Concrete Repair & Leveling in The Villages, FL

Concrete repair and leveling is often the right answer for a driveway, walk, lanai or pool deck in The Villages that has cracked, sunk at one corner or worn at the surface. Wikipedia shows the community growing from 8,333 residents in 2000 to 79,077 in 2020, so a large share of its homes, and the concrete around them, went in during the last two decades. That is long enough for washouts, tree roots and settling trenches to show, while much of that concrete is still sound enough to save. Before we suggest anything, we find out why the slab moved, because fixing the surface without fixing the cause just brings the problem back.

What causes settling here

Washouts. A downspout, a sprinkler head or a low spot that keeps water at the edge of a slab will carry sand out from under it over time. The corner drops, then cracks.

Poor compaction. Sand that was not compacted before the original pour, or backfill in a trench for a pool, sewer or irrigation line, keeps settling for years.

Roots. Oaks and palms near a walk or driveway can lift an edge or a joint.

The limestone underneath. Smithsonian Magazine reported in 2018 that The Villages sits mostly in northern Sumter County, nearly all of it in the red zone of Florida's sinkhole favorability map, and that the area saw at least 32 sinkholes in 2017. Most settled concrete is not a sinkhole. But a crack that keeps widening, a sudden depression in the lawn nearby, or new cracks in the house walls or doors that stick are signs to call your insurer or an engineer before any concrete work. We will tell you if we see them.

Repair options

• Crack repair. Hairline cracks are mostly cosmetic. Wider cracks are cleaned, routed and filled with a flexible filler. HomeGuide's resurfacing guide lists crack filling at $0.50 to $3 a linear foot and notes that cracks wider than 1/4 inch usually point to deeper problems underneath.
• Leveling. A sunken panel that is still in one piece can be lifted back into place by pumping material under it: a cement slurry (mudjacking) or expanding foam (polyjacking). HomeGuide gives 5 to 10 years or more for leveled concrete, with foam often lasting longest.
• Resurfacing. A sound slab with worn, stained or lightly cracked surface takes a new cement-based coat. HomeGuide gives 8 to 15 years for resurfacing.
• Section replacement. A panel that is broken in pieces, badly heaved or crumbling is cut out at the joints and repoured, with the base fixed first.

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When to replace instead

HomeGuide's resurfacing guide says to replace concrete that has large cracks, crumbling, spalling or structural problems, or where a new layer would need to be more than 2 inches thick. Its leveling guide puts replacement at $6 to $15 a square foot, against $3 to $12 for leveling. If the whole driveway is failing, replacing it may cost less than repairing it panel by panel for years. We price repair and replacement side by side when both are real options.

If your home is in The Villages and the repair changes the look (a new color, a larger slab, a different shape), it needs ARC approval. A like-for-like repair may still need an application, since the District Government lists repairs among exterior alterations, so we help you check before work starts.

Keep it from coming back

Point downspouts and sprinklers away from slab edges. Fill low spots in the lawn where water stands after rain. Reseal joints so water does not run straight down into the base. And look at the slab after a heavy summer storm, when washouts show first. Call (352) 706-8874 if a crack or a low spot is getting worse.