Settled Driveway Sections Lifted Back to Grade in One Afternoon

Epp Foundation Repair has lifted thousands of driveway sections across Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri since 1994 with concrete leveling by polyurethane foam, and three causes account for most of what crews see. First, loess fill. The wind-deposited silt that blankets this region. Hydroconsolidates when it gets wet, meaning soil particles collapse into tighter packing the first time they saturate. A typical residential driveway poured over disturbed loess fill in the 1990s or 2000s will settle 2 to 6 inches within its first 5 years. Second, downspout discharge erodes sub-slab fill from the edges inward, leaving voids that the slab eventually drops into. Third, plumbing or utility-trench backfill compacted to a lower standard than the surrounding subgrade creates a long settlement line that mirrors the trench beneath the driveway. The trouble spots repeat: the driveway-to-garage apron sinks first because the slab is thinnest and bears the highest concentrated vehicle weight; the driveway-to-street apron settles because the city's right-of-way backfill is rarely compacted to the same standard as the homeowner's drive; the joint between driveway and sidewalk settles because the two slabs were poured against each other without a tied connection. Crews diagnose which one is in play before drilling a single hole.

Dave Epp built his polyurethane foam process around what he calls mid-soil injection. Foam delivered into the soil column at depth, not just sprayed under the slab surface. The installation crew walks the driveway with a laser level, marks every low point and measures the differential against the high reference, then drills 5/8-inch injection holes in a grid pattern (typically two to four holes per slab panel, depending on settlement severity). Polyurethane foam injects through those holes under controlled pressure. The foam expands, fills the void, then continues to expand into the soil itself. Densifying weak fill mid-column. Crews monitor lift in real time with the laser and stop at target elevation. Holes get patched with color-matched mortar or caulk. The slab is ready for vehicle traffic 30 minutes after the last injection. Compare that to 7 days of cure time before driving on a replacement pour.

Epp Foundation Repair does not perform mudjacking. Every driveway lift uses polyurethane foam instead, because it wins on the factors that matter for a residential drive: injection holes are 5/8 inch instead of the 1.5 to 2 inch holes an older slurry lift needs (smaller patches, less cosmetic impact); foam is 2 to 3 pounds per cubic foot versus mudjacking slurry at 100+ pounds per cubic foot (foam doesn't add weight that could re-settle the soil); foam cures in 30 minutes versus mudjacking's 24-hour minimum. ## What Driveway Leveling Costs

A one-side-of-the-driveway lift, two to four panels, addressing apron settlement or a downspout-eroded void. Customized Repair Estimate after on-site inspection reflects your scope.

Epp Foundation Repair lifts what's salvageable first, since that is usually the cheaper and faster fix. When a slab is cracked beyond repair, the recommendation is a new pour, not a foam attempt that will fail within a year. Crews do not fix the water source that caused the settlement: downspout extensions, gutter repair, regrading the yard so water drains away from the driveway. Those are homeowner scope or a landscape contractor's call. The driveway lift is a structural correction; the water fix is a maintenance correction. Both have to happen or the settlement comes back. Expansion joint sealing is a separate add-on if the homeowner wants it. Decorative or stamped concrete can be lifted but injection-hole patches will not perfectly match the pattern.

Do not pay to lift a slab with cracks wider than 1/2 inch combined with spalling on the surface. That concrete has lost too much structural integrity to behave as a unit during lift, and the right answer is replacement. Do not lift over an active downspout washout. The void will reopen and the slab will settle again within 24 months. Address the water source first, then lift, in that order. Epp Foundation Repair will walk away from a job rather than take payment for a lift the soil conditions guarantee will fail.

Thirty-plus years of work in this soil. BBB A+ rated, BBB Integrity Award winner in 2011 and 2016. Five offices serving Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri so the closest crew is rarely more than 90 minutes from a residential drive. Customized Repair Estimate, written scope, written warranty on the lift itself. The honest part: if the driveway needs replacement, the inspection will say so before the contract is signed.