Two homeowners look at the same driveway and describe two different problems. One says the concrete is sunken. The other says it looks rough and tired. They need two different repairs, and the money goes badly wrong when the wrong one gets chosen.
Concrete leveling fixes what is under the slab. Resurfacing fixes the top of it. Neither is a substitute for the other, and no amount of good workmanship on one will solve a problem that belongs to the other.
Here is how to tell which one you are looking at.
What concrete leveling does
Concrete leveling, also called lifting, mudjacking or slabjacking depending on the method, raises a slab that has dropped.
The mechanics are simple. Something removed the soil under the concrete, usually water washing fine material out, or backfill that was never fully compacted finishing its consolidation years after construction. That left a void. The slab, unsupported, dropped into it.
To correct it, small holes are drilled through the slab, material is pumped underneath to fill the void, and the pressure raises the concrete back toward the height it should be. That material is either a cement based grout, which is what mudjacking uses, or an expanding polyurethane foam, which is lighter and cures in minutes.
What leveling gives you back is elevation and slope. A driveway panel that dropped away from the garage comes back up. A patio that started tipping toward the house sheds water away from the foundation again. A trip lip at a sidewalk joint disappears.
What it does not give you is a new surface. Once the slab is level, it is the same concrete it was before, with the same cracks, the same colour and the same wear, plus a set of patched injection holes. That is not a criticism of the method. It is just the boundary of what the method addresses.
What resurfacing does
Resurfacing puts a new wearing layer over the existing concrete. Depending on the product, that means a thin cementitious overlay, a textured or knockdown coating, a broom finished micro topping, or a stamped decorative overlay.
It is the right repair for a surface that has worn out while the slab underneath is still doing its job: scaling and flaking from years of freeze thaw and de-icing salt, discoloration, exposed aggregate where the top has worn off, or a finish you simply do not like any more.
Resurfacing changes how the concrete looks and feels underfoot. It does not change where the concrete sits.
This is worth stating plainly, because the marketing language around overlays often blurs it. A resurfaced driveway looks new. A resurfaced driveway that has settled two inches at the apron is still two inches low, now with a new surface on it.
Slabsmith lifts and levels concrete. We do not resurface, and where the surface is the actual complaint we would rather tell you to call a coatings or decorative concrete contractor than sell you the wrong repair.
Leveling vs resurfacing, side by side
| Concrete leveling | Resurfacing | |
|---|---|---|
| Fixes | Loss of support under the slab | Worn or damaged surface |
| Changes elevation | Yes | No |
| Changes appearance | Only the patched holes | Yes, substantially |
| Addresses drainage and slope | Yes | No |
| Typical disruption | Hours, one visit | Surface prep plus cure time |
| Relative cost | Lowest of the three options | Middle |
| Works on a slab that keeps moving | Deals with the void, but the water source still has to be fixed | No, and it will crack again |
Replacement is the third option and sits well above both on cost and disruption. It is the right answer less often than people assume.
Does resurfacing fix settlement?
No. This is the single most useful thing to understand before you spend money.
An overlay follows the shape of whatever it is poured over. Put it on a slab that has dropped and the finished surface is level with the slab, not level with the ground it should match. The low corner stays low. The slope toward the house stays pointed at the house. The void underneath is untouched, and the material you just added has put more weight on the weak soil that caused the problem.
Worse, an overlay on a moving slab tends to fail early. When the concrete underneath shifts again, the new layer cracks along the same lines and can delaminate at the bond.
If a slab is both settled and worn, the order matters: level it first, resurface afterwards. Doing it the other way round means paying for the overlay twice.
When overlaying old concrete makes sense
Overlays are genuinely useful, and this article is not an argument against them. Resurfacing is a good call when:
- The slab is stable and sitting at the right elevation
- Damage is limited to the top layer: scaling, spalling, light surface cracking, worn finish
- The concrete underneath is sound enough to bond to, not already flaking and delaminating
- Drainage across the slab still works
- You want a decorative finish without a full replacement
It is a poor call when the slab has visibly moved, when the concrete is crumbling through to the aggregate, or when there are structural cracks with vertical displacement across them. Bonding a new layer to failing concrete produces a repair that lifts off in sheets within a few seasons.
When replacement is the better answer
Some slabs are past both repairs. Replacement makes sense when:
- The concrete is broken into multiple pieces that no longer move together
- The surface is deteriorating across the whole slab, not in patches
- The slab was poured too thin or without adequate base to begin with
- The layout needs to change anyway, such as widening a driveway
- Repeated lifts have not held because the underlying soil problem cannot be resolved
We will tell you when a slab falls into this group. Lifting concrete that needs to come out is a waste of your money and it does our reputation no favours either.
How to tell if you have settlement
You can usually diagnose this yourself in ten minutes.
