Has nothing to do with hispanic, black, italian, portuguese workers... It
is more the fact that many people will go with the cheapest quote, instead
of going with the licensed contracters, that hire trully skilled and
licensed help. Skilled workers cost alot more, but quite often you get what
you pay for.
Here in Montreal, I've dealt with quite a few Italian contractors, and I've
seen my share of good, and bad. The good ones do cost a bit more, however
they stand behind thier work and rarely take any money up front... I
usually go after them to pay them. They've done brick work, and even some
foundation work for me, and 20 years later, the works looks just as good as
new. No crumbling, no leaks, etc....
Cracking in Concrete can happen for various reasons, and sometimes, no
matter how much of a precaustion you take, it will happen. Nowadays, many
of the cement suppliers have alot of options, many will gladly test the
concrete from the truck before pouring to test for proper consistency, air
entraining, etc... Also offer fiber reenforced concrete for extreme weather
cases, and pours for stuff like stairs and large slabs...
The contractors competence is not dictated by the crack in such a large
pour. However how he decides to address it with the customer is the big
deciding factor.
"ConcreteFinishing&StuccoGuy" wrote in
message .. .
Slabs crack, u can try to contol them, but the simple realiuty is slabs
crack in spite of controls and strengths. Hi-test concrete is more prone
to
cracks! Aside from obvious stuff like the crete being air entrained @5%
and
plastized to min water content, wet or damp cure for 28 days is most
important. u can drive normal cars the next day while cure takes place.
This should hsve been damp cured with burlap sacks or a product called
'polytarp' which sprays on surfaces.
BTW, most of the concrete slab work i have seen while in the states is of
poor finish and quality, even rudimentary skills are not present. In
canada
it would not even pass inspection. A lot has to do with most concrete
laborers in canda being italian or portuguese while blacks and hispanics
are
used in the untied states.
--
Remove the obvious to reply. Experienced and reliable
Concrete Finishing and Synthetic Stucco application in the GTA.
"DanG" wrote in message
news:4SNoe.85422$yV4.74212@okepread03...
Remember there are two injured parties here. His reputation, good
will, referrals and the money for this project. YOU! Try to
approach the issue together, not as adversaries. See what ideas
he may have.
Possible remedies to discuss:
Minimum, rout and caulk (pavement seal like Vulcem or SL1) the
cracks that did occur.
Maximum, remove and replace sections with cracks. Be aware, this
method has the potential for stains on the concrete and will
require either a pump or wheelbarrow pour. The end result will
surely be a different color. The cure may be worse than where you
are now.
There are epoxies made for filling the cracks and very expensive
overlay products to color the entire top.
(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
"ok" wrote in message
. ..
It took two days to pour the drive because of rain. The saw
joints ( I was
mistakenly calling them expansion joints) were cut in on the
third day.
No way not to have the concrete truck on the compacted area.
It's either
that or ruin the lawn.
Perhaps the saw joints are no more than 12ft apart, plus there
is one down
the center of the entire driveway. I was guessing on distance,
doing this
from work.
No vehicle traffic for 9 nine days.
So he's coming tomorrow and what would be a reasonable
expectation on my
part. OK, maybe all concrete will eventually crack, but jeez I
didn't
expect it in two weeks.
I was doing this drive over two years and next year there is
still another
250 ft of drive to pour so that gives me a little leverage...
maybe.
How would you try and make me, the customer, happy?
Thanks,
"DanG" wrote in message
news:U5Koe.85405$yV4.55253@okepread03...
It sounds as if the saw joints were performed too late. Saw
joints and jointer tracks are control joints. Tar joints are
expansion joints. Cold joints are construction joints.
The best dollars spent are on the preparation of the sub grade.
Good compaction, uniform slab thickness, do not allow concrete
trucks on compacted grade are all good practices. I pour most
concrete without rebar or remesh.
Rebar should not continue through joints. I would limit the
distance between saw joints to 12 feet or less. Saw joints
should
be performed on the same day as the pour as soon as the slab
can
be cut without raveling.
The slab should be cured. GOOD:Cure with curing compound
applied
by the contractor immediately after pouring. BETTER: visqueen
cover with water trapped on the slab (this often leaves a
mottled
appearance and /or visqueen printing) BEST: total immersion
accomplished by building an appropriate dam around the pour -
usually not possible on sloped drives, etc. The water cure
should
be applied for +/- 7 days. Keep heavy objects (cars, trucks,
etc)
off the concrete for a minimum of 3 days, preferred 7 days to
allow the concrete to make enough initial strength to deal with
the loads.
These are all givens about concrete. Here is another:
Concrete
will crack. The trick is to get it to crack where you want it
to,
preferably in a neat straight line. Sometimes there is just no
simple answer to why concrete cracks where it does. Heat
shrinkage, hot rebar, design mix, finishing techniques, wind,
hot
sun all have profound effects on concrete.
I hope that you and your contractor can arrive at a solution
that
is equitable to both of you. Remember he has a lot of time and
material in this job already. I do not guarantee concrete not
to
crack, in fact, I make owners aware of the potential before
hand.
I am also aware that you have money and quality expectations
that
should be part of the overall resolution.
(top posted for your convenience)