To fix a sinking concrete slab in the Birmingham area, the empty space under it is filled and the slab is lifted back to level, which typically costs $3 to $12 per square foot, or $700 to $5,000 for most jobs, according to HomeGuide's November 2025 concrete leveling guide. Polyurethane foam lifting runs $8 to $25 per square foot, mudjacking $4 to $9, and tearing out and pouring new concrete $6 to $15. Lifting is the right call when the slab is still sound; HomeGuide points to cracks wider than 1/4 inch or a badly deteriorated surface as signs that replacement is the better spend. BDry Alabama lifts driveways, sidewalks, patios, pool decks, garage floors and interior slabs with high density polyurethane foam, and a free inspection finds out why the slab sank before anything is lifted.
We lift and level sunken concrete for homeowners in Birmingham, Hoover, and the surrounding towns. Reach out for local pricing and a free estimate.
Birmingham's housing is old by Alabama standards: Census ACS 2023 estimates put the median home at 1965, with about 42 percent of the city's 108,903 housing units built before 1960. The typical Birmingham home dates to around 1965 per Census data, roughly 61 years of Alabama weather and daily use. Call (205) 942-1976 or book a free estimate for Birmingham pricing. More on Birmingham
Hoover is a newer suburb: Census ACS 2023 estimates put its median home at 1994 across 39,090 housing units, with about 71 percent owner occupied. The typical Hoover home dates to around 1994 per Census data, roughly 32 years of Alabama weather and daily use. Call (205) 942-1976 or book a free estimate for Hoover pricing. More on Hoover
BDry Alabama handles concrete lifting in all 28 of these cities and the towns around them. Linked cities have their own local page. See every service area.
These are typical polyurethane foam lifting ranges from HomeGuide's November 2025 national concrete leveling guide, not quotes. How much of the slab has dropped, how far, and how large the empty pocket underneath is set your price, which comes from a free inspection.
| Sunken slab | Typical poly lifting range |
|---|---|
| Concrete steps, about 40 sq ft | $320 to $1,000 |
| Sidewalk, about 100 sq ft | $800 to $2,500 |
| Patio or porch, about 150 sq ft | $1,200 to $3,800 |
| Garage floor, about 360 sq ft | $2,900 to $9,000 |
| Pool deck, about 400 sq ft | $3,200 to $10,000 |
| Driveway, about 450 sq ft | $3,600 to $11,300 |
Figures are typical ranges and vary by project. Your free estimate is exact.
BDry Alabama measures your project and gives you a clear written estimate at no cost.
We are a local foundation repair and waterproofing contractor and we stand behind every job. You are not handed off to a subcontractor. Every job follows the same disciplined process:
Concrete sinks when the soil under it moves or washes away, and the weather here does both. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Birmingham airport station show 56.62 inches of rain a year, with 17.7 days that bring an inch or more. On those days, water running off roofs and lawns finds the edge of a driveway or patio and carries fine soil out from underneath, leaving a hollow the slab slowly drops into. Clay soil adds a second push: it swells in a wet March, the wettest month at 5.66 inches, and shrinks by October, the driest at 3.34. Slabs poured over fill that was never properly compacted keep settling for years. Lifting fixes the slab, and fixing where the water goes keeps it level.
Find out why it sank, then fill the hollow underneath and lift the slab back to level. Concrete rarely sinks on its own; rain washing soil out from under the edge, clay that shrinks in dry weather, or fill that was never compacted leaves a void the slab drops into. If the concrete is still in one piece, lifting is usually the answer. HomeGuide's November 2025 concrete leveling guide puts lifting at $3 to $12 per square foot, or $700 to $5,000 for most jobs, against $6 to $15 per square foot to tear out and pour new. If the slab is broken into pieces or crumbling, replacement makes more sense. Whichever you choose, redirect the downspout or regrade the low spot that fed the void, or the new level will not last. BDry Alabama checks the drainage as part of its free inspection.
With polyurethane foam, HomeGuide's November 2025 concrete leveling guide puts a sidewalk of about 100 square feet at $800 to $2,500, a 150 square foot patio or porch at $1,200 to $3,800, a 200 square foot section of driveway at $1,600 to $5,000, and a full 450 square foot driveway at $3,600 to $11,300. A 40 square foot set of steps runs $320 to $1,000. Mudjacking the same driveway runs $1,800 to $4,100, so foam costs more up front. Most contractors also have a minimum job fee of $300 to $700 or more, which is why a single sunken square can cost more per foot than a large slab. The real number depends on how far the concrete dropped and how large the void is, and BDry Alabama measures both at a free inspection.
For most home slabs, yes, though it costs more. Mudjacking pumps a heavy cement slurry under the slab through holes 1 to 2 inches across; polyurethane foam goes in through holes about 5/8 inch across, weighs far less, and cures in about 15 minutes, according to HomeGuide's November 2025 concrete leveling guide. HomeGuide prices mudjacking at $4 to $9 per square foot and foam at $8 to $25. The weight matters here because the soil under a sunken slab has already failed once, and a heavy slurry adds load to it. Foam also does not wash out with groundwater. The case for mudjacking is a tight budget on a large, lightly used slab where the bigger patched holes will not bother you. BDry Alabama lifts with high density polyurethane foam.