Signs of settlement, which point to leveling:
- A step or lip at a joint, where one panel sits lower than its neighbour
- A visible gap between the slab and the house, the garage, or the steps
- Water running toward the house or pooling on the slab after rain, when it did not used to
- A crack where one side sits lower than the other
- Doors, thresholds or gates that used to clear the concrete and now do not
Signs of surface wear, which point to resurfacing:
- Flaking, scaling or a pitted top layer, usually worst where salt gets walked or driven
- Exposed aggregate over a wide area
- Hairline cracks with both sides sitting level
- Staining and discoloration
A straight edge or a long level laid across the slab settles most arguments. So does watching where the water goes during a heavy rain, which is free and more informative than any measurement.
In the Omaha metro the settlement pattern is common enough to be predictable. Backfill against foundations keeps consolidating for years after construction, freeze thaw cycles work water into the base every winter, and downspouts discharging beside a slab do the rest. Newer subdivisions in Gretna and Bennington see it on concrete barely a decade old. Older neighbourhoods see it on concrete that is otherwise in fine condition.
Cost considerations, without invented numbers
We are not going to publish a price per square foot here, because the honest answer is that the void under your slab decides the number and nobody can see it from the surface. What we can give you is the shape of the comparison and the factors that move it.
Ordering, most of the time: leveling costs the least, resurfacing sits in the middle, remove and replace is the most expensive by a wide margin. That ordering holds often enough to be a useful starting point.
What drives leveling cost:
- Area being raised and how far it has to come up
- The volume of material the void actually takes, which is the big unknown
- Method, since foam and cement grout price differently per unit
- Number of injection points
- Soil conditions under the slab
- Access for equipment
- Joint and edge work needed so material does not escape
What drives resurfacing cost: the area, the product chosen, how much surface preparation the existing concrete needs, and how decorative the finish is.
What drives replacement cost: demolition and disposal, base preparation, the pour itself, and the cure time before you can use it.
The reason leveling is worth pricing first is that it keeps the concrete you already own. If the slab is sound, spending replacement money on a support problem rarely makes sense.
What to ask a contractor
Five questions that will separate a straight answer from a sales pitch:
- Has this slab settled, or is the damage on the surface? A contractor who cannot tell you which, and show you what they are looking at, has not assessed the slab.
- What caused it? If nobody mentions where the water is coming from, the repair is being sold without the diagnosis.
- What happens to the void under the slab in your proposal? For an overlay quote, the honest answer is nothing, and you should know that before you sign.
- Which method, and why this one for my slab? Foam and cement grout both have a place. A contractor who only ever recommends one is telling you about their equipment, not your concrete.
- What will this not fix? Every repair has a boundary. Someone willing to name theirs is usually worth listening to.
The short version
If your concrete has moved, level it. If your concrete has worn, resurface it. If it has done both, level first. If it has fallen apart, replace it.
Most uneven concrete in the Omaha area is a support problem wearing a surface problem's clothes, which is why concrete lifting and leveling is the first thing worth assessing. Where the concrete itself is damaged rather than displaced, our concrete repair page covers what can and cannot be corrected.
FAQ
Is concrete leveling the same as resurfacing?
No. Leveling raises a slab that has dropped by filling the void underneath and lifting the concrete back into position. Resurfacing puts a new wearing layer on top of a slab that is already at the right height. Leveling changes elevation and slope. Resurfacing changes appearance and texture. They solve different problems and are often confused because both are described as fixing uneven concrete.
Will resurfacing fix a sunken driveway or patio?
No. An overlay follows the shape of whatever it is poured over, so a settled slab stays settled with a new surface on it. The void underneath remains, the slope stays wrong, and the added material puts more weight on the soil that failed in the first place. If a slab has dropped, level it first and resurface afterwards if you still want a new finish.
Can you level concrete and then resurface it?
Yes, and that is the correct order when a slab is both settled and worn. Lifting corrects the elevation and the drainage, then a coatings or decorative concrete contractor applies the overlay to a slab that is no longer moving. Doing it in reverse means the new surface cracks when the slab is lifted, or cracks on its own as settlement continues.
How do I know if my concrete has settled or just worn out?
Look for height differences. A lip at a joint, a gap where the slab meets the house or garage, a crack with one side lower than the other, or water running the wrong way after rain all point to settlement. Flaking, pitting, exposed aggregate and staining with everything still sitting level point to surface wear. A long level laid across the slab, and watching where rain water goes, will usually settle it.
Which is cheaper, leveling or resurfacing?
Leveling is normally the least expensive of the three options, with resurfacing in the middle and full replacement well above both. That said, they are not interchangeable, so the cheaper price is only relevant if leveling is actually the right repair for your slab. Costs on any of them depend on area, condition, access and, for leveling, the size of the void underneath.
When should I replace concrete instead of repairing it?
Replace when the slab is broken into pieces that no longer move together, when the surface is deteriorating across the whole area rather than in patches, when the concrete was poured too thin or on an inadequate base, or when the layout needs to change anyway. A sound slab sitting too low is almost never a replacement candidate.