Concrete Driveway Help

Bought a newly built house (we closed in June), driveway was poured a few months before, so around 6 months old. We are seeing cracks running the length of the slabs, enough so that you can see little bits of the concrete starting to chip out. The builder is telling us this is normal due to expansion and contracting etc, and that we (the homeowner) should seal it with a concrete caulk.
Is this something that should be expected as they say? Or should I be pushing back on them that something is wrong and they need to deal with it. (we do have a warranty with the builder, but of course this is a driveway and nothing load bearing so its not technically covered under the warranty according to them).

 

Been pouring concrete for 40 years. There's two types, the kind that has already cracked and the kind that's going to crack. Yes, the correct answer could fill an Encylopedia Britannica volume but the short one is that concrete cracks. The only thing that slows that effect is excellent preparation.

 

3 guarantees of concrete:

1. It will get hard
2. It will crack
3. No one will steal it

Is it saw cut? Are the cracks in the saw cuts or elsewhere?

 

I bet it’s poured thin.

 

or without a proper foundation. I was surprised to see the contractor across the street from me pour a driveway without a gravel foundation.

 

Look at them and ask them if a car presents no load when its on the driveway. I'll wait for the dumbfounded dumbass look to go away from their faces. But the short answer is concrete cracks. However if done properly that cracking should be along either troweled or saw cut joints. If it is cracking outside of those there are a number of reasons it could happen.

1. Poor site prep. A slab poured on soil that doesn't drain well will fail if a drainage bed of rock isn't put down first. Loose poorly compacted soil will move and cause failure.
2. Lack of enough expansion joints.
3. Poorly controlled mixture.
4. Poorly controlled setting conditions IE - Freezing. Likely not an issue in your area and usually results in flaking of the skim layer on top. It'll flake off like pie crust and expose the aggregate underneath.

If the cracked section is not moving/sinking then it is likely just a lack of enough expansion joints and that's really nothing to worry about. If the slab on one side of the crack sinks then you have a problem underneath and it needs to be pulled out and poured again.

On a less than year old home that is a shitty response from the builder.

 

Yeah that'll do it as well.

 

refer to ACI 318...lol

 

Amazes me home builders could add a few bucks worth of steel and $15/yd for higher strength mud...but nope. Same with insulators... @Sabre699 says... its a screw job!!

 

I friend of mine is a concrete contractor:

Their warranty covers only Theft & Fire.

 

I understand that concrete cracks inevitably, but I would expect better performance after 6 months. Maybe I'm just wrong.
The driveway is broken down into like 10x20 sections, with pieces of wood between them. The cracks run essentially dead center down the middle of multiple sections in a row.
Again, if this is normal so be it, but we've had nothing but problems with this builder and their shit ass subs.

 

After 6 months I wouldn't be happy about that.

 

I'd want to know if they poured fibermesh or used any welded wire mesh at the least in it. From the looks of it I'd say neither.



My guess would be they did a shitty prep job, there is little to no compaction of dense grade under it and they poured 3000psi concrete. Choose one or all three.

 

You are probably correct.

 

Properly mixed (correct water to cement ratio) concrete, placed on a properly prepared subgrade, with proper reinforcement, finished and sawed in a timely manner, will only crack where you want it to.

 

Go to the home sales office and leave an upper decker.

 

On a less than year old home that is a shitty response from the builder.

^^^yep^^^

That would really bug me.
As mentioned earlier, could be from poor prep at grading, loose/too wet mix, no wire mesh, poured thin, not enough control/expansion joints...

 

A warranty is a contract
Ask the builder to point out the clause that either excludes the driveway, or doesn't include it

Does your state license contractors?
You may consider his bond

 

It'a a very poorly done job !
Just got a wack load of ciment work done in my back yard (pool surroundinds, deck, drive-way) and no cracks outside the saw cuts.
Fight them