Concrete driveway issue Any concrete experts?

Question:

Why do concrete surfaces flake and spall?

Answer:

Concrete surfaces can flake or spall for one or more of the following reasons:

?In areas of the country that are subjected to freezing and thawing the concrete should be air-entrained to resist flaking and scaling of the surface. If air-entrained concrete is not used, there will be subsequent damage to the surface.

?The water/cement ratio should be as low as possible to improve durability of the surface. Too much water in the mix will produce a weaker, less durable concrete that will contribute to early flaking and spalling of the surface.

?The finishing operations should not begin until the water sheen on the surface is gone and excess bleed water on the surface has had a chance to evaporate. If this excess water is worked into the concrete because the finishing operations are begun too soon, the concrete on the surface will have too high a water content and will be weaker and less durable.

Question and answer courtesy of Portland Cement Association (PCA). More information is available at:

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Add to the above salt and/or other deicers can exacerbate the problems...

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Reply to
dpb
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I am not sure if I hear this right.....

Parking a Heavy Duty Asphalt Roller on 2 day old concrete? It takes 30 days.....= - under water......to cure concrete properly.

If the roller did roll on the concrete it hit aggregate and the soft concrete on top was compromised. Near the control joints similar.....

Another scenario is improper concrete mix and or too much water. If the concrete sat in the truck for some time, and the men added water, concrete is less strong. You can take a core sample and get a test of the concrete for analysis. Also Good Concrete Companies record the amount of water added.......look at the reciepts..... It wont tell how much the men used after the truck left though..... Sometimes if it is hot, and the concrete is going off too fast the men wet the surface and trowel the finish. Another problem encountered is covering concrete with plastic after pouring. I have seen water accumulate under the plastic and errode the fresh concrete......

Anyway, a test is in order to proceed with a claim. Parking on fresh concrete is (no...no) jloomis concrete and construction

Reply to
jloomis

Last September/October I had a new 40x60' pad in front of my garage poured along with a 45x4' sidewalk from the house to the garage. This company also did a 250' asphalt turnaround. (I couldn't afford all concrete)

Anyway, I will dispense initially with all the issues I had with these guys trying to get them to finish it properly at the end because it is a bit long.

Here in Minnesota the ice had just melted on the concrete pad as the fellow who plowed lost his Ford truck in a garage fire. I only cleared areas where we walked and I parked my service truck (Iam an electrician) Anyhow, this past Wednesday it had all melted and was gone so I thought I'd get the broom out and sweep the debris off at least and tidy it up a bit.

Well kiss my ass, now there are pits (quarter size) and along some of the joints it has disintegrated and crumbled completely and where the pits are seem that the concrete let go where large aggregate is under.

With all the crap I put up with and the threats I got from the salesman when I held back a portion of the final money due until they cleaned the HYDRAULIC FLUID that leaked onto 2 day old poured concrete from the rollers they parked when they did the asphalt part. There were 2 large puddles the size of a 5 gallon bucket and dozens of others where they backed onto it each time while using the rollers on the asphalt. Quarter sized drops, evenly spaced again from the rollers.

They never did return to clean it so I did it myself and they also never sealed it. I finally got them to give me the sealant and I would do it myself. 2 gallons they left me for a pad and sidewalk the size I previously mentioned. I ended up buying 3 more and it was pretty close to not enough. Now about that 2nd coat...........

They deducted $500 from almost $14K bill for the hydraulic fluid leak and not sealing it. I just wanted it over with. This jerk, the owner in fact said "he'd be happy to accept $500 for a little oil on a driveway that's going to get oil on it anyway, it's a driveway"

Get the drift of the mentality of what I went through?

Now this disintegration of the pad.I am afraid I am in for a big fight. Might even get a little physical since they were good at threats before. Seriously.

Anyway, did the fluid create what I am seeing now, or is it from not sealing it for a month or perhaps not properly.?

Any replies of info appreciated,

Roscoe aka Rick

Knowledge is like money, the less you talk about it the more people assume you have.

