Group: alt.building.construction

Building industry construction.

Add group to favorites Add group to favorites
   indietro Back to post list     indietro Send new message to group
Search:

Post Subject:

Concrete driveway issue Any concrete experts?

Reply from: Roscoe P Pendoscoe
Date: 15 Mar 2008, 14:48
Concrete driveway issue Any concrete experts?

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 from: dpb
Date: 15 Mar 2008, 14:24
Re: Concrete driveway issue Any concrete experts?

Roscoe P Pendoscoe wrote:
> 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
...

> 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.
...

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: http :// www .cement.org/tech/cct faqs.asp.

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

--

Reply from: jloomis
Date: 15 Mar 2008, 14:37
Re: Concrete driveway issue Any concrete experts?

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

"Roscoe P Pendoscoe" <mrshade@I_wont_see_it,net > wrote in message
news:spint3d2tm0g8vu3o3l6tfeq3hgpskldbu@4ax,com ...
> 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 from: dpb
Date: 15 Mar 2008, 15:40
Re: Concrete driveway issue Any concrete experts?

jloomis wrote:
> I am not sure if I hear this right.....
>
> Parking a Heavy Duty Asphalt Roller on 2 day old concrete?
...

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...

--

Reply from: Roscoe P Pendoscoe
Date: 15 Mar 2008, 17:09
Re: Concrete driveway issue Any concrete experts?

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 06:37:17 -0700, "jloomis" <jloomis@ocean,net >
wrote:

>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


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 from: DanG
Date: 15 Mar 2008, 20:56
Re: Concrete driveway issue Any concrete experts?

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.


--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
dgriff237@7cox,net



"Roscoe P Pendoscoe" <mrshade@I_wont_see_it,net > wrote in message
news:spint3d2tm0g8vu3o3l6tfeq3hgpskldbu@4ax,com ...
> 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 from: Roscoe P Pendoscoe
Date: 19 Mar 2008, 14:07
Re: Concrete driveway issue Any concrete experts?

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:56:34 -0500, "DanG" <dgriff23@7cox,net > wrote:

>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.

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.




Login:
  Username:    Password: 
 
   Lost Password? click here!
Thread: