On 18 Nov 2004 15:44:25 -0800, someone wrote:

The basement floor and walls of my new house (in Indianapolis) were
poured with a 3500 lb mix = 5.5 bag mix.

If you really care about this, it is pretty routine though not
necessarily cheap to get concrete tested. The testing company can
come over and core out a sample. This sort of thing is done on
commercial work all the time.

*IF* the concrete is not up to spec, then you have a case to get it
replaced (or get $ to waive that). But you won't likely get "them" to
pay for it because you *claim* you don't *think* its right. More
like, YOU get it tested (don't you want the testers to work for you,
anyway?), THEN when you have the results go for new concrete plus the
test fee.

But from what I'm seeing, I'm not at all sure there is anything
"wrong" with it. Breaking screws because the concrete is really hard
wouldn't normally be considered a defect, there is no maximum hardness
spec'd. Maybe its a bum box of screws or not drilled deep enough!

Story about testing: (might be industrial legend). Foundary 'tested'
all its locomotive wheel casting by hitting them with a sledgehammer
to see if they rang true; a dull plonk indicated a major defect. One
day they started to get 100% rejects. The scrapeed a lot of new
castings before they realized it was the sledgehammer that had
developed a crack.

Good luck, but there may be nothing actually wrong.

-v.




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