My poor new floor

[Rundeep_32]

I am so upset. This is a 2 inch by 6 inch section of my 7 month old garage floor. The floor wasn’t even parked on for about 6 months since initial pour. I started noticing chipping here and there on the “burnt” finish (I think that is what its called), but not until I parked my Ram 1500 in there did I notice this chipping from under the front tire. It looks like I can just pick up the pieces. I don’t like the way the concrete looks under the floor either.

What can I do? Am I looking at a total cluster? I can’t remember who did the pour (it was subbed by the GC, but he walked off the job!!!!).

Thanks for any advice, Ed

 

[ConCretin]

You have a classic case of de-lamination. It usually occurs when the surface is sealed up with steel trowel blades before air and bleed water have migrated to the surface. The air and water get trapped under the surface where they pool and create a void that separates the surface from the concrete below. De-lamination usually occurs in hot and/or windy weather and is much worse in air entrained concrete.

The de-laminated areas pretty much just sit there until something like a truck tire break them loose. If you look at the concrete and the underside of the broken pieces, you'll see that it didn't break loose. They were never fully connected.

To determine the extent of the problem, drag a chain across the surface. You'll note a distinct change in tone as it passes over de-laminted sections.

The good news is that it's not a structural or progressive problem but it's going to be difficult to patch in a way that's not noticeable. Ardex has some products that come pretty close in color.

The other option would be to level up the delaminated sections with epoxy then over coat the entire floor. We've done this in parking garages with excellent results - just make sure you find all the de-laminated areas of the epoxy might come up.

Sorry you're having to deal with this

 

[Rundeep_32]

Thank you very much for the response. That makes sense. I’m glad to hear it’s probably not a structural issue, but man, it’s ugly. I found out who did the pour today and have called them for help. Hopefully they will make it right. BTW, my Mom is from Waterville… but they had a dirt floor in their garage!! Thanks again. Ed

 

[BearCuda]

Man, that *****. I'd be ticked.

 

[Rundeep_32]

I am. The garage was the one portion of the overall addition that I had control over with the wife. I planned it to a T. Never thought this would be a problem. Saddest part about all this is the old slab that was in the new garage’s spot was over 60 years old and didn’t have 1 crack in it, never mind this flaking issue. What’s that saying about how they don’t make things like the used to??

 

[LXCam]

I'd ask the contractor how he intends on dealing with this. If he is washing his hands of it, would suggest you contact your states contractor board as well as his bonding company. Between those two entities you should see a fairly quick response from the contractor. Gl!

 

[Rundeep_32]

I'd ask the contractor how he intends on dealing with this. If he is washing his hands of it, would suggest you contact your states contractor board as well as his bonding company. Between those two entities you should see a fairly quick response from the contractor. Gl!

That’s great advice and I would - however - the GC walked off the job in June and left us hanging with lots of $$ in his favor. Good news is he now has 2 charges of felony larceny against him and if he doesn’t make us whole he’s going to jail. Bad news is he’s filed for bankruptcy with a full compliment of creditors and has nothing to repay us with. Husband and father of 2 daughters. Best liar I’ve ever met.

 

[Paultergeist]

.....the GC walked off the job in June and left us hanging with lots of $$ in his favor. Good news is he now has 2 charges of felony larceny against him and if he doesn’t make us whole he’s going to jail. Bad news is he’s filed for bankruptcy with a full compliment of creditors and has nothing to repay us with........

Wow......funny.......and sad........and far, far, too common. A lot of the GCs in my neck of the woods are notorious for changing their business names pretty frequently, this being done in an effort to make themselves harder to go after in construction defect claims.

I am curious about the felony larceny charges. Most of the issues I am familiar with along this vein get referred to "civil court," meaning lawyers and lawsuits -- but rarely were criminal charges filed. It seems there is not a "criminally incompetent" definition...? I would think that if larceny charges were brought, there must have been a clear intent to defraud, as in: take a whole bunch of cash up-front and then skip town?

 

[Rundeep_32]

Wow......funny.......and sad........and far, far, too common. A lot of the GCs in my neck of the woods are notorious for changing their business names pretty frequently, this being done in an effort to make themselves harder to go after in construction defect claims.

I am curious about the felony larceny charges. Most of the issues I am familiar with along this vein get referred to "civil court," meaning lawyers and lawsuits -- but rarely were criminal charges filed. It seems there is not a "criminally incompetent" definition...? I would think that if larceny charges were brought, there must have been a clear intent to defraud, as in: take a whole bunch of cash up-front and then skip town?

Skip town = exactly what happened. The GC cashed the last 2 checks that were written to him to buy interior finish materials that never showed up. He basically took the checks and took off to another job in another town. Fortunately, I had written the invoice numbers on the checks and kept the invoices for a direct audit trail.