Patios & pool decks
Patio Leveling in Central & Western Iowa
When a patio or pool deck settles away from the house it leaves a gap under the siding and sends rainwater at the foundation. We lift it back tight to the wall — no demolition, no new pour, no landscaping torn up.
Patio leveling by mudjacking raises a sunken patio or pool deck back to its original height by pumping a water-and-sand mixture beneath the slab. The patio floats up against the house, the void beneath it fills, and the small injection holes are patched. It takes a morning and the furniture goes back on the same afternoon.
Patios are poured on backfill next to the foundation, and backfill settles. Add a downspout emptying at the corner and a few Iowa winters, and the slab drops at the house side first — which is why the gap almost always opens under the siding. A pool deck does the same thing where the deck meets the coping, and a lip there is a trip hazard around water.
Signs your patio needs lifting
A dark gap between the slab and the siding. A step down from the door threshold to the patio that was not there when the house was built. Water pooling against the house after rain instead of draining away from it. A pool deck section that sits lower than the coping or its neighbor. Furniture that rocks. All of these are the slab moving, not the slab failing, and a whole slab can be lifted.
How we lift a patio
We drill a few small holes in the low part of the slab and pump the water-and-sand mixture underneath until the slab is back at the height of the door threshold and the house wall. The mixture fills the whole void, so the patio is supported evenly rather than resting on a few points. Holes are patched to match. Because the mixture is water and sand, it is safe beside flower beds, lawns and pools — nothing to wash out into the yard or the water.
A typical patio takes two to three hours. Walk on it right away; put the furniture back the same day.
A patio we lifted
The corner that had settled away from the house, raised back against the siding.
before
after
Patio leveling in Iowa: the gap under the siding closed by lifting the slab, not replacing it.
Where we work
We travel. CC Mudjacking is based in Des Moines and has lifted concrete everywhere from the metro to the Iowa Great Lakes — Ames, Boone, Fort Dodge, Carroll, Storm Lake, Spencer and Okoboji, and the towns between. Wherever you are in central or northwest Iowa, the on-site estimate is free; tell us where the job is and the estimate says exactly what is included.
Patio and pool deck questions
Will lifting the patio damage my landscaping?
No. We work from the top of the slab through small holes, so beds, lawn and plantings beside the patio are left alone. There is no excavation and nothing to haul away.
Is the mixture safe around a pool?
Yes. It is water and sand or soil — the same material the deck sat on. There are no chemicals or foams to leach into the pool or the ground around it.
Can you lift a pool deck without disturbing the coping?
In most cases, yes. The deck slab is lifted to meet the coping; the coping and the pool shell are not touched. Where a deck is bonded to the coping we will tell you what is and is not possible at the estimate.
How soon can I use the patio?
Right away for walking. Furniture can go back the same day. Give a grill or a hot tub a day so the mixture has fully set under the load.
Do you really come out to my town?
Yes. Our jobs have run from Des Moines to Okoboji, and the rig travels with us. There is no minimum distance and no town too small. Tell us where you are when you ask for the estimate and we will schedule the trip.