Level Your Patio for Better Outdoor Living and Entertaining

Your patio should be an extension of your living space—a place for relaxing, dining, and entertaining. But when the concrete settles, that dream outdoor space becomes frustrating and underused. Here’s how patio leveling restores your patio to its full potential.

How Uneven Patios Ruin Outdoor Living

The Wobbly Furniture Problem

You know the routine: you sit down for dinner, and someone has to shove a folded matchbook or a shim under the table leg to stop it from rocking. We see this constantly, and it kills the vibe of a relaxing evening. Unstable furniture leads to spilled drinks and sliding plates, making your guests feel tense instead of comfortable. Our team recommends checking your furniture legs first, but if the wobble follows the table to different spots, the concrete is the culprit.

Drainage Disasters

Settled patios often lose their positive drainage pitch, causing water to pool against your foundation. According to building standards, a patio should slope away from your home at a rate of one-quarter inch per foot. When that slope reverses, you end up with “birdbaths” that breed mosquitoes and splash mud onto your siding. We often find that this standing water accelerates damage to the concrete surface itself, leading to spalling and flaking during freeze-thaw cycles.

Safety Concerns

Trip hazards are a serious liability that many homeowners overlook until an accident happens. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a trip hazard as any vertical change of just 1/4 inch or more. That is roughly the thickness of a standard pencil. According to the National Safety Council, falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death, with over 47,000 incidents reported in 2023 alone. Our goal is to eliminate these dangerous lips at slab joints to keep your family and elderly visitors safe.

Aesthetic Issues

The visual impact of a sunken patio is real and affects your home’s value. A 2023 report by the National Association of Realtors found that 92% of realtors suggest improving curb appeal before listing a home. Gaps between slabs look neglected and allow weeds to take over, making your entire backyard feel unkempt. We believe a level patio instantly restores a “well-maintained” look that signals pride of ownership to neighbors and potential buyers.

What Causes Patio Settling

Backfill Settlement

Most patios are built on backfill soil that was excavated during home construction. This soil is naturally looser than undisturbed earth and can take years to fully settle. We frequently see patios sink because the soil layer beneath them—often 8 to 10 feet deep near the foundation—compacts unevenly over time.

Water Erosion

Patios often receive concentrated water from downspouts, irrigation overspray, or roof runoff. This water creates channels under your slab, washing away the soil and leaving empty voids. Our technicians always check your downspout extensions during an assessment because managing water flow is the only way to prevent the issue from returning.

Heavy Use

Patios take significant loads from heavy planters, hot tubs, and crowds of people. A filled 4-person hot tub can weigh over 5,000 pounds. We find that unless the sub-base was specifically prepped for this weight, the concrete will eventually bow or sink under the pressure.

Colorado’s Freeze-Thaw

Our climate is particularly hard on patios due to the extreme frequency of temperature swings. Water trapped in the soil expands by about 9% when it freezes, heaving the concrete upward. When it melts, the soil settles, but often not back to its original position. This cycle repeats dozens of times each winter in Colorado, slowly walking your slabs out of alignment.

Signs Your Patio Needs Leveling

The Water Test

After rain or watering, watch where the water goes. You should see it sheeting away from your home’s foundation. If you spot puddles that remain for hours after the rest of the patio is dry, you have low spots that need attention. We use this “birdbath” test to identify exactly where the slab has dropped.

The Coin Test

Find a joint between two slabs where one side feels higher. Place a quarter against the vertical edge of the raised slab. If the concrete is higher than the coin, you have a trip hazard that exceeds ADA safety recommendations. Our team uses this simple visual to show homeowners just how significant the offset has become.

The Visual Inspection

Look at your patio from inside the house through a sliding door or window. Sight along the horizontal lines of your siding or brick. If the patio slabs no longer run parallel to these lines or appear to dip toward the yard, you have significant settling. We also look for widening caulking joints, which indicate the slabs are sliding away from the house as they sink.

How Leveling Transforms Your Patio

Before and After

Before leveling:

Furniture rocks and wobbles
Water pools in sitting areas
Visible gaps between slabs
Looks neglected and dated

After leveling:

Furniture sits stable
Water drains properly
Smooth transitions between slabs
Fresh, well-maintained appearance

The Process

Patio leveling, also known as mudjacking or stone slurry grouting, is precise and minimally invasive.

Step 1: Assessment We identify all settlement issues, measure the drop, and locate drainage problems.

