The Sunken Porch Is Finally Fixed!

Today we had a visit from Superior Slabjacking. I know, it sounds like the title of an adult film, but it's not...its a local company that raises sunken concrete, porches, etc. via a technique called slabjacking, which is a process of drilling holes in the sunken concrete and pumping in a slurry solution made up of non-organic soil, fine sand, water, and Portland Cement that weighs approx. half the weight of concrete and "is ideal for replacing the soil that has settled or washed away under the slab."

Our front porch has sunk about 3 inches over the years. In just under 4 hours they lifted our porch back into its original location, and within 30 minutes, it was ready to use again. The process was quite amazing to watch -- Kate was facinated with watching a crew of strange men making all kinds of noise and mess in our front yard. She curiously watched most of the time they were here from the front window and gave the workers an occasional wave.

After they were done lifting it, they filled the holes so nicely I can barely even tell where the holes were. Here are some before/after closeups where you can see how much the porch sank. Notice the area under the door and the paint lines on the siding.

BEFORE

AFTER

One of the major concerns with this sinkage was that a good portion of the roof is supported by a post that is supported by the sunken porch. This was causing a major load-bearing beam to warp and crack. You can see in the pictures below some of the obvious places where things had gone crooked (pointed out with red arrows - click the images to see larger images with more detail).

My big question was whether or not this slabjacking technique would work given the extra weight of the house that was on the porch. These guys handled it with ease. The dug some holes under the porch and placed some jacks to help lighten the load, and the porch came up no problem. Then the filled in those holes with more of their slurry solution and replaced all the bark and everything.

BEFORE

AFTER

When we first embarked on this mission to repair/replace the sunken porch, we were certain we in for a huge bill -- expecting at least $5,000 to jack up the beam, replace the post, or even knock out and replace the porch itself. Boy were we happy to find Superior Slabjacking. The whole process cost $1,500 and there were no worries about replacing the concrete and having color mismatch, etc. A perfect, quick solution that got everything back in order in under 4 hours!

They also fixed a few other sinking areas of the walkway and driveway as an added bonus to make everything line up nice. If you live in the greater Seattle area and have sunken porches, driveways, or walkways, I highly recommend these guys. They were prompt, efficient, professional, and inexpensive -- they get my thumbs up.

The only problem is that I am so used to stepping down 3 inches out of our front door that I almost tripped stepping out onto a porch that is actually in the correct location.

Phase One of the Summer Home Improvement Project is complete...stay tuned for Phase Two...