Warranty
Customer Responsibilities
What NOT to Do:
- Customers must not drive on newly poured concrete for a full 7 days.
- Customers must not allow water drainage under the concrete slab — allowing water to drain under your concrete slab may create settlement issues.
- Customers must not allow dogs to urinate on the concrete. If dog urine is present during freeze-thaw cycles, its acidity may result in concrete damage. Clean any dog urine off your concrete as soon as it’s identified.
- Customers must protect their concrete from de-icing chemicals, including salt. Washing car tires clean of salt is also necessary to protect the concrete. Salt and other de-icing chemicals can cause concrete damage, especially during the first year after pouring.
RESEALING DECORATIVE CONCRETE
We are not responsible for sealer-related concrete issues. Sealer-related problems do not fall within our control. Climate, traffic, use, and other issues all impact the performance quality of a sealer — these issues make it impossible for us to provide a warranty for sealer-related failures. Our customers are wholly responsible for the maintenance of their decorative concrete sealer. Likewise, we recommend our customers reduce exposure to foot traffic, vehicles, and chemicals that damage decorative concrete, such as salt water, chlorine, stabilizer, and other relevant materials. Typically, stamped concrete must be routinely cleaned — we recommend resealing it every two years (or when there’s a noticeable sign of sealer damage or wear). Once your sealer begins to fail, you may notice fading in your decorative concrete’s color. Resealing your concrete will help you retain its color long after the initial installation date. That said, too much sealer can have an adverse impact on your decorative concrete (most notably, whitening the surface).
DETERMINING IF YOU MUST RESEAL YOUR CONCRETE: As a rule of thumb, you can sprinkle water onto the surface of your decorative concrete to determine if it requires resealing. If the water forms beads on the surface and fails to be absorbed by the concrete, your sealer is working. However, if the water is absorbed by the surface and darkens the color of your decorative concrete, the sealer is no longer doing its job.
Concrete ONE-YEAR Limited Warranty
Limited Warranty: For one year from the completion of the concrete project, your concrete will not experience “Major Scaling and Spalling,” “Major Pop out,” or “Major Cracking” because of defective workmanship or materials. For the warranty to provide coverage, the concrete specified must be a minimum of 6 bag mix 4000psi, Air Entrained with the “Penetrating Sealer” option. Likewise, your project is not covered by the warranty if it is not sealed by WDC.
1) Definitions: “Other exterior concrete” refers to sidewalks, patios, and exterior flatwork. “Major Cracking” refers to cracks exceeding ¼ inch in width and: *in a parcel, exceed a total length of more than 30% of the panel’s perimeter length; or *in total length, exceed 30% of the length of all your driveway joints or other exterior concrete. “Major Scaling and Spalling” refers to significant surface disintegration occurring on the surface of the driveway or other exterior concrete, which covers: *more than 25% of any driveway panel or other exterior concrete *more than 20% of your driveway or other exterior concrete’s surface area. “Major Pop out” refers to fractured pieces of aggregate causing more than 50 conical breakouts per 100 square feet in the surface area of the concrete.
2.) Exclusions: The limited warranty will not provide coverage for damage resulting from: 1) non-residential purposes 2) abuse of the relevant concrete (including driveways and other external concrete) 3) flood, fire, defective subsurface, earthquake, or other acts of God 4) making adjustments to areas close to your driveway or other exterior concrete, which may result in runoff or drainage impacting your driveway and other exterior concrete 5) Scaling, spalling, or pop outs that do not fall under the major scaling, spalling, and pop out definitions listed in the warranty 6) Tree, root, and plant growth nearby your driveway or other exterior concrete 7) Any contact by foreign objects, vehicles, animals, or persons (unless that person is our contractor) with your driveway or other exterior concrete within 7 days of project completion 8) Stains or discoloration 9) Cracks falling outside our “Major Cracks” definition 10) Shifting or settlement resulting from repair or installation of utility trenches near the driveway or other exterior concrete (where it meets a car port slab or garage slab). Additionally, the driveway’s color may not be uniform within the same pour or when the concrete is replaced or repaired — we do not guarantee uniformity of color in your concrete via this warranty.
CRACKS— Concrete will crack — while cracks are inconvenient, they occur in all concrete (that’s reality); therefore, we CANNOT guarantee cracks will not appear, regardless of how much care we take to prevent cracks from occurring. However, if a crack does appear, our team may be able to help prevent additional cracking. The concrete industry’s standard for cracked concrete repair or replacement is ¼ inch of displacement in gap or height. Cracks exceeding ¼ inch in gap or height may require repair or replacement. If our team concludes replacement or repair of the crack is required, we will only replace or repair the impacted area. Repairing concrete cracks with mortar or caulk is considered an acceptable repair method. Additionally, caps or topcoats on existing concrete do NOT have coverage.
FLAKING or POPPING— While concrete is popular for its durable nature, this isn’t to say bad weather and other stressors won’t cause it to pop off or flake. This can result in stones near the surface of the concrete gaining exposure. However, while this is an aesthetic flaw, it will not cause any issues to the integrity of the concrete slab. As expressed in the exclusions portion of the warranty, we cannot provide coverage for damage related to harsh weather.
Industry standards for repair and replacement for popping and flaking dictate remedial work may be required if more than 20% of the work area has been impacted. Therefore, we may provide repair or replacement if the affected area exceeds this threshold, depending on the cause of the damage. In cases that a repair or replacement is required due to flaking or popping, our team will only replace or repair the impacted area.
DISCOLORATION— We CANNOT match the color of your existing driveway, porch, or other concrete areas. Likewise, projects requiring large pours will often have variations in color throughout the concrete. In most cases, variations are minor and will cease as time passes. If you want to partially replace some of your existing concrete, there will most likely be variation between the newer and older concrete sections — and it may take years for the colors to blend to similar shades. We CANNOT guarantee that any of our work will match your existing concrete.
Likewise, colors displayed on brochures and computer screens are only representations of potential results (similar color uniformity results CANNOT be guaranteed). Despite the experience and care we exhibit in all our projects, minor discoloration may be present in your completed concrete. Various factors — such as variations in a slump, cement type, curing, operational timing, surface treatments, humidity, weather conditions, and more — may impact variations in color. Therefore, color variation does not receive coverage under our warranty.
FROST HEAVE and CRACKING— As freeze-thaw cycles occur throughout the winter, your concrete may heave and settle back to its normal elevation. As this occurs multiple times throughout each winter, it may cause cracking. Any cracking occurring due to frost heave events are NOT covered by our warranty.
SHIFTING and SETTLING— It’s common for all types of internal and external concrete surfaces to experience shifting and settling related issues over time. Cracks resulting from shifting or settling do not automatically indicate poor work quality. There’s no way for a contractor to control sub-grade settling, shrinking of the subsurface layers, or tree and root growth near the exterior concrete. Unfortunately, we CANNOT provide warranty coverage for settling issues as the sub-grade level falls outside the control of our team.
FINISHES— Interior surfaces — such as basement floors, garages, and some patios and porches — often have smooth finishes. This type of finish makes the floor easier to clean, improving the overall maintenance features of the surface. However, this also means you must be cautious, as smooth finishes can be dangerously slippery when wet. Exterior concrete typically has a “broom” finish, which is less smooth, and, therefore, safer to walk on during wet conditions. On the other hand, “stamped” surfaces and “stained” surfaces require sealing, which helps maintain the color and overall design of the surface. This sealer is smooth, making the surface slippery when wet. Likewise, stamped and stained surfaces will require additional maintenance to ensure long-term protection of the underlying surface, which is your responsibility.