Concrete Driveway Repair/Fix Question

[Robert Adams]

After looking at it again I see not only the issue with water getting in the garage but the concrete is right up against the siding of the house. That's a big no no. That is going to cause moisture damage in the building. IE rotted walls mold etc.

[R12C]

Well, the contractor showed up and he was a bit surprised that it looked like it did. He said he didn't think it was that bad but looking at it today, it's terrible. He him-hawed around for a second or two, trying to take it all in. I jumped in and said it needs to be cut out and replaced from here (I was pointing and walking around it), to there, to there. Hauled off and start over and get it done right. He said something about trying to grind it but didn't think that would look right or be worth his time to even attempt. I was very blunt with him and said it was not a quality job and I didn't think he wanted his name associated with a job that looked like this. I told him the right thing to do was to cut it all out and pour new.

He said he couldn't do it right away because of other jobs but will put me on the schedule and it would be two to three weeks before he could come and fix it. He said he'll call me this weekend with the dates. He said it won't be too bad to cut and rip out, a couple forms and shouldn't take long.

I was happy I didn't need to argue with him and he wants to do the right thing. The color they add is added at the plant, it's not something he adds. He said it was similar to getting paint mixed, they add the pigment according to how much concrete is ordered.

Yeah, I would have liked curved corners over the angle but for some reason, that didn't happen. I never gave it much thought and that's what we got. No biggie.

Yes, I live in a small, rural town. We only needed to get a $15 permit to install the driveway and that's only because there is concern on how the concrete will meet the road. The township wants it make sure the snow plows dont catch the edge of the driveway and that melted snow will not run out in the middle of the street. No other inspections needed. And it's typical to have jobs done with no $$ down and handshakes are still common in sealing a job. Although I did have a written contract that only outlined how deep the concrete was going to be, rebar size and spacing, the color and I wanted some PVC pipe buried under the concrete for the spouting. That's about it.

I'm confident he'll come out and do as he says and I'm hoping he learned a lot of what not to do on this job. I would have liked it if he came to me and said about the poor quality and not me calling him but it looks totally different in the morning. Once the sun hits it all the defects jump out.

[R12C]

Water is not going to get into the garage. It's hard to see but the entire concrete pad is sloped pretty good away from the garage. It's the natural slope of the yard. We had over 1.5" of rain from thunderstorms the other night and very little water went into the garage. What goes in is what hits the doors and runs down them and around the crack and into the garage. It was that way with the stone driveway which was about an inch or so below the garage floor. There is more than enough slope on the driveway.

I don't know anything about concrete hitting the siding and issues with that. Seems easy enough to fix though. Thanks for pointing it out because I would have never even thought about it.

[fixtureman]

Is there an expansion joint at the garage and house?

[R12C]

Yes there is. Anywhere the new pour was against a building they put an expansion joint. They also put an expansion joint anywhere where they stopped the pour and began again the follow work day.

This thread has made me look closely at other things here. Someone said something about having the driveway lower than the garage to keep water from going inside the garage. So I went out and looked at it and of course the garage floor is flat and smooth out to where the garage door closes. But the four or so inches that extends to the exterior side of the door is sloped down about a half inch or so. I never really paid attention to it before. I like that the driveway is the same height as the garage floor.

[srv52761]

R12C said:

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I like that the driveway is the same height as the garage floor.

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Won't be this winter. You're in PA, farther north than I am in IA. My drive heaves anywhere from 2-4" in a normal winter. One year, I had to deflate my van's tires to get out of the garage. If they repour that section I would have them lower it a couple.

I would also cut some distance from the part adjacent to the house. Depending on your heat loss through your foundation walls, the slab next to your house will also move some. Unforgiving concrete that moves next to softer vinyl siding and what not doesn't sound good, in spite of the soft 1/2" expansion material . Better to have a buffer.
If not, consider asking them to cut a control joint close to the buildings. Maybe the difference in ground temp between the adjacent foundation soil and farther away will be sufficient to allow the ground to heave unevenly and the slab could crack cleanly.

Or, maybe I am way off......

P.S. Look at your exterior brick moulding. When your slab heaves you don't want it pushing on the moulding. That extreme year we had in 80??, ruined my moulding. Since then I cut off a few inches, shape some closed cell foam, attach and paint to match.

[Bit_Fiddler]

srv52761 said:

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[blockquote]R12C said:

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I like that the driveway is the same height as the garage floor.

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Won't be this winter. You're in PA, farther north than I am in IA. My drive heaves anywhere from 2-4" in a normal winter. One year, I had to deflate my van's tires to get out of the garage.

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[/blockquote]

You've got something radically wrong going on if your driveway is heaving up 2-4" every winter. You've got to have some huge cracks from that much movement....

I'm just outside Minneapolis, arguably colder than Iowa, but my driveway moves less than 1/4" from the garage slab and has been that way for 12 years since it was poured. I know it is less than 1/4" since I barely feel a ridge when using a squeegee to push melted slop out of the garage. And yes, on some real cold days there is enough of a temp difference between the garage floor and the driveway, that the water freezes almost immediately. But still there are no issues....

[srv52761]

Bit_Fiddler said:

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You've got to have some huge cracks from that much movement....

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Not to hijack the thread, but yes I do. When I moved here from farther south, about 35 years ago, the drive was all asphalt with the area in front of the garage badly cracked and broken.
I replaced that part with concrete in October. The contractor explained with all the integrated fiber there was no need for mesh or rebar. I was a newbie homeowner and knew nothing about anything.

During that winter I noticed cracks, some significant. By February some cracks were raised 1/2" higher on one side than the other. In April I talked with the contractor, he said something to the effect, "Welcome to Iowa." Maybe in a more professional way, but that was the gist.

Assumed this much movement was normal as the concrete in my detached garage cracked, subtending the floor into 4 rectangular segments. with about .75" to 1.25" ridge along the cracks. I cut a section about 14" wide along the cracks and then transitioned from one side to the other with treated plywood so I could roll my tools around.

[theeviltwinn]

It's all about that bass (base).

Twinn

[dalevel47]

That looks like the worst concrete job I ever saw.  If the rest is as bad I would have him replace the whole job

Yeah! I think so.

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