Had a Concrete Floor Poured; Thoughts / Opinions?

[BigB9k]

Hello,
I recently started construction on a 40x60 building. Half the building is a garage, the other half will be guest quarters.
I hired a local guy, who hired a sub-contractor to do the work, Cost was $12,800 (He hasn't come to collect yet)
I wanted to get others opinions on the work performed.

The cost didn't seem out of line. The main house is twice the size, and cost $24,000.
I figured half the size, about half the price, okay.

First think I noticed was the anchor bolts. This will have 2x6 exterior walls. The bolts aren't even close to centered.
They are probably fine for a 2x4 walls, but that is not what I am doing.
Don't know if an inspector will catch or even care about this, but it doesn't seem right to me.





Garage floor is slopped to a drain, which is good, but the laundry room also follows this slope. No clue why.
Also, the bathroom slopes towards the walls; the shower recess is the high spot. Kinda dumb.

My workshop was built sometime in the 60's, it is perfectly flat everywhere. I wish this 2 day old floor was as nice.
So, what should I do?
Subtract repair price?
Tell him to fix it?
Have him drill and install a couple hundred wall anchor bolts?

...or am I crazy and all of this if fine?

I don't care he sub-contracted it out, but it would have been nice if he was here to supervise the job at least a little.

 

[Grub54891]

The contractor should fix that. It bugs me that concrete work isn't what it should be these days. Any water is pretty annoying having to squeegee it up constantly.

 

[alldodge]

I don't see a issue with the anchor bolts being setup for 4 inch wall when a 6 inch will be used. The bolts should have no issue holding the wall.

As for the poorly laid floor, this is an issue and hope you have something in writing as what was required/expected.

 

[tpenfield]

Tell him to fix it, or else your iBoats buddies are going to rough him up a bit

The inspector can be your friend in this regard. If he does not approve the slab work. any state/local agencies that license the contractors? They can be an avenue to file a complaint, if it gets to that . . .

 

[MTboatguy]

Unfortunately these days, it seems like many contractors pour slabs sloppy, knowing they are going to have to float them when it is all said and done, I have seen it a lot here with all the new construction, it is almost like the sub pours and the contractor offers up the float knowing they will be able to charge extra to get it right because the sub didn't. My Dad was a General Contractor for most of his life and I am sure he is rolling over in his grave with some of the stuff contractors do these days.

 

[captmello]

While no one likes imperfection, this isn't a brand new BMW, its a slab, a sub-floor. As a contractor myself (not concrete), I've seen a little of everything, but a lot of imperfection. There are standards of imperfection that are set to allow a certain amount of imperfection in construction to avoid these type of arguments. As long as the work is within those parameters, you won't have much leverage when it comes to fixing the issues. Unfortunately, I cant find my copy of these standards... Good luck with the rest of the job!

 

[bassman284]

While no one likes imperfection, this isn't a brand new BMW, its a slab, a sub-floor. As a contractor myself (not concrete), I've seen a little of everything, but a lot of imperfection. There are standards of imperfection that are set to allow a certain amount of imperfection in construction to avoid these type of arguments. As long as the work is within those parameters, you won't have much leverage when it comes to fixing the issues. Unfortunately, I cant find my copy of these standards... Good luck with the rest of the job!

Oh OK, so you're saying half-assed is within normal limits. Good to know. I wonder if paying a premium up front could get you a better job? Or is no one capable of doing a better job anymore?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Or is no one capable of doing a better job anymore?

based on contractors in Florida that i have dealt with....Not a single one..... awaiting one to prove me wrong in the past 11 years

 

[dingbat]

based on contractors in Florida that i have dealt with....Not a single one..... awaiting one to prove me wrong in the past 11 years

agree... real craftsman in the trades are few and far between anymore.

 

[Scott Danforth]

the clowns currently doing the pool re-surface are the ones that left ringling..... Have already told the owner he needs to extend his warranty from 5 years to 10 years because these guys couldnt find their arse with both hands if they were in their back pockets.

 

[MTboatguy]

Doing half assed work is never acceptable and I don't care what you have wrote into a bid. You do the best job you can do and walk away from the job proud.. I worked on jobs from the time I was 12 years old until I went in the service at 18 and then went back to working with my Dad when I retired and we did a lot of government jobs and always turned them in under budget and over specifications. There is no reason to do less, I didn't want to see a job site again once we had done the job. I don't want to listen to customers be upset about what they are getting, you are money a head, just doing it right the first time.

It always costs more to do it wrong, than it does to do it right the first time.

 

[dwco5051]

There is no excuse for a floor not being level. If you mean that the the whole floor is lower towards the center than the edges that means the floor is not level. The other thing is flatness and that means there are low and high spots easley spotted by flooding the floor and looking for puddles. The Amish contractor asked me before pouring the 1500 sg ft ground level floor in my house 8 years ago what I planned on doing with the space and I told him porcelain tile and I can live with 1/8 flatness as I will be wet setting it with quickset. He said he would do his best and it turned out to be a simple job to keep the finished floor level and even. If you did not specify flatness in the contract you may not have any recourse about puddleling. If the entire floor is not level it doesn't meet normal standards and you have a right for some recourse.

For more see; https://www.archtoolbox.com/material...l-numbers.html

 

[BigB9k]

I put a bunch of stakes in the ground, and pulled a string across all kinds of random angles.
The floor has high spots, low spots, ripples, and divets.
high spots are about 1/4 inch. The ripples are pretty ugly. Looks like a river bed.
Low spots vary, but the lowest spot I've found is 1/4"

He came out today, said "How does it look?!" I told him to go find me a flat spot, anywhere.
He came back, said 'well, I put the garage floor drain in, and other odds and ends, so you're looking at $350 for that, $250 for this, how about we call it the even $12,800?

I figured he would try to tack on random things hoping I pay more; but not settle for the original price to keep me happy.

 

[Grub54891]

I figured he would try to tack on random things hoping I pay more; but not settle for the original price to keep me happy. ​

Still won't drain properly. I'd push to get it right somehow.

Years back the City built a new shop, the grate floordrain down the center. All the water would go to the walls. They were constantly sweeping water to the drain. Sucked when working at the bench standing in water.

 

[cptbill]

based on contractors in Florida that i have dealt with....Not a single one..... awaiting one to prove me wrong in the past 11 years

Same here, But your issues don't seam that terrible. Yes the floor needs floated or your going to use a ton of thin set, The bolts are fine, won't bother anything. As far as the shower goes I don't know how deep you want it but that shouldn't be to hard to correct. If your contractor is worth anything he'll(or she) will probably work with you to fix the problems. Just hope you didn't pay full price up front so you have a bargaining chip