Sidewalk leveling in Wichita
A sidewalk square that has dropped an inch below the next one is the kind of edge people trip on, and in Wichita the sidewalk along your property is your responsibility to keep in repair. Leveling raises the sunken square flush with its neighbors in an hour or two, usually for much less than breaking it out and repouring.
Call (316) 688-2584Why sidewalk squares drop
Sidewalks are thin, narrow slabs that sit close to lawns, trees and gutters. They get more water at their edges than almost any other concrete around a house, and the soil underneath them is often loosely placed.
- Sprinklers and lawn runoff soaking the joints.
- Soil washing out toward the curb and the street.
- Clay soil shrinking during dry spells, then freezing and thawing through winter.
- Tree roots, which usually push a square up. Leveling cannot lower a raised square, but the square next to it can often be raised to match.
Front walks and city sidewalks
The front walk from the driveway to the door belongs to you outright. The public sidewalk along the street is in the city right of way, but Kansas law puts repair on the owner of the property next to it.
If the City of Wichita has sent you a letter about a sidewalk, read our guide to the Wichita sidewalk repair notice. Owners have been given 30 days to pay the city, hire their own contractor, or re-level the sidewalk themselves, and leveling is often the cheapest of those.
How the repair works
The crew drills a few holes in each sunken square, pumps fill underneath, and raises the square until the edge is flush with the next one. Then the holes are patched and the joints can be sealed. A run of several squares usually takes an hour or two.
Mudjacking is the common choice for outdoor sidewalks because the cost is lower and nobody needs to drive on it. Foam makes sense when the soil is soft or the walk needs to be back in use immediately.
What it costs
HomeGuide's national data puts a 100 square foot section of sidewalk, about four standard squares, at roughly $400 to $900 with mudjacking and $800 to $2,500 with foam. A single square usually costs the contractor's minimum charge. See the cost page for more.
Cost ranges: HomeGuide, Concrete Leveling Cost.
Questions people ask
How much of a lip counts as a trip hazard?
Accessibility standards treat a vertical change of more than a quarter inch as something that needs attention, and more than half an inch as a change in level that needs a ramp. In practice, if people are catching their toes on it, it is worth fixing.
Can one sunken square be raised on its own?
Yes. Each sidewalk square is its own slab, so a single square can be lifted to meet the ones on either side.
Will the new edge line up exactly?
The goal is a flush edge. If a square has also cracked or tilted, it may not come up perfectly flat, and the contractor should tell you that before starting.
Where we work
We take calls from across Wichita and the surrounding towns in Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties.
Other surfaces we level
Driveway Leveling
Panels that dropped at the garage, the street or the sidewalk, raised back into line.
Read morePatio Leveling
Patios that tipped toward the house or pulled away from it, lifted back to a proper slope.
Read moreGarage Floor Leveling
Sunken garage slabs and the lip at the door, raised with small holes and little mess.
Read morePorch & Step Leveling
Front steps and stoops that settled away from the door, lifted back up to meet it.
Read morePool Deck Leveling
Settled pool decks and the gap at the coping, lifted with light foam and small holes.
Read moreGet a free estimate
Tell us what is sinking and roughly how big the area is. The contractor will call you back to set up an estimate, and may ask you to text a photo first.
Prefer to talk? Call (316) 688-2584.
Sidewalk trip hazard?
Call for a free estimate. Most sidewalk jobs take an hour or two.