Sometimes, a home’s foundation is built on rock or sand instead of solid soil. The weight of the building causes the concrete to settle over time, which leaves it lower than it should be. This can cause leaks and other structural problems in homes. In order to fix this, you need to raise the concrete’s height back up with what is called a “concrete raising.”
This guide gives you an introduction to concrete raising Iowa City, along with two methods in which it is done.
What is Concrete Raising?
Concrete raising is the process of fixing small gaps in a concrete foundation by adding weight to the structure. In order to do this, you will be asked to raise the concrete around a home with heavy materials such as bags of cement (concrete bags), large stones, or multiple concrete blocks (concrete blocks).
There are two main methods for raising concrete that work for different scenarios:
1- Off-the-Job raising
In this method, the concrete is raised by lifting the foundation off the ground and then placing a weighted material beneath it. The foundation is then lowered back into place. This method works best in situations where there is room to lift the house upward and place weight beneath it. There are several different methods that can be used to lift up a home’s foundation.
2- On-the-Job Raising:
In this method, a pile driver (or jackhammer) is used to drive a large steel “slug” into the ground. The weight of the slug forces concrete to rise up, pushing out any small gaps in the foundation. This method works best in situations where there is not enough space to lift the house, but you would like to avoid slugs going through your foundation.
Wrapping up
Now that you have read this compact guide, we are sure you must have a better understanding of concrete raising Iowa City.

