Hi everyone, I'm building my first shop and so far it has been one nightmare after another and I would be grateful from any insight on what the proper repair is for my latest disaster. It's a 36x36 and when returned home from work the contractors said they where walking on some of it 10 minuets after it left the chute. I'm waiting for the data from the concrete plant but they ordered 5500 with fiber and the weather was mid 90s and already a day that was a little more difficult to pour. I have 1500 feet of pex installed over a 6x6 mesh and 5/8 rebar around the skirt. The contractors say they can grind it down flat and skim coat and epoxy it but I have heard that can be a temporary solution which can cause more problems as time goes on. I have a few civil/structural engineer friends who say a properly laid 2-3 inch slab over this one should be fine for a garage with a 690 sq ft loft above. The range of opinions are still too wide to hone in on what the "right" course of action is. I'm just sick about it and any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Horrific new slab pour, PROPER corrective action advise needed!
- Thread starter zimmpz
- Start date
Wow, don't pay for it.
ZRX61
Well-known member
Looks like the company owes you a new slab, & pex etc.
matt_i
Well-known member
What time of day were they pouring this?
I'm with the jackhammer it back out and start over (on their dime) or grind it and live with it if everyone absolves responsibility.
5500 seems a bit extreme...how was that number chosen? I would think 3000-4000 would be superb.
I'm with the jackhammer it back out and start over (on their dime) or grind it and live with it if everyone absolves responsibility.
5500 seems a bit extreme...how was that number chosen? I would think 3000-4000 would be superb.
Six Gun Matt
Well-known member
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- Mar 21, 2014
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- 45
That looks unacceptable to me. Way below the standard of care for their work. Did you have a contract?
ddurrett896
Well-known member
That crazy - did they even float and power trowel? How much $$ have you paid out? In 90 degree weather you shouldn't have been able to take a picture of the concrete dry. It needs to stay wet.
If it's over 50% I'd hold the other 50% and find a good expoxy company and see if that + flake would yield and smoother floor.
If you're under 50% I'd rip our and re pour.
If it's over 50% I'd hold the other 50% and find a good expoxy company and see if that + flake would yield and smoother floor.
If you're under 50% I'd rip our and re pour.
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JP Chestnut
Well-known member
That's rough. I'd read your contract closely and then ask for replacement via whatever means were specified in the document. Honestly, I think I could probably pour concrete and make it look about that good.
Hilltopmasonry
Well-known member
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- Oct 12, 2015
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- 2,167
That is some horrible concrete work!
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Keithinsc
Well-known member
Break out the jackhammer. They let this load get too hot and lost it. They knew it before they set down their trowel.
They may have wording in the contract they are only responsible for the concrete. Cost of the PEX and rebar may be on you.
IF they do go the route of breaking it out and replacing, make sure they take care of disposal of THEIR concrete.
They may have wording in the contract they are only responsible for the concrete. Cost of the PEX and rebar may be on you.
IF they do go the route of breaking it out and replacing, make sure they take care of disposal of THEIR concrete.
they lost it big time. my guess, either they weren't experienced enough, or they didn't have enough labour, or a combination of both .
see pictures
Well-known member
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- Oct 13, 2011
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You can latex/skimcoat over it but why should you. Looks like its the first job they’ve done. I wouldn’t let them try to skimcoat it. Should have sent the concrete back. Is your location far from the batch plant? One guy trying to do it alone. I wonld take anything less than a full replacement.
Toolfool
Well-known member
That batch was going off inside the truck.
I have a contract, pics are from today not pour day. They could not float or trowel it with a good outcome because they said they had just over 10 minutes before it was hard and it ran away from them. I'm more worried about the structure of the slab being compromised more then the aesthetics. I'm sure an epoxy company could hide flaws but if its structural I obviously cant move forward without a new or repaired slab.
ScaldedDog
Well-known member
This. I had an awful job done once - incorrect slope on a heated driveway that drained into the garage, instead of away from it - and had to pull it all out and start over with a different contractor. A $20K lesson.
Mark
FlaGman
Well-known member
I sure wouldn’t want the guys that did that to be fixing it.
KMinAF
Well-known member
Talk to the company owner, maybe he is a stand up kind of guy and will man up to it and take care of it. Stranger things have happened.....
Was this 20k your responsibility or did it just cost you time?
Bobthetractor
Active member
I'd ask the contractor what they suggest doing (with an approval by a structural engineer of their choice) then take that to your engineer friends to review. While the best answer is to rip it out and start over I'm guessing the contractor isn't going to agree very easily. Smarter people than me would need to opine on how you key a slab on top of this so it doesn't slide. Would an extra slab raising your finish floor up by 3" be feasible? I've had issues where a "simple" fix on the ground pushes up the total building height and messes with permitting/zoning. Whatever you do, make sure you have the file papered.
andyvh1959
Well-known member
I agree. IF an over-slab is applied it certainly would NOT be from the same hacks that did the work to begin with. If you haven't paid for it, I certainly would not pay for what you ended up with as it is not what you contracted to pay for.
