Concrete pour issue

[Walkers]

I just had concrete poured for a room addition and guest house I am building on my property. In general the concrete came out decent. The only real issue is that on my guest house they put tooled grooved joints in it and it was supposed to be saw cut. The reason for the saw cut is that we were planning on finishing the concrete as our finished floor. This was discussed with the contractor beforehand. In the end I am likely to have to put down flooring instead of finishing the concrete, as I cant see a method of repairing it that is not going to look like ****.
So the question is, how would you handle it. The contractor is one I work with frequently on jobsites, we are friendly, and I am not interested in a lawsuit. I am looking for some different perspectives before we talk about the final bill.

Thanks

 

[racecougar]

What was on the written contract?

 

[readhead]

We’re you present during the pour?

 

[jack stand]

I wonder about "dressing" these joints up to look decorative and intentional.
It's going to involve some grinding for a flush finish but I am thinking a strip of decorative tile or a narrow strip of stained wood.
Definitely a "make lemonade" situation.
We have a bare concrete floor and I'll warn you that concrete is easily stained even without being in a garage. It's now covered with a laminate fake wood flooring.

 

[kyrbz]

Couldn’t the whole floor be polished (ground) down to give you a smooth floor. I had concrete guys bungle the finish on a floor and I rented a floor polisher with a diamabrush attachment and did a light skim grind to remove finish and some other imperfections in the pour.

 

[jack stand]

I've seen examples of borders or geometric designs with accent colors in stained concrete floors.

 

[ConCretin]

Is it the width of the joint that is the issue? I hope he smoothed out the tool marks..... Pics would be helpful

 

[Walkers]

What was on the written contract?

It doesnt indicate.

We’re you present during the pour?

I was there at the beginning but had my own jobs to do, so was gone at the end

I wonder about "dressing" these joints up to look decorative and intentional.
It's going to involve some grinding for a flush finish but I am thinking a strip of decorative tile or a narrow strip of stained wood.
Definitely a "make lemonade" situation.
We have a bare concrete floor and I'll warn you that concrete is easily stained even without being in a garage. It's now covered with a laminate fake wood flooring.

I have been mulling solutions. I was planning on acid staining with leaves a clear coat on it. I will ponder on inserting something...

Couldn’t the whole floor be polished (ground) down to give you a smooth floor. I had concrete guys bungle the finish on a floor and I rented a floor polisher with a diamabrush attachment and did a light skim grind to remove finish and some other imperfections in the pour.

I am pondering that, but would need to fill the 5/8" deep grooves with something.

I've seen examples of borders or geometric designs with accent colors in stained concrete floors.

Looking for designs...

Is it the width of the joint that is the issue? I hope he smoothed out the tool marks..... Pics would be helpful

the tool marks and finish are decent, I'll try to get a few pictures later. The depth and width of them are just a nuisance for an indoor floor. If I filled them with concrete and cut them now I suspect that it would be a lifetime of patching them up.

 

[Kpaige]

So it’s not in writing that becomes a sticking point. My thought is saw cut leaves a sharp edge that also can chip and to me that would not look great. But I understand the tooled marks are also not desirable. I would do a light grinding enough to show a little aggregate then seal it that will give the joints a rounded edge and the rest will look very nice in my opinion.

 

[The Cobbler]

an easy mistake on both parts . you should have had a spec sheet , and he should have remembered the discussion . but, is it a big deal to change your plans and lay down flooring?
also saw cuts would have needed to be filled too, wouldn't they ?

need to fill the 5/8" deep grooves with something.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I'd prefer tooled over saw cut. The tooled grooves should be all the way to the wall. saw cuts usually stop 8-10 inches short of the ends.
There are options for filling them.

 

[AC-WC]

Here's a thought-tell him it's not what you were expecting and how can 'we' work this out to get what I was needing. Maybe you rent a floor grinder and he does the labor? Since you seem to work well together and it sounds like it's something that can and should be resolved amicably.

 

[jshillin]

If you're friendly with him, then be a friend. Go talk to him and say that you didn't plan on covering the floor, but don't know what the do with the joints that he left.

If I really wanted to leave it bare, I'd find something that could fill the joints and keep it flush, like many some type of narrow tile. I'm not sure how well that would work because I haven't tried it, but it's where my mind goes for a middle ground solution.

 

[Youngandfree]

I would do your acid etch and just fill the joints with appropriate joint filler. If it's a guest room/house, you're not going to be looking at it everyday

 

[Walkers]

If you're friendly with him, then be a friend. Go talk to him and say that you didn't plan on covering the floor, but don't know what the do with the joints that he left.

If I really wanted to leave it bare, I'd find something that could fill the joints and keep it flush, like many some type of narrow tile. I'm not sure how well that would work because I haven't tried it, but it's where my mind goes for a middle ground solution.

Yeah, I just wanted some ideas/thoughts on it, so that I could get my own thoughts together before I did that.

 

[racecougar]

Something else to discuss with the contractor is the use of written contracts going forward to avoid issues like this in the future. That will make it so that the contractor or crew has written details of exactly what the job entails. It should be pretty easy to sell him/her on it after pointing out this discrepancy.

 

[Walkers]

Something else to discuss with the contractor is the use of written contracts going forward to avoid issues like this in the future. That will make it so that the contractor or crew has written details of exactly what the job entails. It should be pretty easy to sell him/her on it after pointing out this discrepancy.

He and I are both subcontractors for a group of the same architects. This job is pretty minor, apparently minor enough that I couldn't even get calls returned from any other concrete contractor, 700sq ft on the guest house and 400sq ft on the addition. It was not a very formal agreement. I probably should have stayed here for the duration. Mistakes were made, but nothing insurmountable.

 

[KansasArt]

Since you and the concrete guy have a good working relationship I would do as someone else mentioned, just say I was planning on doing such & such. But the groves prevent that. What should I do? Let him offer alternatives. It sounds like you guys are too close to let this come between you. Especially if your and his contracts with others are dependent on a good working relationship. Probably not worth a few hundred bucks for you to fix vs thousands in missed contracts later.

 

[Max78]

Have him install flooring of your choice at cost? Or is this just a concrete guy?

Otherwise ask him to provide solutions.

 

[ZRX61]

Maybe finish as you intended, then put some contrasting grout in the cuts?

 

[Spencer Was Here]

Since you admit you were present at the beginning of the work I really don't think you have much to complain about.

If saw-cut control joints were that important to you, speaking directly to the guys performing the work would have been the most foolproof way to ensure you get what you wanted.

Expecting the main GC or even the actual concrete sub to remember what you wanted based on a conversation in the past is not a recipe for sucess.

 

[rayra]

Seems the OP made the major errors, lack of communication and making his desires and expectation plain. The guy that did the work doesn't owe you anything.
Time for the OP to alter his flooring plans. A 400'sq room shouldn't be a make or break on the budget.

There's no good way to fill those grooves that won't be obvious in a staining job.

You could try skim coating the entire thing with self-leveling mix, but I personally wouldn't attempt it or take the job on for someone else. Too many potential downsides.

OP also didn't say anything about the adjacent floor level, doorway thresholds or transitions at play. If he even has the vertical room to skim coat the addition.