How do you fix a trip hazard at a business entrance?
Most entrance trip hazards come from the slab right outside the door settling below the threshold, or dropping below the walk leading to it. If that slab is still intact, polyurethane foam can usually lift it back up to meet the door and the walk, removing the edge without breaking out the concrete. The entrance is typically back in use soon after the work.
Why the entrance slab moves
The slab at a door is one of the most loaded, most watered pieces of concrete at a property.
- It sits on backfill right next to the building foundation, which settles more than undisturbed ground.
- Roof water often drops right in front of the door, from the roof edge or a canopy drain.
- Every person going in or out steps on it, and carts, dollies and deliveries roll over its edges.
- Snow is piled and melted there all winter.
So it’s often the first slab to drop, and when it does, the edge ends up right where people are looking at the door handle instead of the ground.
What entrance problems look like
- A lip between the entry slab and the door threshold
- A step down from the threshold that used to be flush
- An edge where the entry slab meets the walk or parking area
- Water running toward the door or pooling on the entry
- A door that now drags or no longer seals because the slab moved
- A gap along the building wall where the slab pulled away
Why it matters at the door
An entrance is the one place every customer, patient, tenant and employee has to cross. Edges there catch people carrying things, pushing strollers or using mobility aids. Federal accessibility standards for entrances and accessible routes treat changes in level above a quarter inch as needing treatment, which gives you a sense of how small an edge counts. We’re not accessibility consultants and this isn’t legal advice, but a flush entry is the goal either way.
How we fix it with minimal disruption
- Look. We measure the offset at the threshold and the walk, check the slab for cracks and look at where roof water lands.
- Plan access. If there’s another entrance, we can route people there. If not, we work in a way that keeps a path to the door where we can.
- Lift. Small ports go into the entry slab, and foam fills the voids and raises it back to the threshold and the walk.
- Wash down. Ports are patched, and the entry is power washed before we leave.
With no demolition and no new concrete to cure, the entry is usually back in use soon after the work. We’ll tell you when it’s ready.
Things we check first
| Situation | What it means |
|---|---|
| Slab tied into the building or door frame | May need to be cut free before it can move |
| Door threshold height | We lift to meet it, not past it, so the door still clears |
| Canopy or roof drain above the entry | Worth redirecting so the slab doesn’t wash out again |
| Heated or snow-melt slabs | Need a closer look before any drilling |
| Slab broken or crumbling | Usually replace instead |
Beyond the entrance
Entry slabs rarely move alone. The walk leading to the door or the sidewalk along the frontage often has settled too. Commercial walkway leveling and commercial sidewalk leveling cover those, and concrete trip hazards covers measuring offsets.
Getting started
The evaluation is free, and it’s a good time to look at the whole route from parking to the door. More on the commercial side is on commercial concrete leveling.
Entrance repair questions
Will we have to close the entrance?
Only the slab being lifted, and only while we work on it. If you have another entrance, we can route people there.
Can lifting fix a door that drags on the slab?
If the slab dropped or tipped, lifting can bring it back to where the door was set. If the door itself sagged, that's a separate adjustment.
What if the entry slab is tied into the building?
Some are. It may need to be cut free before it can move. We'll check at the evaluation.
Can you lift an entry with a snow-melt system?
It needs a closer look first, since drilling near heating lines has to be avoided. Tell us if your entry has one.