[ermickie]

We have a driveway that is chipping and it is only 4 years old. It started to chip in the second year slightly. Other than this it is in good shape but I am worried it may get worst over time as it seems to be doing just that!:help:
Any suggestions and has anyone re-surfaced a concrete driveway? Did it work and how does it look?
Thank you.

 

[Daniel Holzman]

Post a few pictures. The word chipping is not very descriptive.

 

[sleep]

I belive you mean spalding when you say chipping. Spalding is a failure in the surface that is caused when too much water is addin the finishing process. It looks like pitting.

The problem with trying to resuface a spalding driveway is that the surface will continue to pit, even after patching and resurfacing. The only real cure is to remove and replace the drive using a reputable contractor.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Where are you located?
Snow, ice area - rock salt used?

 

[Aggie67]

Just my 2 cents. Correct term is spalling, or spaulling, depending on where you hail from.

We see it in concrete that's been attacked by salt, in concrete outside subject to freezing temperatures, and we've also seen it from really bad pours (hot mixes), and from overworking the finish. We're the ones that get called in for repairs. We use epoxy mixes, and sometimes plain old cement repair patch compounds. Our work holds up to chemical plant traffic really well, but the products are very expensive. If it were my driveway, I'd try to repair a section with the repair patch compounds you can get at the depot. If that didn't hold up, I'd go the epoxy route. But that is quite expensive, and could end up costing more than the original pour. However they do hold up really well.

 

[ermickie]

Thanks

Thank you for everyone's input and I will let the driveway continue to "spald". Just will it get worse or does it stop?

 

[Aggie67]

If it was a bad mix, it's all bad. If it was too much water sprayed on after the pour, it should be surface. If it's road salt, the more road salt that goes on the worse it will get.

You can try repairing and sealing what you have left. If you have a mason supply store in your area, take a picture of the damage and see what sealants and repair compounds they have. We've got a great one here in NJ, AH Harris, and they're a chain. That's the type of place you want to buy these products from.

 

[ermickie]

$$

Well it is spring now and the driveway has more pitting and it looks awful. I have had two concrete companies look at it and one knew the day it was poured because he was working in the area on another driveway. This I recall as well. Anyway he says it was too hot to pour that day and that is the reason it is pitting. He did not pour his driveway and it looks beautiful! He states he knew we would have problems because of this!
So now I am looking at the expense of another driveway!