for one or two men to finish.

[caseydog]

Yeah Larry that stuff is best if you have a short tow !

Another thought to help ya out Dick :  http://www.concrete.com/calculatorsmaterials.htm#volume

Ray

[Robert Sears]

If you use the one of the u haul it outfits talk to them beforehand about how long it will take for the cement to set. If you have an idea  how lomng it will take you to do the pour, the mixer can add a lillte more water or retarder to lengthen the pour time.

Bob

[280plus]

Might I suggest a lovely underwalk snow melting system...

If it doesn't snow where you are you might not need it though.

[onions!]

Around here one slab or twenty costs $300/ it doesn't seem to matter who does it.I also need a permit from the City to replace one/them.Another thing,from an inspector,I'm not allowed to replace it myself.The city wants the same uniform mix & size.

If you haven't already you might want to check & see if you can legally do it yourself.

[Monkeyleg]

Thanks for all the replies. That $2900 figure seemed awfully high. I'll do some more research, and get more bids.

GregL, what you're talking about is mud-jacking. And, if these sidewalk slabs weren't right up against a basement wall, that's what I'd do. They just drill a small hole or two and pump in whatever it is they use.

Put that up against a basement wall, though, and it puts more pressure on it. Bear in mind that we had all this work done to reduce the amount of water we were getting into the basement because of the wall problems. "Whitey" replaced most of the blocks going down to the foundation because the wall was buckled.

What "Whitey" (if I ever see that MF again, his new nickname will be "Black and Blue") did was to tear the wall down to the foundation, and rebuild it.

That's what I told him to do.

He didn't tell me that there was no drain tile around that portion of the basement. No drain tile=no drainage=water in the basement.

Barbara: once again, you're my shining angel. Next year, the city is going to tear up our streets (and my front yard) to put in a new street and sewer system. All of the work will be done by private contactors. I'm just guessing that those private contractors--or even one of the workmen--would be willing to do some "side" jobs.

Now I just have to figure out how to get those guys to rebuild my chimney for less than the $8,000 I've been quoted so far.

If you have to ask why I haven't bought any new guns lately, well...there you go.

[280plus]

AHHHH, the happy homeowner...

[brimic]

$300/slab is about right. A person could conceivably do it for about $50 worth of materials, but you still would need a permit to do it.  My neighbor went through a pretty big dispute with our village after they told him that he had hairline cracks in 3 of his slabs and needed to replace them. He did replace them on his own and the village was threatening to rip them out,  fine him, and make him pay for replacement until he sent photos showing cracked and heaved slabs that were fixed with caulk in front of the houses of several members of the village government.      

No matter where you go, one thing remains the same: government is corrupt at all levels.

[Sindawe]

Hmmmm....I don't have the numbers handy, but that figure of $2900 feels about in the range of what our HOA paid for each building (six units/building) to redo the 8x10 patios and front stoops of each unit that had settled and pitched due to improper ground prep when our place was built 10 years ago.  That included removing the old concrete, setting new forms and pouring new concrete.

Get a 2nd opinion, and even a 3rd.