Concrete Replacement in East Village, Manhattan

Which Slabs Need Replacing in East Village Buildings?

Three kinds come up most. The sidewalk in front breaks under foot traffic and roots, the rear yard slab behind a tenement settles and pools water, and the cellar floor cracks and heaves. Each gets different treatment, so we look at all three when we visit.

Most buildings here are five and six story tenements with ground floor shops, plus older row houses on some side streets. Lots are deep and narrow, and the yard behind the building is often reached only through a hallway.

• Yard slabs that tilt toward the building wall
• Cellar floors that crumble or stay damp
• Sidewalk flags broken by roots or cellar doors
• Steps and landings that have settled
• Patchwork repairs that no longer match

Cellar floors need their own care. A new floor is poured over a prepared base, and where moisture is a worry we discuss a barrier under the slab. A fresh floor over a wet base cracks and stains again, so the base matters as much as the concrete.

Restaurants here use back yards for storage, trash and deliveries, and slabs behind them take wet, heavy loads. A thin slab from decades ago rarely holds up under that use.