A 14´ section of the private sidewalk that runs up to our front door has been pushed up an inch or two by tree roots.

We figure the section can be lifted up, the dirt and roots dug out, and the same concrete slab dropped back in (meaning, no new concrete required).

Alternatively — if the old concrete can't be reused — we'll probably want the new (replacement) sidewalk to take a slightly different path.

Any recommendations? TIA! -—Ted E.

You just make sure you get a permit to move that concrete and get another permit to dig away some of that dirt. . . . . Oh and you best get a permit to trim those roots, there's probably some guidelines for doing so and you will have to put up that orange fencing around all of your other trees to protect them while working.

Then you'll need to get some inspections, prior to being issued an occupancy permit, so plan on staying at a hotel for a few weeks.

Other than that, make sure to fill in the void with some compacted lime stone screenings after digging out the roots, it will be a bit tricky to re-level the slab and it must be totally supported to avoid cracking it.

I'd try Candidate, Isn't he a builder?

Maybe we'll just keep the sidewalk and tear down and rebuild the house to fit...

Where is Mike Holmes when I need him?

Joe Dasko has done a lot of concrete work in our neighborhood. (630) 668-8701 He is local to GE.

My husband was just talking about Mike Holmes this am. LOL

Ted, fwiw, these guys are looking for work, so shop around to get the best price. Work that would have cost a lot last year is discounted now! It's a buyers market!

“Best price” on home repair / craftsman work always worries me. I don't want to waste money... but I also want — and am willing to pay for — the training, skills and experience necessary to assure me that the job will be done right.

In these trying economic times I worry about specialists in one field who suddenly seek work in other fields. Good, experienced painters aren't necessarily the people I would want to have build my deck... and I'm not sure I'd like to be the first electrical rewiring customer of a top-notch roofer.

Earlier today a home repair service replied to three “seeking repairs” threads. In one the poster claimed his company specialized in plumbing and electrical work, in another that they specialized in refrigerator repair, and in the third that they specialized in stove repair.

How many specialties can someone be in before they become a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none generalist?

I'm surprised they didn't mention that they also specialize in accelerators in the Toyota thread and specialize in artificial turf in the D87 thread.

Maybe, I missed something here Mr. Ted. I didn't recommend you hire some Billy Bob dumb *** to do the work just because he has a shovel and a pickup truck, you have the upper hand this year as the unemployment rate for skilled labor (from the building sector) is sky high and they are willing to work for reasonable rates as opposed to the inflated union rates for comparable work.

Agreed. No problem. I just wandered down a flow of consciousness path until I went over an edge. No particular reason.

I strongly suspect you'll be much happier w/ the remove & replace option. It may even be cheaper.

As GEM noted, it's going to be very difficult to level the old slab while properly supporting it. One of these mudjack outfits may be able to do it, but probably not correct the underlying tree root issue.

We used Ken Feller 2 years ago to put in a french drain. The drain need to go under the sidewalk. He was actually able to cut the sidewalk and lift the sections out. Our sidewalk however is very thick. I also got a quote from Joe Dasko to remove the section as well, but we were not ready to replce that section and were very happy that Ken could help. Ken also does cut tree roots back too. We have a paver patio that is being attacked by our birch tree. Ken was a referrel from this board. He is in GE.