"I haven't paid a cent yet. What are my options?"

All of them.

Like Treb said you hold the cards (or the money), since you have not paid him a dime and he would very much I assume like to get paid at some point he should be amenable to making you happy within reason.

Does anyone know if a skim coat of concrete over the concrete that has been poured is a good or bad idea? Will it good now but present problems later on?

No skim coat. I can't imagine you'll get a good bond especially in a heavy freeze thaw cycle area.

What about in sunny California? Still reasonably warm here.

I don't think a skim coat will work good in any climate for a horizontal surface like a walk or driveway.

mvaussie, has your contractor suggested an alternative to the skimcoat?

So without a skim coat, the only other option is a tear out?

I'm sure that will fly easily. What a nightmare. But they are solely responsible for being so irresponsible.

Good luck.

Apparently the options as we currently know them;

1. skim coat
2. leave as is - not happy about that
3. tear out - this has not been discussed with contractor yet

As you can see, none are very appealing.

Personally, I would not be happy with the skim coating option as any future problems are likely to happen after any warranty period has passed. And even if something happened within the warranty period, he would likely want to skim coat over it again, as he is suggesting you do now. I haven't see the entire job, but I'd be more inclined to leave it as it is rather than attempt a skim coat repair, hopefully with a nice credit applied to the bill. Perhaps you should suggest the tear out option now and see what his reaction is. It's been over a week now. Has he made any attempt to resolve the situation?

Can it be mechanically resurfaced, as they do to level cracks? That looks like a smooth texture. Or polished to some degree like they do for concrete floors.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Fri, Nov 14, 14 at 0:10

I would demand full replacement.

Skim coat can delaminate - and a warranty is worth nothing 5 years from now when the business has been sold or out of business.

Yeah, I think that skim coat is going to deteriorate and start lifting off with time. That is for them to make their quick getaway, not for you. Don't give them a cent. They did not deliver what you ordered. Huge blunder! That really didn't need to happen.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Fri, Nov 14, 14 at 11:39

A mico-topping polymer might work if you want a smooth finish. Make sure your contractor subs it out to a concrete coating professional.

Here is a link that might be useful: microtoppings and skim coats

Just have it ground down.

I had the same exact thing happen. I didn’t pay for the job. I then used a fraction of the money to have it resurfaced. I looked at it this way. The remaining money that would have went to contractor, I kept for insurance just in case the resurfaced area didn’t last. That way I can resurface a few times and not be out any money.

Didn’t pay for the job? You didn’t pay at least a good amount? People like you are what brings the contracting business down. You should be ashamed.

I work for a commercial concrete company, it is not uncommon to get an undesired finished product when it comes to concrete aesthetics. Unfortunately, your best option might be to have the contractor tear it out and pour it back. They've done it before and i guarantee they'll do it again. It sounds like you did more than enough to communicate your desired finish, they just failed to deliver. I would avoid the skim coat option, it might look ok short term but it wont last.

He should be but he still deserves to paid atleast 75.%.

Im in the same situation but worse, contractor was paid already, I know, not my smartest move, the contracor knew it was a crap job and took it upon themselves to apply a skim coat on the surface, same day as the pour, I think it setup too fast on them, and it looks like garbage. Now they are trying to fix it, but I’m affarid that whatever they do wont last, even an epoxy finish will deteriorate in 5-10 years in the AZ sun and heat. Not sure what my options are, my instinct tells me to have them tear out and re-pour, but like i said, they have been paid already.

I find myself in a similar position. We hired a local company to remove a 45’ x 8’ patio slab and do stamped concrete wood plank. We even paid an additional $500 for a pumper truck to bring the concrete over the house to the back to free the two guys up to work the 9 yards of concrete. Long story short, the final product is concrete that is over stamped (rough) on one side and a light stamp on the other. There are 4 low spots against the house where water pools and sits when wet. Its a covered patio on the lowest level so I think its only a visual thing. the one stair to acess the patio tips forward and is crooked. they also over covered the release on the step so its black compared to the brown on the rest. The over all stamp job has alot of flaws smudges and drags in it but Ii can get around it. My question is this. The entire job cost $6300 and I invested 18 hours of my own time helping load old concrete, help backfill dirt and remove forms. I’m not trying to rip anyone off but what should be the penalty? I don’t feel its bad enough to rip out but God willing I’ll have 30 years that I’ll look at it and know it isn’t right. All suggestions are welcome.

I just had a similar issue but I believe ours tops it’s lol. Such a crappy job I explained I wanted it to have straight lines and where I wanted the lines and it to be smooth like the rest of our concrete I paid the remainder when they started pouring. Bad mistake it’s like the guy didn’t care about the work he didn’t make all the cuts just 1 and then left like he gave up. He said he would fix it in the morning but the cement was already drying I seriously want to cry! Oh did I mention they didn’t order enough cement to finish

I just had a concrete driveway put in what a disaster. The driveway isn't level, cracking, lines not cut straight or wide enough, 3 different colors. Help

bcapps20-

Start a new thread rather than piggybacking on this old one. You're more likely to get helpful comments as many people don't like to read through a bunch of old posts to deal with a new issue. Also, more pictures would help....