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You're worried about a puddle? Ha! Wait until cracks appear in your pour! (Yes, it'll crack eventually.) If it bother you that much, then pay to have it ripped up and disposed of, then pour it again. It may be WORSE the 2nd go 'round, though.
Now, to fix it~ Hire someone to install an aggregate glued to the top of your driveway. That'll hide the pooling and future cracks, that you're GONNA get.
I will ask the contractor about this when we talk. Thanks for the idea. And yes, I'm well aware that concrete is going to crack. It's not as though I never had a driveway before. They just never had bird baths in them. Cracking is not my concern at the moment.
No, I'm not interested in ripping it up and repouring. I'm really trying to not let the puddles bother me. I'm sure in time, they won't. I'm going to be talking to a seal coat guy this week, and see what he can offer.
Last edited by BijouBaby; 11-22-2020 at 09:42 PM..
There is a one year warranty on the work. Will see if this is covered. Really though, I know there's nothing short of doing it over that can be done. But who knows - he may have some ideas. Frankly, at this point I'm tired of thinking about it and tired of being upset about it. It is what it is...
This is straight from the Residential Construction Performance Guidelines published by the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders).
Observation: Water collects or ponds on the sidewalk and/or driveway. Performance Guideline: Standing water that is 3/8 inch deep on a
sidewalk or driveway 24 hours after the end of a rain is considered excessive.
Corrective Measure: The contractor will repair or replace the affected area to meet the performance guideline.
Discussion: The repaired area may not match the existing area in color and texture.
As quite noticeable- (after 24hrs of rain ceasing) “repair or replace”. How far do you want to go?
What I'm seeking is advise or ideas about remedies for this situation, other than replacing it which I'm not willing to do. Advise from people who know about concrete. Wanted to go into the conversation with the contractor knowing some potential options.
Or is my best option to just try to ignore it and move on. Don't really know how to think about it. Do I like it? NO. Maybe I expected too much.
There is no repair or remedy option that would blend with the uniform surface appearance that you already have and attempting to put some sort of finish over the entire surface would be prone to delaminate or wear unevenly over time and show.
As KBldr posted, 3/8 inch puddles that do not last 24 hours are within accepted tolerances.
There is no repair or remedy option that would blend with the uniform surface appearance that you already have and attempting to put some sort of finish over the entire surface would be prone to delaminate or wear unevenly over time and show.
As KBldr posted, 3/8 inch puddles that do not last 24 hours are within accepted tolerances.
Last question - do you think it will help at all to do a simple seal coat on the driveway? Or is this just a decorative thing?
It seems to me that a seal coat would protect the surface of the driveway, as well as enhance it's appearance. I wouldn't add aggregate to try to fill the dips.
I would probably do as my other neighbors on the street - add a tan tint to to the seal coat to match the existing seal coat on my walkway and garage floor.
This is straight from the Residential Construction Performance Guidelines published by the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders).
Observation: Water collects or ponds on the sidewalk and/or driveway. Performance Guideline: Standing water that is 3/8 inch deep on a
sidewalk or driveway 24 hours after the end of a rain is considered excessive.
Corrective Measure: The contractor will repair or replace the affected area to meet the performance guideline.
Discussion: The repaired area may not match the existing area in color and texture.
As quite noticeable- (after 24hrs of rain ceasing) “repair or replace”. How far do you want to go?
K'ledgeBldr - would you please send a link for this citation in the NAHB Guidelines?
I found a link to the NAHB Guidelines, but it doesn't contain your citation. It looks like it's not published free anywhere?
And do these guidelines apply to after-build contractors, like this concrete contractor I'm dealing with?
Last edited by BijouBaby; 11-23-2020 at 08:53 AM..
A: The American Concrete Institute (ACI) website www.concrete.org provides a lot of valuable information on concrete technology and describes superflat floors as follows:
ACI 302.1R-04, “Guide for Concrete Floor and Slab Construction,” defines several classes of floors based on their intended use and the suggested method used for final finishing. Class 9 floors are superflat and require critical surface tolerances.
Defined-traffic superflat floors must support vehicular traffic along paths defined before construction and don’t change during the floor’s life. Narrow aisle distribution centers with high racking systems fall into this category.
Random-traffic superflat floors should support traffic in all directions. They are typically required for gymnasiums, ice rinks, warehouses where air-pallets are used, and television or movie studios where camera dollies must operate.
Superflat floors generally exhibit FF and FL numbers above 50 in the direction of travel. They require specialized construction methods, and cost more to build than floors in standard warehouses, lightly trafficked industrial buildings, or commercial office buildings.
Think of warehouses where specialty forklifts store/retrieve heavy items such as newsprint rolls for a printing press from very, very tall stacks - if the floor isn't level, the forklift could tip over.
Contractors have special equipment to achieve that level of flatness - a laser screed.
Laser Screeds are self-propelled four wheel drive, four wheel steer units. It has a 20' telescoping boom with a 12' wide placement head. The screed head itself consists of 3 parts: the plow, the auger, and the vibrator. The plow disperses the concrete evenly, the auger removes the excess material to finished grade, and the vibrator smoothes the surface.The screed has an on board computer system. This system is able to determine the correct elevation height and provide commands for to the head for elevation control.
The machine's automatic laser control system ensures an accurate level finish through the use of electro-hydraulic controls. Laser receivers mounted at each end of the screed head receive a signal from a transmitter multiple times per second providing totally automatic control to finished floor level. A single laser transmitter controls up to 1000 ft enabling the screeds to work to a tolerance of 1/8th of an inch or better.
Concrete is discharged in strips to match the size of the machine approximately 1" higher than final grade. The Laser Screed moves into position and the telescopic boom extended over the discharged concrete. The screeding/compacting head is then lowered to the grade established by the laser-level transmitter. Retraction of the boom causes the screed head to be drawn across the fresh concrete which is leveled and compacted in a single pass.
If you decide to have the driveway pulled & replaced, it might make sense for you to pay for the contractor to rent a laser screed (see link above) to achieve the result you desire. I do not know enough to know if such equipment can be used on something as small as a driveway - but perhaps it can.
You certainly can seal the driveway - but note that can make it slippery when wet. Consider adding a friction enhancer to the sealer - something such as https://www.sherwin-williams.com/hom...stant-additive Shark Grip. It is the consistency of talcum powder. Note you will need to re-seal every few years, depending on the product you specify. Some sealers are good for a single year; others are good for 5 or more.
How much rainfall do you get annually?
Last edited by RationalExpectations; 11-23-2020 at 09:05 AM..
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