Concrete Driveway Finish Standards

henryr

is there a link or reference for what is acceptable standards for a concrete driveway?

i have assumed a job from a new customer whose previous contractor bailed. he had sub out the driveway which imho was done sub par. the drive looks normal but when wet you can see that it is not smooth. it has lumpy waveness look to it - like it was not floated level. the contractor claims it looks good to him.

any ideas or suggestions ?

thx

Tscarborough

Does water pool up when it rains? Is it cracked? If not, it is fine. It is a driveway, after all.

henryr

there are various divets that pool up with water.

bmartin

How deep?

henryr

maybe a 1/8" inch. not really noticeable unless wet. like someone dropped a grapefruit on it prior to curing but the broom finish is fine so it was not properly leveled.

tkle

A number of factors apply.Though the driveway sounds inferior(if you have to ask,it's a bad job) the process to have it removed and replaced(litigation) can be more money and trouble than it's worth.The homeowners might have gotten a cheaper price and be willing to accept flaws rather than pay to do it right.As Tscarborough said "it is a driveway,after all."

denick

Henry,

My grandfather gave me the advice that I should "never get in the position of fixing other people's problems" and "don't ever say that someone else's work is wrong" that's without the broken english and Italian dialect. I'd say the same to you. The driveway is between the owner and the other contractor. As tkle said they might have gotten what they paid for. Were you there when the owner and contractor decided the cost and specification of the driveway? If you found a document on the specifications for a concrete driveway would you give it to the owner and hold it up as something that the sub should have adhered to? What if the owner were to do the same thing 3 months down the road to you ( you do the work as the owner wants and at the price set, their friend comes over to borrow a cup of sugar and sees what you did and say's that's not how I saw them do it on the DIY show, go look up show #14, owner goes and looks, likes that better comes to you and wants to know why you did the work wrong and wants it changed and isn't going to pay until it's done. They have a standard and a professional to back them up. Just as you would have done with the concrete sub.) Is the guy who poured the driveway the most experienced and highest quality person in town?

I could go on and on. I have found that unless you are there when two party's agree on something. "shut up" "don't get involved" If they have work for you to do fine. Don't be the fix it guy

Nick

bmartin

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought the purpose of the broom finish is for slip resistance and traction. Not to level the concrete.

Glasshousebltr

Nick said it best.....run Forest run!

Bob

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Bob

tkle

No,it's to hide your mistakes.

stacker

nothing could be closer to the truth.last year i bid a house here,i came in at about 13,000.00 for labor.another mason came in at 15 grand.even tho i was low bidder,they let the out of towner do the job because he had a crew of 3 masons and 2 laborers,where i have a mason(me) and a laborer.to make a long story short,they ran him off the job as soon as he had finished the outside of the house(he still had 2 fireplaces to do and a mailbox).they called me to do the fireplaces.i went out to meet with the h/o and got there before them,so i did some looking around.i have never seen a job as bad as this.when the h/o got there,the first thing out of her mouth was "did i get a s#@t brick job?"
i bit my tounge and told her that it was not my place to say
i did her fireplaces,and a bunch of tuck pointing on the house.they also wanted me to wash the house down but i refused.that made her mad and she hired another mason to build her mailbox.
btw,the reason they ran off the first mason was his 15,000 bid turned into 19,000.everytime he asked for a draw his price went up.he was like,"i didnt know i had to do this,it will cost more"

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life is short,do your masonry naked!!
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