We at RCC – Richey Construction Concrete try very hard to ensure that for many years to come, you will have excellent and long lasting concrete flatwork inside and around your home. Whether it be your driveway, porch, steps, sidewalks, patio, or basement floor, we will do everything we can to satisfying you as a customer.
Every foreman and their assistant are trained to place and finish concrete to the highest of industry standards as published by :
American Concrete Institute at https://www.concrete.org
We also work hand in hand with our concrete production producers to provide you with the highest quality materials.
It is our policy to offer a one year warranty of materials and workmanship for no additional cost. The warranty and what to expect of your concrete is detailed in the following paperwork.
If you would like more information or desire to view more photographs, feel free to visit our website at www.richeyconstruction.com
Please have a great day and enjoy your concrete project!
What to Expect:
* Cracks
Yes – concrete does crack. We don’t like it either but it is bound to happen. This is why we install control joints where the concrete is most likely to crack. If the concrete cracks in the control joint, this is exactIy what we hope that it will do.
Typically, concrete cracks very soon after it is poured. often the same day. We do everything we can to control cracking, but there is no guarantee that concrete will not crack in other places.
Cracks 3/16ths of one inch or less (height difference or gap) is normal.
* Surface
A common misconception is the assumption that your driveway, porch, or sidewalk(s) surface will last and hold up like your kitchen floor. Unfortunately this is not true. Exterior concrete (in Michigan, particularly) is subject to inclement weather, salt damage, and heavy vehicle traffic.
While concrete is a very durable product, like anything else, it is not without its faults. Sometime the top of the concrete may appear to be popping or flaking off. If this is minimal (a few here or there) it is quite possible that stone(s) close to the top popped out.
This is nothing to worry about.
However, if you experience a lot of popping and flaking of the surface, more than 10% you have a legitimate problem.
* Discoloration
Another common misconception is color. It is not possible for us to match the exact color of your porch to your sidewalk or to your driveway. Sometimes even your driveway may not match exactly, since most driveways need two or more loads of concrete. This is especially true if concrete placements are made on different days. Most of these color variations are minor and most will fade over time, but they can and do occur. It is a good thing to keep in mind that if you do have one or two squares of your driveway that are popped or pitted and we replace them, it might be more noticeable than a few pops.
* Shifting
Most driveways and some garage floors will have some shifting (separation or height difference) over time. This is very common. If you notice that your driveway or garage floor moves a little, or sounds hollow when you drive on it, this is nothing to be concerned about, especially if there are no cracks present. This is not something we warranty. If your home has a patio or lead walk, it is very possible that it may settle somewhat. We do compact the aggregate underneath, but this is no guarantee it will not settle. We cannot warranty against settling because the sub grade under the 2″ of aggregate is something beyond our control.
* Texture
It is possible that your neighbor’s concrete may appear to have a different texture or finish on it; this is very common and is no cause for concern.
* Hollow Sounding Concrete
This is most noticeable under basement floors. If you take a hammer and tap in different areas, you may hear different sounds; some places may even sound hollow. These different sounds can be caused by where the plumbing pipes or the footings are located under the floor. A typical basement floor is 3.5″ deep, and where a footing may be located it is 11″- 12″ thick resulting in different density under your floor.
These are a couple possible reasons why you may have a hollow sounding floor. Hollow sounding concrete is not something covered by our warranty.
What We Warranty
* Cracked Concrete
(Industry standard before repair or replacement is 3/16″)
We warranty cracks that are 3/16″ or greater in separation or height difference.
* Popped or Chipped Concrete
We only repair or replace the section(s) that fall into the category of what we warranty. (Industry standard before repair or replacement is a minimum of 20%)
We will repair or replace if a minimum of 10% or more of any given section of the work we did is popped-pitted or if small pieces located on the edges happen to break off. Because your driveway approach is subject to salt overspray from the vehicle and road salt, we require minimum of 20% before we repair or replace your approach. (the 20% minimum only applies to your driveway approach; we maintain the 10% criteria for the rest of your driveway).
All warranty issues will be addressed during the months of June, July, August. If were unable to service you during these months,we will service you the following year, even if your warranty has expired providing you contact us before your warranty expires.
Customer Care of Concrete
* To Maintain Your Concrete
A vehicle or a weight of 300 pounds of more, should not be placed on the newly poured concrete until 10 days after concrete is poured.
Application of a Quality Sealant is highly recommended on all new concrete. (especially before the first winter). You should allow 28 days for the surface to cure before applying any sealer. The sealer helps protect the concrete from moisture absorption, exposure to chemicals, and grease and oil stains.
We ask that no salt ever be used on your new concrete, but it is crucial that you do not use salt for the first full year. We cannot emphasize this point enough. Sand is very safe to use on your concrete surface, this is, especially for the first year.
We often see popping on driveways where people park their vehicles. On sunny day during the winter months the salt on the vehicle(s) will drip off the vehicle, and salt, being highly corrosive, will eat into the surface of the new concrete.
Salt over spray from the city/county plow trucks can also affect the concrete near the road. Another highly corrosive material is fertilizer, so if you happen to spill or overspray fertilizer onto your driveway, please wash it off immediately.
With your help on these few items, you will greatly increase the life of your driveway, sidewalk, and porch for many years to come and avoid Warranty voids.