A small town with three kinds of concrete
Berthoud sits on US-287 between Loveland and Longmont, about 45 miles north of Denver, mostly in Larimer County with a piece in Weld. Within a few miles you'll find older homes near the downtown on Mountain Avenue, newer subdivisions on the edges of town, and rural properties outside it with long driveways and detached garages or shops. Each one brings a different set of concrete leveling questions.
Older walks and steps near downtown
Houses close to the center of Berthoud are older, and so is much of their flatwork. Front steps that have dropped away from the porch, a walk with one or two panels sunk below the rest, and a settled slab at the back door are typical. Old concrete can usually be lifted if each piece is still whole. Where a panel has crumbled at the edges or split into several chunks, replacement is the better use of money.
Steps are the trickiest. Cast-in-place steps that sank as one unit are often liftable, and bringing them up shrinks the gap under the top riser. Steps that have separated from their landing are a harder repair. Our page on lifting front steps, stoops and patios explains what makes a set of steps a good candidate.
Newer subdivisions on the edges of town
The newer neighborhoods around Berthoud follow the same pattern as new construction anywhere on the Front Range. Ground excavated for the foundation and refilled afterward settles over the first several years, so garage aprons, stoops and patio edges nearest the house drop first. If you're in one of those homes, extend the downspouts and check where the sprinklers land before you think about lifting anything, then measure again in spring.
Long driveways on acreage
A long rural driveway raises a different question: how much of it actually needs work. Usually the answer is a handful of sections, often near the garage or wherever water crosses or runs along the drive. Measuring the full length and lifting only the panels that dropped keeps the job in proportion.
On a long run, the method choice carries more weight than it does on a single stoop, because the amount of material adds up. The crew picks per slab, but these are the differences that drive the decision.
| Polyurethane foam | Mudjacking | |
|---|---|---|
| Hole size | Around 5/8 in | 1 to 2 in, give or take |
| Weight added to the ground | Very light | Much heavier |
| Wait before driving on it | Short; foam cures fast | Longer curing time before vehicles |
| Cost of material | Costs more | Usually costs less |
| Where it tends to fit | Soft or wet ground near a ditch or swale; drives you need back quickly | Sections with a lot of volume to fill on firm, dry ground |
The page on mudjacking with cement slurry goes deeper into the slurry method and when it is still the better choice.
Measure the worst spots on your Berthoud driveway and send them over, and we'll set up a visit to check the rest.
Request an estimateDetached garages and shop floors
Rural properties around Berthoud often have a detached garage or a shop building. Those slabs settle for the same reasons a house slab does, with one extra: a big door left open in winter lets snowmelt run in and sit at the low spot. A floor that sank by the door or beside one wall is usually workable with the crew inside. See garage and shop floor leveling for how interior slabs are handled.
Before lifting a shop floor, empty the area over the low section. Heavy equipment, a full workbench or stacked material sitting on the slab adds load that the lift has to work against and makes it harder to read how the floor is moving.
Town sidewalks and utility locates
For the sidewalk along a public street, check with the Town of Berthoud before arranging work. If a drainage fix involves digging, such as carrying a downspout or a yard drain away from a slab, call Colorado 811 first. On a rural lot, keep in mind that 811 marks lines belonging to utility companies. Private lines an owner installed, like a water line or buried power feed to a shop, usually aren't marked, so find those yourself before anyone digs.