If the truck came in hot, is it as much the concrete supplier as the contractor at fault? The contractor, seeing the mix as hot the second it poured should have stopped the delivery and refused payment to the concrete supplier. Perhaps the contractor only did what they could with what they got, but they knew that the second it was spread out.
If the truck came in hot, is it as much the concrete supplier as the contractor at fault? The contractor, seeing the mix as hot the second it poured should have stopped the delivery and refused payment to the concrete supplier. Perhaps the contractor only did what they could with what they got, but they knew that the second it was spread out.
stingry
Well-known member
I’m guessing that it wasn’t their fault. Sounds like the redimix company delivered a hot load. With that, plus the hot temperature, they didn’t stand a chance of finishing it. Happened to me once, come to find out, the concrete company had part of a load come back, so they just mixed more with it.
Thats why I am wondering whos fault this really is? If the contractors are telling the truth do I have to go back to the concrete plant? Id like to pretend I wont have to hand a bunch of paperwork to a judge and work this out in court.
MileHighRover
Well-known member
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- Mar 13, 2018
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- 1,120
It's the plant's fault. However, your concrete contractor should be the one dealing with them, not you. You deal with the concrete guy and he deals with the plant. That's how it should work, anyways.
ScaldedDog
Well-known member
I ate it. The original contractor promised, of course, to do the right thing, but was never heard from again. Attorney advised that going after him was tilting at a windmill.
Mark
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Toolfool
Well-known member
This.
ZRX61
Well-known member
It's far worse than the first slab* I ever did & I'm not even a concrete guy.
*600sq ft slab inside a dog pen. I knew it would be a learning experience so I wouldn't screw up the next slab. It was far better than this slab, smooth, sloped the right way etc.
kaiser715
Well-known member
That's more than one hot load. How may delivery trucks were there 2? 3?
My guess they didn't have forms/labor/rebar/remesh ready when the trucks got there, and made them wait a while.
I dropped by to check on and help a friend one time on a pour (column piers). Two trucks were sitting there spinning, he was working alone still building and setting forms. Pretty much same results.
My guess they didn't have forms/labor/rebar/remesh ready when the trucks got there, and made them wait a while.
I dropped by to check on and help a friend one time on a pour (column piers). Two trucks were sitting there spinning, he was working alone still building and setting forms. Pretty much same results.
gatewaysysop
Well-known member
WOW
... easily the worst I have ever seen. To each his own, but at a minimum, I'd be going after their license if they weren't jack hammering that **** out and doing it over from scratch.
jeepinerdeep
Well-known member
Subbed for the outcome. Try to resist the urge to be sick if you can.
I personally think it's 100% junk, and they knew it and kept going anyway.
I have yet to see where anyone here has gotten a contractor to break out and repour junk. I hope you can get them to.
I personally think it's 100% junk, and they knew it and kept going anyway.
I have yet to see where anyone here has gotten a contractor to break out and repour junk. I hope you can get them to.
nadogail
Well-known member
Amen, IMHO, you can offer to stay out of court if they will eat the whole job including the PEX and Rebar.
7 guys on site, plant is about 20-25 min away. lots of concrete being sent out that day as i noticed new roadside curbs being poured all over the neighborhood. at least 2 miles worth in a day. Might have some connections at the university do some testing on the slab. A reputable commercial coating outfit thinks they can make it look new with lots of effort but if I go that route I want to make sure the concrete under it is worth putting epoxy on or I will have to start over.
it was 4 trucks and all had the same batch I believe. Still waiting on the concrete paperwork from the factory after the third request which has me a little suspicious. Although when I returned home the colors of the concrete where wildly different and the contractor said they acted differently. Last one took an hour vs 10 min but I don't know who to believe. Im trying to stay out of court obviously but I'm not going to roll over and accept a sub par slab. Telling myself the sun will still rise tomorrow even though it has to shine on that turd of a square rock I have on my property..... Better than being -6 feet under it I guess.....
My Old Tools
Well-known member
If 90 degree days were a problem nothing would get built in Texas from April through October.
1. Who paid for the concrete?
2. Is there a written agreement anywhere as to what the scope of work would be?
I doubt they're an authority on the subject matter at hand.
Find a reputable contractor in the area and get a quote to fix it prior to paying the other guy.
2. Is there a written agreement anywhere as to what the scope of work would be?
I doubt they're an authority on the subject matter at hand.
Find a reputable contractor in the area and get a quote to fix it prior to paying the other guy.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Get it out of there while it's still green. If it sets up, it will be a ***** to remove 5K concrete.
If the contractor is state licensed and bonded, you may have some recourse there. If it's two men and a truck, you're probably screwed.
Agree w/ the others, this load went off in the truck, they were lucky they had a place to dump it.
Big question- who paid the batch plant, you or the contractor?
If the contractor is state licensed and bonded, you may have some recourse there. If it's two men and a truck, you're probably screwed.
Agree w/ the others, this load went off in the truck, they were lucky they had a place to dump it.
Big question- who paid the batch plant, you or the contractor?