Case Study - Cracked Driveway

In February 2017 an inspection was requested to review the cracking in the concrete driveway of a property. At the time of the inspection it was raining which made the assessment challenging but achievable.

The home was new and the main driveway was only 14 months old. Dimensions were approximately 5360mm x 5770mm with a fall of approximately 750mm from the garage floor level to the grate drain.

The driveway is a coloured concrete with a coved finished. From observation, there were no expansion/control joints in the driveway resulting in various cracks in the driveway. Sizes of the cracks are as follows:-

1500mm long and 1.5mm wide at largest point

5600m long (full width of driveway) and 1.0mm wide at largest point

2500mm long and 7.0mm wide at largest point

As the home is under 6 years old, it still falls under the builder’s statutory warranty and remains the responsibility of the builder to make repairs to the satisfaction of the client.

Cracks occurred due to the omission of control joints in the driveway. These should be in at maximum 3m centres.

Solution:

Rectification suggested by the builder and approved by SJN was to grind cracks and clean to a uniform finish. Cut in control joint as required with grinder and apply Ardex crack injection repair formula. Finish things off by re-sealing the driveway with coloured sealer for a uniform finish.

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