The concrete driveway at this Olathe home had settled unevenly, leaving a noticeable lip where the slab met the garage apron. The drop-off was catching tires and creating a tripping hazard at the walkway edge. It looked bad, and the homeowner was concerned it would keep getting worse — which it would have.
Johnson County's clay-heavy soil is notorious for settling beneath concrete flatwork. When the soil shrinks during dry periods, voids form under the slab. Once a section loses support, gravity does the rest. The driveway had settled roughly an inch and a half on one side, enough to create visible pooling during rain and an uneven surface that bothered the homeowner every time they pulled in.
We drilled small penny-sized ports through the settled slab sections and injected high-density polyurethane foam underneath. The foam expands to fill the void and lifts the concrete back to grade — you can literally watch the slab rise in real time. The whole job took a few hours, and the driveway was ready to drive on the same day.
Concrete leveling is a fraction of the cost and disruption of tearing out and replacing a driveway. The foam is waterproof, won't wash out, and weighs almost nothing compared to traditional mudjacking slurry, so it doesn't create additional load on the already-weak soil below. It's ideal for driveways, sidewalks, patios, and garage floors across the KC metro. See our Independence push pier project for how we handle settlement that goes deeper than the slab.