Step 2: Drilling Technicians drill small 1-inch holes at strategic injection points through the slab.

Step 3: Injection A dense limestone slurry is pumped beneath the slab under hydraulic pressure. This natural material fills the voids and gently lifts the concrete.

Step 4: Lifting The slab rises back to its original position as the voids are filled.

Step 5: Finishing Holes are patched with a high-strength concrete mix to match your existing surface.

Timeline: Most patios take 2-4 hours and are ready for furniture the same day.

Maximizing Your Patio After Leveling

Once level, your patio can truly shine and become a functional part of your home again.

Furniture Arrangement

With a level surface, you can finally ditch the shims and matchbooks. We recommend using furniture with adjustable glides for fine-tuning, but a level base means your tables will be stable and your chairs won’t rock. You can place sectional sofas without the pieces drifting apart or looking misaligned.

Outdoor Dining

A level patio makes civilized outdoor meals possible. You can set a table with full glassware without worrying about tipping. Our clients often tell us that simply having a flat surface encourages them to eat dinner outside 3-4 times more per week during the summer.

Entertaining Zones

Create distinct areas for different activities. A flat surface allows you to safely position a grill or outdoor kitchen unit without using wood blocks to level it. We suggest grouping seating around a fire pit or conversation set, knowing that guests won’t be tripping over uneven joints in low light.

Add Improvements

A level patio supports upgrades that weren’t possible before. Outdoor rugs will finally lay flat without bunching up or holding water in low spots. You can install a fire feature or heavy planter boxes with confidence, knowing the weight is supported by the dense slurry beneath.

Common Patio Leveling Questions

Will my pavers or overlay work with leveling?

If your patio has concrete pavers on sand, they may need to be reset manually after the base is stabilized. Thin concrete overlays usually move right along with the slab as we lift it. However, if you have thick flagstone mortared over concrete, we need to inspect it to ensure the mortar joints won’t crack during the lift. We always assess the specific material topping your concrete before starting.

What about the patio near my hot tub?

Hot tub areas often settle more due to the immense concentrated weight. We can level the deck around the tub to eliminate tripping hazards and improve drainage. If the pad under the tub itself is sinking, we can often stabilize it, provided the tub is drained first to reduce the load during the lift.

Can you level stamped or decorative concrete?

Yes, but we take extra care to preserve the aesthetic. We drill our injection holes in the grout lines or less visible locations whenever possible. Our technicians mix the patch material to blend with the color of your decorative concrete so the repair is as invisible as possible.

My patio connects to multiple structures. What then?

We can level patios that connect to house foundations, pool decks, or outdoor kitchens. The key is ensuring a smooth transition to all adjacent surfaces. We monitor the lift at multiple points simultaneously to ensure the patio aligns perfectly with every structure it touches.

Cost Comparison

Leveling vs. Replacement

Homeowners are often surprised by the price difference between repair and replacement. For a typical 200 sq ft patio in Colorado Springs (2025/2026 estimates):

Option	Cost Range	Time to Cure	Landscape Disruption
Stone Slurry Leveling	$900 - $1,300	2-4 hours	None
Concrete Replacement	$3,000 - $4,500+	5-7 days	Significant

Savings: $2,100 - $3,200+

The Real Value

Beyond the immediate cash savings, leveling offers value in convenience. You avoid the noise, dust, and heavy equipment damage to your lawn that comes with demolition. We complete the job in a single morning, allowing you to host a barbecue that same evening.

Complementary Services

For the complete patio restoration, we recommend addressing the joints and surface protection.

Caulking

Seal the joints between slabs with a high-quality polyurethane caulk. This prevents water from getting back under the slab and eroding the soil we just stabilized. Our team views caulking as the “insurance policy” for your leveling job, keeping debris out and reducing the chance of future settling.

Learn about caulking →

Sealing

Protect your patio surface with a penetrating sealer. This guards against staining from food spills, UV damage, and moisture intrusion. We find that sealing enhances the color of your concrete and extends its lifespan by preventing water from soaking in and freezing during winter.

Learn about sealing →

Get Your Patio Ready for Entertaining

Before your next outdoor gathering, get your patio assessed.

We’ll measure all settlement deviations.
Identify active drainage issues.
Check for underlying voids or soil problems.
Provide a clear, upfront quote.
Schedule around your events.

The assessment is free, and you’ll know exactly what it takes to reclaim your outdoor living space.

Request your free patio assessment →

Your next backyard party deserves a level playing field.