Lift it if the concrete is sound and only the support underneath has failed. HomeGuide's November 2025 concrete leveling guide puts new concrete at $6 to $15 per square foot, while polyurethane lifting a 150 square foot patio runs $1,200 to $3,800. Replacement also means demolition, hauling, new forms and several days of curing before you can use the patio. Replacement is the better buy when the slab has cracks wider than 1/4 inch, heavy spalling or a badly deteriorated surface, according to the same guide, because lifting a broken slab only gives you a level broken slab. One sunken section next to a sound one is a lifting job. A patio that is cracked into many pieces and flaking on top probably is not. BDry Alabama looks at the concrete itself before recommending either.
It lasts as long as the soil under it stays put. HomeGuide's November 2025 concrete leveling guide says professionally leveled concrete lasts 5 to 10 years or more depending on the method and the soil, that mudjacking and stone slurry typically last 5 to 7 years with proper drainage, and that polyurethane often lasts longest because the light foam does not add pressure to soil that has already given way. The same guide says that with proper water management and stable soil, a leveled slab can last as long as the original concrete. The foam itself is water resistant and does not dissolve with normal groundwater, so the usual reason a lifted slab sinks again is water still washing soil away at the edges. Fix the downspout or grading that caused the void and the lift has a far better chance of holding.
Often, yes. Polyurethane foam lifting works on garage floors and interior concrete slabs as well as outdoor flatwork, and BDry Alabama lists both among the slabs it lifts. HomeGuide's November 2025 concrete leveling guide prices foam lifting at $2,900 to $9,000 for a full 360 square foot garage floor and $1,000 to $3,100 for a partial 125 square foot section. Inside the house, a sloping or dipping slab can point to unstable soil underneath, and the cause matters before anyone lifts it: a plumbing leak under the slab, a drainage problem, or a foundation that is moving as a whole calls for a different repair than a simple void. The injection holes are small, about 5/8 inch per HomeGuide, so finished floors are less disturbed than they would be by tearing out concrete.
Yes, as long as the concrete is still sound. Pool decks settle when rain and runoff wash soil out from under the slab, and steps tend to tip or pull away from the slab next to them as the soil beneath them settles. HomeGuide's November 2025 concrete leveling guide prices polyurethane lifting at $3,200 to $10,000 for a 400 square foot pool deck and $320 to $1,000 for 40 square feet of steps, with mudjacking at $1,600 to $3,600 and $300 to $700 for the same areas. Foam suits pool decks well because it does not wash out and the patched holes are small. A pool deck that is uneven around the pool is also a trip and drainage problem, so it is worth fixing before the gap grows. BDry Alabama checks where the water runs as well as the slab.
It can be, and it takes less of a drop than most people think. A useful yardstick is the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, which govern public walkways rather than private homes: Section 303 allows a vertical change in level of no more than 1/4 inch, requires anything from 1/4 to 1/2 inch to be beveled, and treats anything over 1/2 inch as needing a ramp. A sidewalk panel that has dropped an inch below its neighbor is well past that line, and it is the kind of edge visitors, delivery drivers and children catch a toe on. Lifting the low panel back flush removes the edge without replacing the concrete; HomeGuide's November 2025 guide puts lifting a 100 square foot sidewalk with foam at $800 to $2,500. BDry Alabama measures the settlement at a free inspection.
Most poly lifting jobs at a home are done in a single day, and the slab can be used soon after. The crew drills small injection points, injects the foam, raises the slab gradually in controlled steps, and seals the holes. HomeGuide's November 2025 concrete leveling guide says the foam cures in just 15 minutes and that most leveling jobs take 2 to 6 hours, with larger projects running a full day or longer. Compare that with replacement, which means demolition, a new pour and days of curing before you can drive on it. Mudjacking slurry also needs more curing time than foam. If you need the driveway for work in the morning, foam is the method that gives it back the same day. BDry Alabama schedules around the slabs you need most.
Call BDry Alabama at 205 942 1976 or send the form, Monday through Friday from 7 in the morning to 6 in the evening. Photos of the sunken slab, the joint that sticks up, or the spot where water pools after rain help us plan the visit. At the inspection we measure how far each slab has settled, look for the voids underneath, check the drainage around it, and look at nearby concrete for more movement. You get a clear explanation of what caused it and one written price, with no pressure to decide on the spot. For scale, HomeGuide's November 2025 guide puts most concrete leveling jobs at $700 to $5,000, and most contractors charge a minimum of $300 to $700, so it pays to have every sunken slab looked at in the same visit.
A driveway sinks when the soil underneath washes out, compresses or shrinks and leaves an empty space the slab drops into. HomeGuide's November 2025 concrete leveling guide names soil erosion, poor compaction and moisture problems as the usual root causes, and its December 2025 driveway repair guide adds water damage, tree roots and foundation problems. Water is behind most of it. A downspout that empties at the edge of the drive keeps carrying fill out from under the corner, and clay soil that swells in wet months shrinks in dry ones; NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals give the Birmingham airport station 56.62 inches of rain a year and a dry October averaging 3.34 inches. HomeGuide prices lifting at $3 to $12 per square foot, or $700 to $5,000 for most jobs. BDry Alabama looks at why the slab sank before poly lifting it, because concrete lifted over soil that is still washing out will settle again.
BDry Alabama
1490 Valley Drive, Bessemer, AL 35022
Local, and proud to do the work ourselves. Tell us about your project and we will give you a clear written estimate at no cost.
Explore My Options →or call (205) 942-1976