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Need of some help with concrete driveway & patio?

5K views 25 replies 7 participants last post by  Lattimer 
#1 · (Edited)
I had my concrete driveway and patio poured about 3 years ago. It was totaling about 1800 sq. ft of concrete (1000 front area/800 back area). When I originally had it poured they were supposed to do a rock salt finish but screwed they up totally. After finding a product to allowed me to fill in the holes in the concrete, which was kind of like filling in dry wall holes all over the concrete.

Once that was done the contractor was able to come back out and put a top coat all over the concrete. However he really screwed this up...as it's not holding to the concrete, it chips up and overall it's not think enough to have done anything. On top of this was that the contractor (professionally recommended) said he didn't have any money and I told him that all I wanted was my concrete looking great and that I would pay for the materials as long as he supplied the labor.

This has been such a nightmare for my wife and I and I can even think of what do do next. I've had other concrete guys tell me anything from removing it and pouring again to putting a top coat on it. But I feel that nobody is willing to really dig deep and figure out a way to make our concrete driveway & patio beautiful. I guess one thing is that we've never put any sealer on it.

It's a very hard lesson to swallow and considering I've already put about $13k dollars into this...I look back and I could have had what I really wanted in the first place was some stamped concrete stained with some beautiful colors.

The problem I have now is that the top coat overlay is very poorly done and just randomly brushes or washes away...not all of it some of it is adhered pretty good and is very hard to remove. I've been told that there is a floor machine that has some carbon disc on the bottom that can/could remove the overlay top coat, is this true?

What recommendations can you give to someone that feels that all concrete companies are poorly ran and don't give a crap about what they do...and someone that has lost all hope (almost) for having that perfect driveway & patio to entertain on. We don't even go out on the patio because it is so poorly done.

Thanks for reading. I live in Jacksonville, Florida if someone wants to look at this. I am a hard worker and don't mind doing doing the things I feel I can do but some things are beyond my capabilities.
 
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#4 ·
find someone to diamond grind the conc then have a polymer-modified overlay installed - we were licensed elitecrete installers & never found any product to be better nor have more a complete compatible product line,,, distributor support, knowledge, & experience is the best in the industry - no financial interest - i'm retired & its your d/w :thumbup:
 
#5 · (Edited)
What recommendations can you give to someone that feels that all concrete companies are poorly ran and don't give a crap about what they do.
Sorry about your luck, but for you to make a statement like this is wrong, it's a hard lesson to learn.
As itsreallyconc said you can grind the surface,but this is expensive.
Not trying to add insult but did you pay this guy before the job was done?
 
#6 · (Edited)
I definitely agree with Raven that the best course of action is probably to just tear it out and start over! Putting a top coat of concrete will never work, it will always keep flaking off. The grinding and polymer should work quite well but would cost you close to what it would cost to redo it.

After looking at the pictures a little more I'm wondering what caused those big craters? Overall this is some of the worst looking concrete work I've seen in a long time.
 
#8 ·
Research,networking,references go a long way!!
Was this a side job for the guy?
Was he insured?
Either way this is going to be a tough decision,because of this
The money spent on an overlay -VS- how long it will last will probably be close to what it is going to cost to start over with this,seriously I know you did not want to hear this.
I would bet it will cost close to just replacing it but will never last like the real thing.
 
#9 ·
Yeah, I'm seriously considering ripping it out and starting over. Do you think where they poured over existing concrete it will do any damage?

What should I ask for in the new job? Like should it be poured in sections to reduce cracking? Any other tips advice on the pouring/installation/finishing I should be looking to get done for the best job? I mean I wanted this concrete to be part of our front landscaping and be as beautiful as possible even the finish along the edges and corners be very nice!
 
#10 · (Edited)
Pouring in sections is not necessary as long as the appropriate expansion joints and stress relief cuts are placed during the installation. I didn't see it in your original photos but I'm also assuming some kind of reinforcing was placed with the concrete.

Poring over existing concrete isn't normally recommended what may be acceptable depending on how thick the new layer is and what condition the old layer is in.
 
