Cracked Concrete

[RICH50]

What is the name of your state?new york
i had a concrete floating pad poured in late october 2002. it is now cracking all over the place. my question is: who should i contact first? the contractor or the concrete company? or should i get 3rd party testing done.

 

[VeronicaGia]

The first thing you should do is read the contract you signed when you had it installed. See what their warranty or guarantee is and take it from there. If they guarantee their work, you should contact them immediately, preferably in writing.

 

[JETX]

I agree with Veronica that you need to read the contract to see what rights you might have.

I suggest you contact the contractor that you hired to do the job and see what they might consider doing. At this point, that is the only person who has a contractual obligation to you.

However, if you decide that a lawsuit is necessary, t is very important that you determine the facts on these 'cracks'. As concrete cures, it is very common to get surface cracks... even a number of them. The key is whether they are of sufficient depth and width so as to cause a weakening of the concrete and affects its load-bearing ability. To do this, you will very likely need to hire an expert (civil engineer) to evaluate the cracks and to render an opinion on them.

 

[HomeGuru]

In addition, you should have a meeting with the contractor, project architect and structural engineer to inspect the slab and provide their comments.
Depending upon the type of project you have ie. residential single family, residential multi-family, commercial/industrial etc. and the size 50 cy vs. 5000 cy., the plans and specs should have called for a certain concrete mix and psi range. On large projects, there should have been an ACI requirement for slump tests and 28 day compaction tests by an independent third party concrete testing company.
The structural engineer should have verified that the soil engineer tested the soil via compaction tests, and the structual engineer should have inspected the reinforcing steel placement and form work prior to the concrete pour. Other factors may be involved such as the incorrect placement or non-existent construction/expansion joints, improper concrete placement/coverage etc.