Reply to
Roscoe P Pendoscoe

...

Good catch! W/ all the bluster contained in the post I read right over that part. I'd have expected much worse than some spalling after that...

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Reply to
dpb

snipped my original...

Thanks so much for the quick and informative answers.

BTW, I chose this company because they did a job just down the street about 8 house down. A brand new one with a 4 car garage.

They did it in 2 pours it appeared. Anyway, about 4-5 days after the

2nd pour, I saw that it was all jack-hammered up and then the next day hauled away. A new pour in about 3-4 days later was then seen.

Well since I needed a concrete contractor and something seemed amiss in this instance and it seemed like they addressed it in a very quick way I went and asked the homeowner what had happened.

Seems there was something left in that truck from the previous day that made the concrete/cement that was newly loaded then poured, have an issue which all parties agreed was unacceptable.

Well I thought, hey now, here's a company who doesn't waste time fixing wrongs and not a cheap or easy fix, and wants happy customers. I know all about this as I am a contractor in a different field and keeping customers pleased and happy is a major goal for referrals and callbacks for other jobs.

They also have their own plant and asphalt included. I thought I then would only need to deal with one contractor making this a bit easier.

In the end, it just may appear they do crappy, cheap and shoddy work and the fellow down the block caught some issue that was more pronounced than my delayed problem.

Before calling them, I have already left a message with an attorney who is my Daughters Mother-in-law who happens to be doing an extensive remodel which I had originally turned down as I was so busy. I think I will make time for her and see what I can get barter-wise. Typically barter does not work because I do my part and it's like pulling teeth to get the other craft to do their part.

I let you folks know what happens so you can watch for the problems I have and will certainly run into.

Thanks again!

Roscoe aka Rick aka MrShade

Knowledge is like money, the less you talk about it the more people assume you have.

Reply to
Roscoe P Pendoscoe

dpb gave you some excellent information.

Things that lead to popped and flaked tops: The MOST likely cause is not letting the bleed water dissipate, especially on air entrained concrete. This requires that the finishers know what tools to use for floating the concrete and when to start the finishing process. They should not use a jitter bug or power trowel on air entrained exterior concrete. The bleed water is very hard to diagnose if there is high wind on pour day or they are pouring on a saturated subgrade. A freeze within the first week, but especially the first day or two, can cause loss of the top.

The oil drips did you no major harm other than cosmetic. The equipment on green concrete, however, violates every rule there is for concrete. You should have been advised to not drive or park on the concrete for at least three days, seven preferred.

Saw joints should have been performed on the same day as the pour. The concrete should have been cured (chemical or water) for the first 7 days. Most concrete sealers recommend not applying until the concrete is at least 28 days old.

Reply to
DanG

Just to clear up a few mistakes or wrong descriptions.

They told me not to drive or park on it for 28 days. The saleman who was involved heavily told the crew who came to do the asphalt to stay off the newly poured concrete. This same company does both, concrete and asphalt. It was a main reason I chose them.

Their plant is quite a distance away. About 50 miles.

I noticed trowel marks I don't see normally on new concrete. I am an electrical contractor (very small) and am on numerous jobs where I just happen to see and notice things.

They also were to saw cut it but then changed their mind and did it with the hand method, call it what you will. Salesman told me he gave the sub who did the finish the choice between the two. Of course they would choose the easier and less labor intensive method.

It was at least 2 weeks before they showed up to attempt the cleaning of the hydraulic oil. I personally tried 3-4 times before they came with various recommended cleaners and a power washer. No change whatsoever.

They told me they would seal it in less than a week then return for

2nd coat in a month after that.

I sprayed it lightly with water at their suggestion since the weather was very warm for the part of the season.

It is looking very bad and I assume it will get worse as time goes on. The very last thing I wanted was a battle to resolve this since they responded so stubbornly to small items previously.

Regards,

Rick

Knowledge is like money, the less you talk about it the more people assume you have.

Reply to
Roscoe P Pendoscoe

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