#11 ·
There wasn't any kind of reinforcing done other than the fiber mesh in the concrete. Unfortunately some of the relief cuts weren't done until a day later and thus immediately created several pretty bad cracks on some of the outer house corners.

The pouring over existing concrete was only done at a section of the house at the front door with an area of about 8' x 4' and was done about 2.5" thick. Another section was poured over existing in the rear about 15' x 6' and about 1.5" thick getting thicker to about 3". These pours were done over to compensate for how badly angled or the decline was to run off the water. It was such a slope that it went from 1" to a 4" slop within about 3-4'.
 
#12 · (Edited)
It would be nice to have a monolithic pour,however not necessary.
You will want to have expansion along your house and where ever the new meets the old. I like to use the foam joints and seal with polyurethane caulk.
You will want it to have relief cuts to help control the cracking as well as wire mesh for reinforcing.
As for finding someone you trust,here is what I would do,ask around when you see something you like,if you see a contrctor working on a job and their work looks good,ask them if you could talk to prior customers and to look at their work.
Next,get a contract in WRITING,and don't pay them in full until the job is completed to your standards.
You could always go to the cement plant and ask the operator for information on contractors,if anyone would know it would be them.
You seem to have a nice home,and if it were me I wouldn't be happy with anything unless I started from scratch.
"EDIT" I was looking at your pictures again and it looks as if the concrete got away from them and they lost it,this happens when you are inexperienced and don't have enough help,hence the bad finish.
 
#13 ·
I believe this was one entire pour but not sure.

I was told that whenever I have concrete poured around an outside corner, there needs to be an expansion joint because these are the only areas I experienced cracking and this happened IMMEDIATELY upon them not even finishing the job and it cracked. How can I avoid this?

This contractor was recommended by one of the local concrete companies in town. He was supposed to be a bigger more professional company, but I believe just as I was having mine poured he was having some financial and heart/medical problems. I now see him advertising on Craigslist and I've posted on Craigslist about his job warning other customers.
 
#26 ·
#14 ·
If you end up tearing out the old concrete and redoing it I would probably go ahead and pull out the lower layer also. 1.5" is definitely too thin it needs to be at least 3". I definitely agree with Raven about the other items.
 
#18 ·
finally got to look at your pics - you really paid him ? ? ?

diamond grinding's about $1 sf here - overlays are typically stronger than the conc you have in place ( 5,600psi:3,500/4000psi ),,, some of it needs replacing but, imho, not all,,, joints are critical to proper performance - especially in hot climes !

placing an unbonded o'lay is iffy as its likely the underlying cracks will reflect UP thru the new - likewise w/a bonded o'lay,,, when all's said & done, replacing it isn't the worst alternative but suggest you look at the next contractor's work more closely - CALL his references - CK w/the BBB - have the jnts sawed same day - hold back 10% retainage
 
#19 ·
finally got to look at your pics - you really paid him ? ? ?
I have very similar thoughts, and I just can't seem to take the time to respond to the number of things I see wrong in the pictures..............:eek:

When the "contractor" show's up with a rental skid loader because he doesn't own his own, run like hell........

When they decide to pour over literal mud, I don't know what kind of advice to give you other than I wouldn't throw anymore "good money after bad" trying to correct the garbage you have currently...........
 
#20 · (Edited)
I learned a hard lesson...this is our first house he was a first contractor job we've ever experience, I learned a lot but not everything. As he was preparing there were quite a few things I questioned but he said that they would all be corrected and the finish would look great. It is hard to swallow thinking of the things I should have/could have done. I didn't pay him until after he was done but I thought (as he said) all of the things I questioned would get fixed when it dries.
 
#22 ·
This whole story is really upsetting to me.
It really pisses me off when peopple deal in good faith and get taken advantage of.
If I had known of your situation when I was in Flordia visiting my father I would have DONATED my time and labor to rip it all out and fix it properly.
You should contact the proscuter in your counry and ask their opion,I know Flordia doesn't play games.
 
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