Is this trade standard concrete patching...

[Safety First]

New water pipe. Proper approved company...

I have done a spot of concreting with a screed plank where you work the fat up and make the typical pattern...

This just looks dry, and weird.
Will it hold up?

Any thoughts appreciated

 

[robinbanks]

Looks more like whackered type 1.. Do you have any pics of it going down?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I agree, if that is supposed to be concrete, then it looks really odd.

 

[catlad]

Wet it and see if you can trowel it up.

 

[Safety First]

Well, it's really weird. The water just falls straight through it. Like it's got no fines at all. Feels like it's been getting harder since about 6 pm.. so there's absolutely *no* wetting it up option.

Anyone know what it is, if it matters etc.
The quote says simply 'reinstate'...
So...?

I this....normal?

 

[robinbanks]

To me a reinstatement would at least try to resemble the concrete around it

Must be that new permeable concrete, for improved regs compliance

 

[Safety First]

I have heard of this concrete...yes.....but are you serious?

 

[robinbanks]

No; permeable concretes do exist but I've never seen them look like that

 

[^woody^]

Concrete has [round] stone pebbles more or less of even size and lots of sand between them, that has angular stone of different sizes. Looks like MOT

 

[Deluks]

Maybe they ran out of gear and just used what they had?

 

[mattylad]

MIght be best to dig it out while you still can.
Then you can replace it with something better.

 

[Safety First]

It's got off really hard. It's consistent throughout/they didn't switch *to* it after running low on materials. They left site and presumably bought it mixed; it came in a pick up pre mixed and quite dry. They wacked the sub layer with what looked like type 1, then dry filled it, with floats, packing it down.
I can't remove it without a pick axe, though where there are bare edges is abysmally weak and friable. Joy.

 

[yorksbuilder]

It's not up to standard. When I had a gas pipe replacement they used the same type of tarmac (6mm aggregate) as the drive. Yes you could see the patch, and it was a different colour, but this is poor concrete with no fines and no proper wood floated and trowelled finish. You should ask them to re do it properly unfortunately

 

[Safety First]

I think this wraps up as a cautionary tale.

Contract said 'reinstate' but small print T's and C's says "will fill any holes and level the
surface but will not replace the original surface or construction. Redecoration or repair of damage
needed after completion of our work is your responsibility"

Searching this phrase pulls T's and C's from H*meserve and Dyn*rod etc so I suppose this is how it goes unless you get your act together and read small print and infer the worst possible interpretation. Glad they didn't 'fill' with mud!


The thing is, we have had a bunch of repairs to the pipe before these guys, and everyone puts down (reinstates) actual concrete and does a pretty good job of it. I can't see why they would use this crap.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Redecoration or repair of damage
needed after completion of our work is your responsibility"

I would read that as damage to internal decorations, but I would at least expect the basic fabric to be restored back, ready for the redecoration. In your case, doing the job properly, would require little more effort than what they in fact did. I would contact them and ask them to finish the job to an adequate, and workmanlike standard.