Help!! New Garage Floor Cracked..

my garage was built in 96. 30x50.

no cracks.

 

Dammit to hell. I started off reading this knowing it was old...and I still dont know how it all worked out.
I did learn some things though...so it wasnt a total waste of time.

 

Thanks for not taking pictures of your toes.

 

just got the call this am that they poured my floor yesturday and worked on it til 3:00 am. it started to freeze so they went and got a heater and put on it. scared as hell right now that the top is gonna pop!!!

 

Has anyone tried sending a PM to the OP?

Perhaps he would tell the outcome in private, especially if he had been
advised to stop posting. Or, by now, he might be able to publicly
comment on the outcome.

 

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Guys
Wasn't aware this was being posted on again until I had a private message sent earlier this week


Later today, when I am back home I'll take some pictures of the floor as it looks today and recap where the project ended up with the builder.

Thanks Mike

 

.......Will be interested to see the results. Hope it didn't turn out too bad for you in the end.

 

Doesn't mean it wouldn't be here for people to read, just would stop folks from bumping threads from 1991 for a one line comment that contributes nothing to the thread. Diesel Place does that, six months inactive they lock. On here I might make an exception for threads classified "technical" -

 

they fucked my floor up 10 yrs ago, concrete will never look right, had to live with it,

 

Ok as promised....

The builder originally stated that he gauranteed his work including the garage floor. This is a key part of the story.

As you are aware the floor cracked only a day or so after being poured. It first cracked adjacent to the saw cut line that ran side to side through the middle. This crack ran from one side of the garage to the middle/center of the floor. The crack line can be see on the outside of the garage as well.

An additional cracked started in the rear center of the garage and initally only ran about 3-4 feet toward the center. As the floor continued to cure this crack lengthed and eventully quit a foot short of the first crack , in the middle of the garage. (last 2 pictures)


The cement contractor and the cement supplier first stated the issue was with the time from the first pour to the second, and felt that the crack was a result of the hardening that had occured between the two. This would explain the first crack, not the second. In truth this and the cement mix were at fault. The cement was brittle and chips at the crack.

The builder offered to cut the floor an inch above the crack and about a foot wide, then use an epoxy to fill. I rejected this as a stop gap. It was suppose to have a warranty and I wanted it replaced.

The builder at the request of the cement contractor contacted the state builders assocations lawyer and was hoping want to make this a legal claim "against me". The lawyer explained that I would have needed to file a claim first against the builder and since I had not , they being the builder, would not have a case (since the issue was thier fault). He was advised them to walk away.

We met 3 times on the issue, each about a month apart. always with a witness on my part. afterwords I made copious notes reviewing the conversation with the witness.
They offered to fill the cracks with the same exopxy product I used, this was an attempt to cover up the issue before settled. They then would have a better case is court. Did not happen.

It finally came to this:

I would pay for the cement if the floor was cut out and repoured, if not lets go to court .

Ultimately I paid for the pad poured outside the garage, 400.00. They ate the floor cost 2300.00. Nothing was finialized in writing, I wish it was. I told them not to contact me again unless they wanted to go to court, and That I was done with an additional conversations or negotitions.

Since then , I have used an epoxy crack filler on the 2 crack's and filled the floor cuts with a flexible joint filler. This cost me about 250.00 and i did the labor.

Pictures attached

 

I'm with # 5.... Our shop's addition floor was poured in 100+ temp, and by the time the bldg was finished, the surface was breaking out...Eventually, the contractor ended up cutting it out, and re pouring the entire slab. Yes, it was one of those low bid deals.........

4TTRUK

 

i worked in the hvac side of new home construction until the housing boom nosedived. i've seen upwards of 1500 homes built in the time span i worked the field. pours made around the year in weather similiar to wisconsin conditions. some of those homes had pex installed. i've never seen or heard of any instances of cracking. the guys that the 3 or 4 builders we dealt with must have been good.
but to say it's only a garage floor, get over it. what percentage does the concrete come to in the total cost of the garage? that's like buying a new car and having the dealer say, fuck man, it's only the engine, get over it and move on.

 

Thanks for the update, and thanks for all the ones who chimed in with expert advice. Sorry it turned out bad for you.

 

Here's a couple things I should have pointed out in the overview...

I did not hire the cement contractor I hired the building contractor, the issue should have been between these to parties to settle. The Building contractor said I would not pay for this mess either, and this statement was what drove us to the resolution.

I did not take the low bid on the job.

A few nights before the floor was poured I called the contractor and asked what type of metal reinforecment was being used , wire mesh or rebar. A lengthy conversation concluded with the statement I've built garages and buildings for...and I know what I am doing. we won't need it.

The night before the pour after everything was in place I checked the pour thickness the across the form at multiple points. it ranged from 3 to 4 inches with the average about 3 1/2 inces . The formwas raised at my request an inch. I have since learned that this was still to thin. with the pex it should have measured 6 inches.

The afternnon of the pour and while the cement contractor was still thier, the cement started to heave. The temp was 96, nothing was done to cool the cement and by the time I got home the damage was done.

Floors with pex should not be saw cut. Temp extremes "cold and hot" should not occur as you are heating the floor. The cuts allow for a potential failure of the pex.

To be clear I am not out to take advantage of anyone, but this was clearly a case of incompetence.

 

Probably did cure too fast,however there are only two kinds of concrete,

Cracked or going to Crack !!!!!! As long the whole top doesn't spall off,

the coating will be fine.

 

We don,t even pour sidewalks 3 1/2 inches thin, shop or garage
should be MINIMUM 6 inches !!!!!

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong but saw cutting a floor is to control cracking by forcing the floor to crack ( from shrinkage ) where it is saw-cut. The saw cut reduces the thickness and strength at that point forcing ( with some luck ) the floor to crack there. Forget rebar keeping a floor from cracking . Unless it is pre-tensioned like in precast structural parts , its there basically to keep the pieces in place after they crack. The key to keeping cracks to a minimum is a long slow cure. The slab should be sealed as soon as possible to keep the water in it as log as possible . An outside pour should be sprayed with water for several days to keep the surface cool,and in some cases burlap is placed over the wetted surface to slow the evaporation of the water. Concrete with too much water in the mix is just asking for excessive shrinkage and cracking. Contractors like to water down the mix if they can get away with it since the wetter it is , the easier it flows. Always make the contractor do a slump test for each truck load , and don't let them add water.

 

well guys I put three guarentees on all the slabs i pour, I'm a cheapo, I do all my own. 1.) it will get hard, 2.) It will crack, and 3.) no one will steal it!

Fenderless

 

I have heat in the floor and several other floors in my area have the same. The saw cuts will not cause a problem. The floor will crack somewhere and the cuts are to control them. The rebar is in the floor to keep things from moving too much which will help prevent the pex tubing from failing.

Neal

 

The floor heat works GREAT!!! the Garage stays a constant temp, around 57 degrees all winter.

Thanks

 

For Gods sakes we have been Beating this dead Horse for over a year now. every ones a pro. Please tell me the Garage is up and done and the floor looks like all the outher Garage floors out there