Meet The Concrete Raising Owners: Ken and Jason
Both Ken and Jason come from the construction industry. They’ve been in the home-building business and have always insisted on quality and doing the job right. They are reliable and have built their reputation on honesty. Ken and Jason lift and repair concrete. They don’t waterproof basements. And don’t offer ‘traditional’ mud jacking. They use only polyurethane foam to raise, level, and lift concrete (driveways, sidewalks, patios, pool decks, garage floors, and voids under your sidewalk). They know precisely what they are doing regarding foam mud jacking, and they do it better than anyone in Kansas City.
They are the owners, and they do the work.
When you own a small business, you know that what happens on the job site is the most crucial part of growing your business because your reputation is on the line. You want it done right. If we don’t have that, we don’t have much else. Ken and Jason own the business and will be there to lift your driveway, sidewalk, garage floor, or steps.
Ken Praiswater, Partner in Concrete Raising Systems
Ken believes Jason makes a great business partner because he has the integrity Ken knows is essential to succeed. In his home-building days, Jason was one of Ken’s subcontractors, and Jason’s work was always impeccable. Just the kind of work Ken himself had always done. He respects Jason’s character and the way he does everything well.
Jason Roland, Partner in Concrete Raising Systems
Jason’s daughter went to Park Hill schools. He lives north of the River. He believes that his reputation in the community and living here is a plus to his local neighbors and those he works for. He’s been in and around the residential construction industry for over 28 years. He has never been sued, been to court, or threatened, and has always been paid for his work. Jason believes that makes a difference. He thinks that means he has done something right along the way.
Us Versus Them
If you spend enough time in the concrete lifting business in Kansas City, MO, like we do, you start to notice something: there’s what people say about the work… and then there’s what actually happens when the drill hits the slab.
At Concrete Raising Systems, we’ve built our reputation on that difference.
This isn’t a flashy industry. It’s not trendy. It’s not something most homeowners think about until their driveway drops two inches, their patio slopes toward the foundation, or the garage floor cracks and settles. But when it happens, you want someone who’s seen it before—someone who knows what’s under that concrete before anyone drills the first hole.
That’s where experience separates us versus them.
The Experience Factor
Ken Praiswater has been on concrete longer than just about anyone in town. Not “worked for a guy who worked for a guy.” Not “started a rig five years ago because foam got popular.” We’re talking decades of real, hands-on polyurethane foam lifting across Kansas City, Overland Park, Olathe, Lee’s Summit, Independence, and the surrounding areas.
And Jason Roland brings a steady, methodical approach to every project, combining hands-on field experience with a practical understanding of how Kansas City soils and drainage patterns really behave over time. He’s the kind of contractor who would rather take an extra few minutes to drill, measure, and confirm what’s happening under a slab than guess—and that mindset protects both the customer and the company on every job.
There’s a big difference between reading about how foam blends react to temperature… and 
We’ve had competitors come by and explain—confidently—how we should blend foam, what rigs we should use, how pricing “should” work. Electric-only setups. New material blends with “not much feedback yet.” Five-year warranties written by attorneys.
We’ve heard and seen it all.
Here’s the thing: concrete doesn’t care what the brochure says. It reacts to voids, soil conditions, drainage, weight loads, and gravity. And every job is different.
After thousands of jobs across the Kansas City metro, you can walk up to a slab and get a feel for it. You can string-line it. Measure the drop. But you still don’t fully know what’s underneath until you drill.
And when that drill suddenly drops ten inches? That’s not a theory anymore. That’s reality.
We Don’t Guess — We Protect the Customer (and Ourselves)
One of the biggest differences in the concrete leveling industry is how companies price their work.
Some will give you a flat number and claim they’re “always within $50” of their estimate. Sounds great—until you understand what that means.
The truth? You don’t know exactly how much foam a job will take until you’re underneath the slab. Conditions change. Voids are bigger than expected. Soil washes out farther back than you can see from the surface.
That’s why we price by the pound. Just like filling a gas tank—you pay for what it takes. No more. No less.
