Concrete Shaling

[KabNam]

I have a 7 month old new concrete driveway that has started shaling something terrible. No salt has been applied to this drive and I thought I have babied it for all its worth. Any ideas as to what would cause the shaling?

[sparcebag]

By shaling do you mean thin flakes comming off the surface?? If so I'd guess a poor finish from installer,I dont know of anything to do to help ya.

[KabNam]

Yes thin flakes are peeling up right in the middle of the driveway and the aggregate is exposed underneath. $3500 7 month old concrete looks like its 15 years old now.

[boatfixer]

Like Sparcebag said, poor finishing. It was either wiped with a steel trowel, or the other cause would be too much water. By that I mean when the mud was laid down. I'm assuming you had a contractor do this. Lazy or bullheaded contractors often will have the mud loosened up, after all, a 6 or 7 inch slump is easier to lay than a 4 inch slump. problem is, poor concrete performance is the result.

[KabNam]

Thank you for the responses. Yes I did hire a reputable contractor to do the work and they will be hearing from me soon! Hopefully they will live up to their end of the deal.

[boatfixer]

Well, let me warn you. They are going to blame the redi mix company first. "must have been bad mud" they'll say. Were you around when it was poured? can you remember any details? If they do go to the redimix co., They are going to pull up the slips from the pour, and look to see if water was added at the site. Hopefully the driver recorded added water as well as the slump at the time of the pour. This type of situation usually turns into alot of finger pointing, so good luck.

[Powerstroke]

What you are reffering to is called spalling. I would definitely give them a call and demand a repair. Of course there should be a warrenty, if not there is always the Better Business Bureau and small claims court.

[RipJigger]

Boatfixer hit the nail on the head,surface scaling is almost always caused by excessive water added by the contracter.They will always say it's the Redi Mix company's fault but usually it's not.What kind of finish did they put on it?If it was a broom finish I can almost guarentee that they used a steel fresno trowel before they broomed it,which is a big no no.Steel on exterior concrete is not recommended because it creates microscopic tears in the surface letting the elements go to work on it.But my guess is that excessive water was used when it was poured.Another neat contractor trick is sprinkeling water on the top to make it finish eaiser another big no no.

[maros91]

I have done concrete work for 10 years and you should never use steel on outside projects. Will cause the concrete to peel or flake off as mentioned above. Adding water causes the concrete to lose its strength and also helps in the flaking process. In the 10 years I have worked for my company we have tore out only one driveway and that was cause the neighbor kid rhode is bike on the slab after we left. However there are times when the ready mix driver does bring the concrete out to wet. Usually happens when it is a rookie driver. I agree with the above post that there will be alot of finger pointing but the problem was probably steel finish or added water.