NOT HAPPY!! See photos in photo section, the entire driveway is doing this. Skips Construction installed a driveway for me Aug 2010. The old one (25+ yrs) was torn out. The owner, Skip Whitaker, recommended NOT sealing the driveway, which seems incorrect based on other concrete contractors I have since spoken to. End of Jan 2011 we noticed the concrete was pitting/flaking. I contacted Skip & he said it was from salt coming off of our vehicles. Go to the bottom of review, send me an Email and I can send pictures of how awful my driveway looks.
At Skip's request to get the ready mix quality control rep's opinion. His opinion "One concern is there is still a lot of moisture in this driveway, & there should not be this much moisture, which tells me this driveway has a sealed surface." What he meant by sealed surface is that in the finishing process there is a cementitious top layer, allowing water to penetrate. He pointed out several areas & said what it told him was the concrete was setting fast the day it was poured b/c the surface had to be scrubbed, & whenever the concrete sets like that it crusts over & there isnt a good bond between the top layer & the body of the concrete. He indicated freeze/thaw cycle aggravates & exaggerates a bad finishing job 10 fold. It rained the morning he came out, he said a few times we shouldnt have this much moisture in the drive & it was not breathing right & if it still has this much moisture it will bust the top off. Looking at other areas of the driveway he said it was a diluted surface b/c you can see sand, which happens when water is added during the finishing process, diluting the cement. Based on the conversation with the ready mix rep, my opinion is, it wasnt finished properly.
Ive contacted Skip many times & he said he would resurface the drive but said it would continue to flake therefore, he would NOT guarantee it. He also disputed the ready mix rep's opinion. Instead, Skip speculated I must have "severe moisture issues" & this must have caused both the driveway to flake & the foundation of the house to settle. Its true we recently had the foundation shored up, but that was after 20+ years of settling & the engineering company who worked on the structure of my house said the settlement was NOT caused by moisture issues but soil I do NOT have moisture issues, if I did, Im sure my basement would leak & ruin the laminate floor. All the rain we've had in the past 2 weeks - NO moisture issues.
Skip said he has done research & my probs are related to salt/brine chemical solutions put on roads during snow/ice. I called Ky State Road dept & she told me they do use a salt solution & calcium chloride, her opinion was my driveway should NOT be deteriorating this fast. This makes sense, otherwise you'd have to expect the salt to destroy the public roads at a ridiculous pace. I also called my county's road dept & spoke w/ a man who used to do concrete & he told me my driveway shouldnt be deteriorating this fast & it sounded as if my driveway was not installed properly.
I didnt want to write a bad review but its my duty as a consumer to warn others. I believe I recvd a bad concrete job. Skip insists its the de-icing chemicals from the roads falling off the vehicles, so if thats the case, why have a concrete drive installed, b/c if its deicing chemicals then ur driveway will look like mine 6 mos after its installed. I drive on my driveway & its inconceivable to think in 20 degree weather I'd spray underneath my vehicles then spray off my drive. I can take my finger & remove CHUNKS. The entire drive is doing this & will end up looking like a gravel drive, which I believe is ENTIRELY the result of shoddy work. I wont use him again or recommend him & I hope this msg helps others avoid wasting money. I had a back patio poured & it looks good, but Im not driving on it. Email me at uglydriveway@yahoo.com and I'll send pictures so you can make ur own decision. read more