Post concrete pour questions….are these defects normal?
dallasite2
| Posted in General Discussion on
I am getting a new home built; first one ever and have questions about the concrete pour. the attached pictures are from 5 days after it was poured. to my untrained eye; I see alot of defects; pits, divots, some edges that look crumbly, not formed, broken concrete; etc… I have more pics but could only post 5. is this typical/normal? any feedback would be greatly appreciated. thanks!
Replies
There's definitely a problem. Let me tell you about a bunch of homeowners who made a claim on the New Home Warranty program here in Ontario. The builder poured in the winter and thought that he'd add antifreeze to the concrete to keep it from freezing before it cured. A few years later the problems began to appear..... As I recall, all the houses had to be lifted while new foundations were poured.
I'd hire a consulting engineer to examine it, test it, and provide you with a report.--because I suspect it's going to have to be demolished and re-poured. You'll need a report to receive compensation through a lawsuit. Make sure you hire someone who specializes in concrete.--You don't want to have to pay for another report by someone who's credentials will be above reproach in court. Having a quick word with an attorney might steer you to someone with litigation experience, etc. Good luck.
thanks for the feed back.
If I were running that job it would be halted until a concrete guru or engineer comforted me. Besides the pathetic workmanship my thinking is that concrete had problems, maybe poured too wet or some other defect. Of course one can't say a lot from the pics but it looks like design flaws are inherent too. Of course there are so many unanswered questions [like I'm only guessing that's a slab on grade] and I could be off base but looks to me like you should get some one on site with a clue before any more work is done. But, I've been wrong before...
I thought the same thing about the poor workmanship. this is a slab on grade, post tension (cables have not been tensioned yet from what I can tell). thanks so much for the reply
It's a pyss poor pouring job, but probably not fatal. The workmanship certainly does not instill confidence. What one sees make one wonder what one can't see.
If this is in the jurisdiction of a city in Texas with a building department, they had to have building permit, and if so they also had to have an engineer sign off on and/or seal the foundation plan/design. If you have access to a set of plans, you might see who the engineer is and see what they say.
What does the builder say? You could contact the city building dept.
you are exactly right about not instilling confidence. it really destroys trust and makes you question everything else they do. yes they had to get permits. I am going to find out who the city inspector is. thanks.
It's sloppy, but doesn't look fatal. The cosmetic issues can be patched, and I'm assuming that the post-tension company has a warranty on their work. Also looks like the finishers didn't use a vibrator, or at least, not properly. Make the finishers come back and patch it.
thanks kyle for the feedback.
On the off chance that this is in the locale of a city in Texas with a structure office, they needed to have building grant, and if so they additionally needed to have an architect approve as well as seal the establishment plan/structure. In the event that you approach a lot of plans, you may see who the architect is and see what they state.
thanks. yes it is a city in texas.
They didn't consolidate their concrete, that's why all the honeycomb. And honeycomb means it isn't as strong. It looks like someone's first time pouring and they had no supervision. The post tensioning definitely should not be done until, like others said, an engineer can look at it. There will be a lot of work to make this acceptable if it somehow passes an inspection.
thank you. I appreciate your feedback.