Sinking AC Pad

[dandave]

Hi! Our AC pad seems to be sinking. It is definitely not level. The pad is probably 36in. X 36 in. With leverage, I think that we could raise the pad enough to pour some crushed gravel under there, but I'm not sure that would be the wisest thing to do. Could we just carefully raise the unit and base, or should we call someone? I certainly don't want to harm the AC unit, as it works just fine.

[VTP99]

Whats the pad made from material wise ?

[sktn77a]

Could we just carefully raise the unit and base, or should we call someone? I certainly don't want to harm the AC unit, as it works just fine.

I assume it's only off by a small amount. In which case, raising the slab at the low point and putting in some gravel shouldn't do any harm (it's the refrigerant connections you need to be careful with). You may find, however that the weight of the slab plus the condenser makes it too heavy to raise.

[Shophound]

Leveling the unit is easier than leveling the pad. A few shims underneath the unit in the right spots would do it.

[dandave]

The pad/platform is made of metal. I really want to lift up the base and the unit, because of the sinking.

[dandave]

I just called the guy who installed the unit back in '03. I was told that we could gently lever the pad up by an inch or two using a shovel and then just push some dirt under there. He said that as long as we are gently and don't stress the tubes comining out of the back, then we should be fine.
I'm thinking we should use crushed gravel, from other posts here. Does all that sound right?

[sktn77a]

I'm thinking we should use crushed gravel, from other posts here. Does all that sound right?

Yes, use small crushed gravel - dirt will just compress again.

[dandave]

Thank you all very much! We'll work on that this weekend.