Concrete leveling for St. Cloud-area homes
Garage apron dropped below the garage floor, a sidewalk panel sticking up after the thaw, or a stoop leaning away from the door? One call connects you with a concrete contractor that works in your town.
What's wrong with your concrete?
- Concrete leveling (mudjacking and foam)Raise sunken walks, driveways, garage aprons and patios back to level without tearing them out.
- Sidewalk repair and trip hazardsLift or replace heaved and sunken sidewalk panels, including the public walk along the street.
- Driveway and garage apron repairLevel dropped driveway slabs and garage aprons and get rid of the lip at the garage door.
- Steps, stoops and patiosLevel front steps and stoops that have tipped or dropped, and patios that drain toward the house.
- Joint sealing and crack repairSeal joints and cracks so meltwater and salt can't get under the slab and start the cycle over.
How it works
Call or send a request
Tell us where you live and what the slab is doing.
We connect you
We connect you with an independent concrete leveling or repair contractor that serves the St. Cloud area.
They call you back
The contractor looks at it in person and quotes the work directly.
Who is this site for?
Homeowners and small landlords in St. Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Waite Park and nearby towns whose outdoor concrete has moved. That means front walks, public sidewalks, driveways, garage aprons, stoops, steps and patios that have sunk, tipped, heaved or cracked. If a slab now sends water toward the house, or someone has already caught a toe on it, this is the place to start.
Can sunken concrete be raised instead of replaced?
Usually, if the slab is still in one or two solid pieces. A leveling contractor drills a pattern of holes, pumps material into the hollow space under the slab, and uses that pressure to bring it back up. Most residential jobs take a few hours, nothing has to be broken out and hauled away, and there's no fresh concrete to wait on. Tear-out and a new pour makes more sense when the slab is in many pieces, the top is flaking badly, or the ground underneath keeps moving for a reason a lift won't fix. See concrete leveling for how a lift works.
Mudjacking or foam?
- Mudjacking. Also called slabjacking. A cement-and-soil slurry is pumped through holes roughly an inch and a half wide. It has been used for decades and is usually the less expensive choice.
- Polyurethane foam. A two-part foam goes in through much smaller holes, expands to fill the void, and cures fast. It's far lighter than slurry and doesn't absorb water, but it usually costs more.
Some St. Cloud-area contractors do both and some do only one. Ask which they'd use on your slab, and why that one.
Why does concrete move so much around St. Cloud?
- Deep cold and a lot of snow. Under 1991–2020 normals, St. Cloud averages close to 48 inches of snow a year, and January's average temperature is about 12°F. Water that gets under a slab freezes, swells and pushes it up, then leaves a gap when it thaws.
- Sandy ground that washes. A lot of the land along the Mississippi here is sandy terrace and outwash. The Minnesota DNR describes the sand plain that reaches the St. Cloud area as mostly well-drained to excessively drained sands. Sand drains well, but a downspout or sump line dumping beside a slab can carry it out from underneath.
- Backfill that keeps settling. The soil pushed back in around basements, garages and utility trenches can keep compacting for years, which is why stoops and garage aprons are often the first pieces to drop.
- Salt and spring melt. St. Cloud requires owners to clear sidewalks within 24 hours after a snowfall, and a lot of that work involves salt. Deicers and meltwater work into open joints and cracks all winter.
Which problems shouldn't wait until next year?
- A raised sidewalk edge someone could trip over
- A stoop, walk or patio that slopes toward your foundation
- A growing gap between a slab and the house
- A garage apron that sits lower than the garage floor
- Steps that rock, tilt or have pulled away from the door
- Water or ice that collects in the same low spot every time
When is the best season to fix concrete here?
Most leveling, replacement and joint sealing happens between spring thaw and the hard freeze in late fall, while the ground is workable and sealants can cure. Spring is when frost heave and snowmelt washouts show up, so walk your concrete in April or May and make a list. Contractors' schedules fill up early in the season, so calling in spring gets you on the list sooner.
What should be fixed along with the slab?
Lifting puts the concrete back where it belongs. Keeping it there means handling the water that moved it:
- Extend downspouts so they empty well past walks, stoops and the foundation
- Point sump pump discharge away from concrete
- Seal the joint between slabs and the house, and any open control joints
- Build up soil that slopes toward the house
Our joint sealing and crack repair page covers the sealing side.
What about the sidewalk and driveway approach by the street?
Those pieces sit in the public right-of-way. In St. Cloud, installing a driveway approach, sidewalk or curb and gutter in the right-of-way takes a city permit that homeowners can't pull; only a licensed contractor can. Sartell, Sauk Rapids and Waite Park run their own permits, so ask your city. Details are on the sidewalk repair page.
Are you a concrete company?
No. St. Cloud Concrete Leveling is a referral service. We connect you with an independent contractor that serves your address, and that contractor quotes, does and stands behind the work. Before hiring anyone, read our tips for choosing a concrete contractor and the St. Cloud concrete repair guide.
Areas we cover
Planning ahead? Read our St. Cloud concrete repair guide.
Common questions
Who actually does the work?
An independent concrete leveling or repair contractor that serves your area. We make the connection; we don't do concrete work ourselves.
Is there a charge to use this site?
No. Calling or sending a request is free. The contractor quotes and bills you directly.
Which towns do you cover?
St. Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Waite Park, St. Joseph, St. Augusta and other towns in Stearns, Benton and Sherburne counties.
Does a concrete contractor need a Minnesota license?
Masonry and concrete counts as one special skill, so a contractor doing only concrete generally doesn't need a state residential building contractor license. A contractor doing two or more skills for you does. For right-of-way work in St. Cloud, the city permit goes only to a state-licensed residential building contractor or a city-licensed commercial contractor.
Slab dropped over the winter? Walk turned into a trip hazard?
Call and a local concrete contractor will come look at it and quote the fix.