South Island Concrete
South Island Concrete
Approximately 22 months ago we took on a major project having our driveway and walkways replaced. It was a large area including a triple driveway measuring 30 by 32.5 which has 15 sections. The front walk to the door 7 by 25, front of the house section 7 by 22 and the opposite side of the garage walkway measuring 7 by 32.
We hired Tim Jones who represents South Island Concrete. He was very personable, experienced (we thought) and answered all our question. He knew we were very concerned about cracking as our old driveway had cracking. He assured us this would be a very strong driveway with extra fill and extra rebar rod to help prevent cracking. He also said if there was cracking it would not show as we had an aggregate driveway. If there was cracking, they’d fix it but later we found out the cracks have to be ¼ wide. Tim Jones says he told me about this but I don’t think so.
The job started and a few things happened during the removal of the old driveway. A air vent was destroyed, stucco wall damaged, 32 decorative stone was knocked off the walls, an area where a concrete section of the wall was removed was left wide open (approximate 1 by 1) and 50 feet of my irrigation system had forming sticks hammered through them. When the stone was knocked off, I asked the foreman and he said they would fix it. Tim Jones then indicated they would not fix any of this so I was on my own.
Less than three months after the completion of the job cracking showed up running down the walk section to the front door. The crack is 20 feet long with spiders running in various direction and can be seen from the sidewalk. This area is under a roof with no cars travelling on it and there was no frost yet. Tim Jones looked at and said it was water run off from our roof. To give him the benefit of the doubt we had our front gardens re done so any water would run off. We also installed longer downspouts. Tim Jones said we had a solid driveway and they sealed that small area again.
Over the winter months more and more cracks have shown up. Our cars are parked in the garage so weight is not an issue. Out of the 15 panels on the driveway 9 are now cracked from one side to the other. A lot of them are like a spider’s web in each panel. Small cracks but we fear these will only get bigger. I asked Tim Jones about it and he said we have a solid driveway so he suggested I seal it again.
It’s been said if there’s cracking it’s either the concrete or the installation.
Needless we’re pretty upset over all this but Tim Jones tells us now all concrete cracks and we have a solid driveway. Too bad he didn’t tell me this before he started the job. In my neighborhood 5 driveways have been installed over the past 2 years, not one has a single crack.
We felt we needed to let other consumers aware of the type of work performed by Tin Jones and his company, South Island Concrete. All I can say is beware and make sure you have every little detail in writing. Brian Speirs