Concrete driveway bad condition after one year


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Old 10-12-17, 07:48 PM
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Concrete driveway bad condition after one year

Hi All,
We had our driveway redone last year (asphalt to concrete). In the spring, I noticed the area by the road starting to 'pit' or scrape away. The company I used said this was due to the city oversalting and the newer age of the concrete. We live outside of Chicago, and don't know much about concrete, so took him at his word. He agreed he would redo the apron, and I agreed to be flexible with timing. With that being said, he is supposed to come out in the next couple of weeks, but now I have more concerns. The apron by the road has gotten progressively worse (running your hand over it with any force causes it to crumble more), and I am now looking much closer at other areas of the driveway - and am concerned with their long term durability (picture 3).

Any help is appreciated. Our drive is very long, 1800 sqare feet. If this starts to be an issue past the apron, I'm not sure what to do, this was a big expense for us. The quote sheet says it is 5" of 6 bag mix concrete (4000 PSI), broom finish, with cure and seal compound.

Thank you
 
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Old 10-13-17, 02:36 AM
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Welcome to the forums!

I wonder if the concrete was overworked or watered down? It would be nice to find out who supplied the concrete and get their take on what happened.
 
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Old 10-13-17, 03:33 AM
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Certainly looks like salt damage. Living, working, and visiting in port towns this kinda looks like the norm around here.
 
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Old 10-13-17, 05:41 AM
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My bet is overworked and/or watered down, likely aggravated by the salt, but if it were done properly this shouldn't have happened.
 
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Old 10-13-17, 06:03 AM
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The same thing happened to a friend of mine where salt couldn't have been the problem since the municipality uses sand now plus she doesn't live near the ocean. However, salt can definitely make a bad mix worse. As already suggested, have someone from the stone yard look at it.
 
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Old 10-13-17, 08:36 AM
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In most cases, spalled concrete is caused by poor finishing and the use of water on the surface to aid in the finishing process.

So a poor finish, followed by freeze thaw, exacerbated by salt and you get spalling.

A good sealer will help keep the water off the concrete!
 
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Old 10-13-17, 09:34 AM
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Thanks all. I will be contacting a local stone yard to see if they can assist. Should I be concerned about the rest of the driveway? It is single car in width, but over 100 feet long.
 
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Old 10-13-17, 09:37 AM
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Just let them re-pour the apron. You shouldn't need any sealer.
 
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Old 10-14-17, 09:54 AM
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My guess is the rest of the driveway is probably fine. It was caused by overworking or adding water this is a section that would be the worst because that's where they finished in the concrete may have begun to cure or they were running short and didn't want to order another truck. Also, as stated previously the assault made a bad condition worse.

I'm guessing that the contractor may have known that there would potentially be a problem because he was so willing to report that section.
 
 

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