Can a sunken garage apron be lifted?
Usually, yes. The garage apron is the slab right outside the garage door, and it’s one of the most common pieces of concrete to settle. If it has dropped below the garage floor but is still in one piece or a few large pieces, polyurethane foam can typically raise it back toward the garage slab and fill the empty space beneath it, without breaking it out.
What a sunken apron causes
The apron takes the weight of every vehicle that goes in or out, and it sits where the garage door, the roof edge and the driveway all meet. When it drops, you notice it in a few specific ways.
- A bump or drop when you drive into the garage
- A gap under the closed garage door where the seal no longer touches concrete
- Water, snowmelt or leaves getting into the garage along the door
- The apron sloping toward the garage instead of away from it
- A lip where the apron meets the rest of the driveway
- A wide, open joint along the front edge of the garage slab
The gap under the door is often the first thing people see. Once the door seal can’t reach the concrete, cold air, water and mice all have a way in.
Why the apron is usually the first slab to drop
Next to the garage, the soil was dug out for the foundation and then backfilled. That fill is often looser than the ground farther out, and it can keep compressing for years after the house is built. Add roof water coming off the eaves above the door and vehicle weight right at the edge, and the apron has more working against it than any other part of the driveway.
If you’re still working out whether it’s the apron or a driveway panel that moved, driveway sinking near the garage walks through the diagnosis. This page covers the repair.
How garage apron leveling works
Sunken
Concrete has settled or lost support.
Lifted
Polyurethane foam is injected beneath the slab.
Level
The slab is raised toward its proper position, and the void space is stabilized.
- Look. We measure how far the apron sits below the garage floor, check for cracks, and look at where roof water and runoff are going.
- Lift. Small ports are drilled through the apron. Polyurethane foam is injected underneath, starting where the voids are biggest, and it expands to fill the space.
- Level. We raise the apron in small steps, using the garage slab as the reference, so it meets the garage floor and still slopes away from the door.
- Wash down. The ports are patched and the apron and driveway get power washed before we leave.
Getting the slope right is the whole job on an apron. Too flat and water runs into the garage. Too high and the door won’t close properly. We lift to the garage slab, not past it. More on the process is on how foam concrete lifting works.
Sealing the joint afterward
The joint between the apron and the garage floor is where water gets in. After the apron is lifted, that joint can be sealed with a flexible joint sealant so water has a harder time reaching the soil underneath again. We’ll talk through it with you at the evaluation.
Apron, driveway panel or garage floor?
| What moved | What you see | Usually |
|---|---|---|
| The apron | Drop right at the garage door, gap under the seal | Liftable if it’s in one piece or a few large pieces |
| The next driveway panel out | Lip a few feet from the door | Often lifted together with the apron |
| The garage floor itself | Cracks and low spots inside the garage | Ask us. Interior slabs can sometimes be lifted, but they need a closer look |
When replacing the apron makes more sense
If the apron is broken into many small pieces, crumbling along the door edge, or has been patched so many times there isn’t much original concrete left, a new apron may be the better choice. If you’re widening the driveway or adding a bay, the same may be true. We’ll tell you which way we’d go and why. Concrete leveling vs replacement compares the two options.
What affects the cost
The main factors are the size of the apron, how far it has dropped, how much empty space is under it and whether neighboring driveway panels need lifting too. The evaluation is free. Driveway leveling cost covers the factors in more detail, and the full driveway service is on driveway leveling.
Garage apron leveling around the Magic Valley
We lift garage aprons in Twin Falls and the surrounding towns.
Garage apron questions
Will lifting the apron close the gap under my garage door?
If the gap is there because the apron dropped, raising it back to the garage floor usually brings the concrete back up to the door seal. If the door itself is out of adjustment, that's a separate fix.
Can the apron be lifted if it's cracked?
Often. If the crack leaves large pieces that are still solid, they can usually be lifted together. The crack stays, but the pieces come back into line.
How long before I can park on the apron?
Polyurethane foam cures quickly, so aprons are usually back in use soon after the work. We'll tell you when yours is ready for vehicles.
Why does water keep getting into my garage?
A common cause is an apron that settled and now slopes toward the door. Lifting it restores the slope away from the garage. Roof water dripping at the door edge can also play a part.