I own a home (in Katy) that is about 11 years old. It turns out the builder did not put any rebar in the driveways at all. As a result, many of the driveways on my street have begun to crack and/or sink. Mine has been messed up since I bought the house 7 years ago (as have most of the other driveways on my street). Well, the fascists at the HOA have decided that this cannot continue and have written over half the homeowners on my street letters calling for the repair of the driveways. My question is if there are any codes regarding the construction of driveways that might require rebar, meaning I can then go back to the builder and demand they repair the thing? Given other expenditures I would like to make around my house, I would prefer not to have to make this one myself.

Depends on if you are in the County or an incorporated area. I'm not familiar with whether or not that area requires use of the International Building Code, but you might want to check.

Best case scenario you could have a civil action against the builder (if they are still around), and worst case is you have to rebuild it on your own. If you have to do that, you should coordinate with your neighbors to get the same contractor to do as many as possible at the same time. It will save you $$.

edit: typos.

[This message has been edited by Ryan the Temp (edited 5/24/2011 9:35a).]

I agree with Ryan. We ran into this in a neighborhood in San Antonio. The neighbors pooled together and got a steal on their driveways because of the amount of work in one area.

Cinco?

I 2nd or 3rd or whatever the previous posts.

regardless of what the codes might be or not, I can't imagine why the sheet for brains builder didn't put re steel in there. This isn't some new invention in the last 11 years...

But, if there are codes, i'd nail him. If not, see if one of the neighbors is in construction and might have some contacts and could also help everyone by acting as the prime contractor to coordinate everything for the neighborhood. You'll likely have to get permits, find someone to demo and haul-off, minor site work, and of course form/pour/finish the concrete. Undoubtedly there will be someone who wants a bigger or smaller drive than they have now, or question how much they are paying b/c so-and-so has a driveway that is 1 foot longer than theirs, so why should they pay the same....

Deferring to Sass, I'm guessing that best case scenario is looking kind of slim.

Just curious, why did you wait so long? fwiw, 7 years isn't a long time - I get calls from people complaining about stuff that happened 15-20 years ago.

Flatwork code is covered by local municipalities. Rarely ever will you find rebar in flatwork that is located outside the city easement, especially if it is only rated for light traffic. The industry standard is wire mesh. I would suspect that your approach has ample rebar in it.

The issue here is unlikely to be with the concrete, but rather with the soil. Unless the wire mesh wasn't properly lifted into the mix, it doesn't appear that your builder did anything wrong. They might not have used Best Practices, but it's not wrong.

Remember, there are only two types of concrete: that which IS cracked, and that which WILL crack.

Yes, it is Cinco. I waited until now, because this is simply not a priority for me. It is an aesthetic thing and and not much of one at that. However, now that the hoa fascists have gotten it on their radar screen, I will likely be getting a letter from a law firm in short order. The real annoyance is that these driveways have been like this for a long time and no one has said anything. Now suddenly it's an issue.

Based on the information I have from people that were living here when these driveways were poured and from the rubble of one of the driveways that was repaired, it appears that there is no rebar or wire mesh present, merely straight concrete.

Pager, if there's no wire in the driveway, I would mobilize your community and go after them. There's strength in numbers. However, I would do some investigative work before you do so. There's always that outside chance that they only missed the wire in one driveway, not all of them. You and your neighbors could probably hire someone to do some random saw cutting for you at about $40 each. That's certainly money I'd be willing to pay if it could possibly result in a free driveway. If you're being forced to make the repairs anyway, the saw cutting shouldn't be a big deal. Just have them saw cut right along a control joint so all you have to do is fill in with some joint sealant.

^
Doesnt matter. The SOL is up and thus they are **** outta luck.

Do you mind me asking which builder (or give me a hint)?

The builder was Lennar. It was one of their subs cutting corners.

Lennar is still is business and doesn't need bad publicity, especially with the economy the way it is. Draft a letter stating the issues & get all of your neighborhood to sign it. Send multiple copies certified mail to the folks at Lennar. This should sufficiently rattle their cages enough to take some action.

They may not 100% take care of you given the time since the original install, but they may get one of their current subs to give you a rock-bottom deal.

Good luck.

you arent the original home owner and the SOL has expired. They are going to laugh at you and tell you to enjoy wasting your money.

Does it contain Fiber in lieu of steel? A lot of Contractors are going to this for time and labor reasons...and if it is "pot holing", it is not the concrete it is a bad subgrade. (Clay + Water = S**t)

Major old bump...but with purpose!

Pagerman, you mind letting me know what the final resolution was? My lovely HOA just sent me a letter that my driveway is a problem. It's a 50 year old home in west Houston a the majority of the driveways (roads too for that matter) are crap in the neighborhood. No idea why the HOA decided that the driveway is a problem now, been living here 2 years.

Still think you need some steel in combustion with fiber

Back in the 80s. Concrete contractors would lay the wire and after inspection before the pour would move it to the next driveway

I did not actually experience this in cs but have been told many times by concrete suppliers and concrete subs this was a common occurence

Unfortunately, lots of production guys don't do any steel or wire mesh unless required by governing body. As stated if it has tie in to the street, you will most likely find steel there, however other areas not so much. It is done specifically for cost considerations with larger production companies and is most likely even defined as much in their specifications. This long past and out of warranty guidelines, i would bet dollars to doughnuts that you wont get anywhere with the builder. Sucky situation.