Concrete Lifting vs. Slab Replacement: Cost, Time and Durability Compared

Mar 11, 2026

Jamie Unruh

Dealing with an uneven walkway or a wonky driveway is always an inconvenient task. It may feel daunting to think about removing and repairing or replacing the whole darn area. (Enter groan and forehead smack here). But did you know it doesn’t have to be a big, expensive, week-long ordeal?

Concrete lifting has become a much more attractive option to concrete replacement simply because the price of concrete has become increasingly expensive. However, there are other considerations to look at when thinking about replacing a concrete slab versus lifting it with polyurethane foam. In this article, we’re going to look at the cost, time, and durability of each option.

"the price of concrete has become increasingly expensive"

Cost

Replacing a slab of concrete is a multi-phase process. There’s removal, prep, pour and set.

The cost of removing old concrete is a big bill in itself. Then there are the labour costs and the fees for hauling the waste to the landfill.Once that’s done, crews need to prepare the area where the new concrete will be poured, that’s more labour and material right there. They will need to excavate the subgrade to a specified depth, haul in the base material and compact. Forms are set to finished height using stakes, string lines, and laser levels. Insulation board and vapour barrier is layed if needed. Next is placing rebar or mesh for concrete reinforcement. The rebar is set on small plastic chairs and tied together to keep the rebar grid elevated to rest near the middle of the slab to be poured. There can even be more things needed to make sure the area is ready for concrete pouring. Then the pouring itself and finishing.

When the concrete arrives to site it is strategically poured inside the forms, typically starting at the far end and working its way back. It could take several people to work the pour with rakes to spread it out. It is then screeded to create a flat plane. Once the pour has been screeded, it is then further flattened/smoothed with a tool called a bull float. Time is of the essence, so the next stage, the finishing, cannot be done too early, nor too late. Troweling is then often done to create control joints and makes edges. Other times, the joints are put in later after the pad has cured. A broom finish is given to exterior slabs for traction by dragging a special broom methodically across the surface of the fresh pour. A steel trowel finish may be used for interior concrete. There are also more decorative finishes for exterior concrete like exposed aggregate or stamped, at additional cost.

There can be other work related to the curing and sealing of the concrete pour. So we can see just how much goes into replacing concrete and hoping that at each step, it is done right. Or… you can raise it.

Using an example of a walkway from a front door to a public sidewalk, let’s break down the cost.

Lifting the concrete of a settled walkway will cost a minimum $750 depending on the severity of the lift. This includes mobilizing a two-man crew and equipment to the site and installing a limited amount of foam. For more severe settlement situations, the cost could be up to $2,000 or $3,000. Because there’s less labor involved in concrete lifting, and smaller crews, the main cost in this situation is the polyurethane foam and how much of it is needed.

Replacing concrete is not something thatBeyond Group does, but we do team up with other companies that do. A general cost is around $20 and up per square foot of concrete, which is twice if not more the cost of just having a void filled or lifted.

If the walkway is 3 feet wide and 10 feet long, which equals 30 square feet, that’s $600 but in reality, it can be tough to find a contractor whose minimum charge is under a few grand.

In addition to the price of labour and material is the cost of time – what is being given up for the time it takes for the new concrete pour to fully cure days to weeks later?‍

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Time

Unlike concrete replacement, concrete lifting is not a multiple phase process. In fact, it is just a three step process – drill, pump, and patch. A project usually only takes a few hours to complete. Put simply, it begins with drilling dime-sized holes strategically through the slab and pumping in polyurethane foam to fill the void, compact loose soils, stabilize the concrete slab, and raise it if required. We also have the ability of soil stabilization if issues are deeper in the sub soils.

A big plus is that there’s no waiting period for the area to be used again.

There are of course times when concrete might be too badly damaged and a full-on replacement is a better option than concrete lifting.

As mentioned before, replacing concrete is often a days-long project. Ripping out the original material can take a few hours, or days, depending on how much of it there is.The pre-pour preparation might take another day, and the concrete pouring could take another half a day.

Then, there’s the waiting period. The larger the area, the longer the concrete will need to beset. Some projects might take 24 hours other projects might need a week or more before the area can be walked on or driven on. ‍

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Durability

Concrete is a very durable, long-lasting material as long as it’s installed correctly and maintained. However, it’s still susceptible to exposure from the elements and expansion and contraction with the weather cycles.

Sometimes contractors are not thorough enough, and a concrete slab replacement might just take you back to square one.

One issue that might arise when replacing a slab of concrete is that the earth underneath is not compacted enough allowing that slab to shift, crack and needing repairs down the road. Another issue could be that problematic soil conditions weren’t addressed properly, again creating a need for repairs later on.

It’s been noted by those in the industry that concrete material of today isn’t what it used to be. In years bygone, concrete was a great product. It was good quality and more affordable than today. Most newer slabs fail sooner because the mix is poured too wet and not cured long enough—speed and convenience matter more today than durability. Whether it’s the contractor not mixing concrete correctly or if the type of material available today is just subpar, today’s concrete just doesn’t compare to days of old.

Polyurethane foam used in lifting is also a very durable, decades-long lasting product.

It’s lightweight, but also less of a burden on the soil below, and because of the back pressure during installation, the foam even offers a little bit of extra compaction in case a bit of loose soil is present.

Being a chemical product, and the fact that it’s installed underneath the concrete, the foam is quite protected and therefore resistant to deterioration from external factors. The main three factors that can affect its degradation are sunlight, chemical solvents and fire.

We’re so confident in the polyurethane foam concrete lifting advantage, that we have a 15-year guarantee. (Of course, there is a warranty criterion that makes projects eligible for this. You never know if Mother Nature is going to shift the soil or burst an underground spring your way).‍

"we have a 15-year guarantee"

Lifting Up and Standing On

In most construction projects, every single one will be different. The size, scope, materials needed, time, weather, preparation needed, and so on, the many variables will dictate the cost, time, and longevity of what a client is looking for.

When it comes to concrete jobs, lifting is often the answer unless the concrete is so far gone that it’s best to start over. When a job is done right, it shouldn’t have to be done again. That’s why we at Beyond will stand behind our work and even prior to the work, we will be transparent about what we recommend.

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