Could we throw out a low number to win bids? Sure. But then one of three things happens:
- The customer overpays for foam they didn’t need.
- The contractor loses money and cuts corners next time.
- The contractor comes back asking for more.
We don’t play that game.
Our system is transparent. If we use less material than expected, the final bill is less than we quoted. If it takes more because the void goes eight feet back instead of three, we explain it before we proceed. It’s straightforward. It’s fair.
That’s how we stay in business long-term in Kansas City.
Knowing When Not to Do the Job
This might be the biggest difference between us and a lot of other concrete repair companies.
We will tell you when you shouldn’t hire us.
If a slab is ten inches down across a wide area… if it’s broken into pieces… if drainage issues are severe and can’t realistically be corrected… we don’t hesitate to tell a customer lifting isn’t the best solution.
Sometimes replacement is.
We’ve walked away from jobs. We’ve advised homeowners to tear out and repour. And more than once, those homeowners have left us positive reviews—not because we made money, but because we gave honest advice.
Concrete lifting isn’t always the answer.
Acting in the customer’s best interest always is.
In fact, about five percent of the jobs we see each year fall into that category. Even if someone insists, even if they’re willing to spend more trying to “save” it, we’ll explain the long-term picture.
That’s not a popular business model. But it’s the right one.
Foam Quality Matters
We use a four-pound slow-rise foam designed to create a consistent blanket under the slab. It reacts slower, which allows it to spread and fill voids more completely.
Some companies use lighter two-pound foam or faster-reacting blends that expand quickly and set up in seconds. That can create “pancake” pockets—lifting in spots but leaving voids in between.
Homeowners don’t usually know to ask about foam density or reaction time. They just compare numbers on paper.
But in concrete lifting across Kansas City’s shifting soils and drainage-heavy clay conditions, those differences matter.
The Warranty Conversation
We offer a two-year warranty. But more importantly, we stand behind it.
We’ve gone back to jobs—sometimes more than once—when movement occurred. In most cases, there’s a drainage issue. Downspouts discharging next to slabs. Low spots collecting water. Soil erosion in a spot that continues year after year.
We’ll tell you what needs to be corrected to protect the repair. We’ll text you. Call you and explain it clearly.
Do people always fix the drainage? No.
But if something moves within our warranty window and it’s reasonable, we handle it. We don’t hide behind legal language designed to avoid responsibility.
There are companies out there offering five-year warranties that are structured in a way that makes it nearly impossible for a customer to claim.
That’s not how we operate.
Why Longevity Matters in Kansas City
The concrete raising industry has changed. It used to be that very few companies specialized strictly in polyurethane foam lifting. New rigs are easier to buy. Marketing is louder. Turnover is high.
We’ve seen companies come and go in four or five years.
Concrete repair in Kansas City, MO isn’t forgiving. Between freeze-thaw cycles, expansive soils, heavy rains, and aging neighborhoods, the work will test you.
We don’t survive in this market long-term by guessing.
We thrive by:
- Acting in the client’s best interest.
- Using quality materials.
- Standing behind our work.
- Protecting our margins without overcharging.
- And constantly adapting when a slab surprises us.
Even after all these years, there are still days where we have to think on our feet. Try one method. Adjust. Use the tools in the toolbox that our experience has built.
That humility—that understanding that concrete can still throw curveballs—is what keeps us sharp.
Us Versus Them
It’s not about claiming “we’re the only ones who can lift concrete in Kansas City”.
It’s about understanding that not all experience is equal and not all companies are either.
Some contractors are still learning what happens after year five. We’re getting ready for fifteen.
Some sell the idea of a “better mousetrap.” We rely on proven systems that work under real Kansas City conditions.
Some chase volume and money. We protect our long-term reputation.
When you call Concrete Raising Systems for driveway leveling, patio lifting, garage floor repair, sidewalk raising, or commercial slab stabilization in Kansas City and surrounding cities, you’re not getting a sales pitch.
You’re getting decades of hands-on problem-solving.
And in this business, that’s the difference between us… and them.