My driveway's a mess

Q. I think I have bad cement in my new driveway. I hired a construction company to give me a 4- to 5-inch-deep driveway last October. Within two months, the 80-foot-long, 4-inch-high, 6-inch-wide cement curb had cracked in two different places and another foot-long crack had opened up in a corner of the driveway itself. The cement was a steel-reinforced 4,000-pound mix — at least that’s what I requested. I have no way of knowing what was poured. I saw rolls of wire mesh installed in the driveway. Pressure-treated wood was used as dividers every 9 feet or so on the driveway, and black felt-like dividers were placed every 9 feet or so on the curb. The wood dividers protrude about a quarter-inch above the level of the driveway in several places. Water pools, though not deeply, in various locations around the driveway. Although the previous asphalt driveway was about 3 inches below my doorway and I specifically asked the company owner to maintain that space, the concrete now comes to within an inch of my doorstep. Fortunately, no water seems to be rolling toward the foundation. When I notified the company owner about the cracks, he said he never promised there would be no cracks. Other than cracking him on the head, what can be done about the cracks, pooling and uneven wooden dividers?

A. Concrete delivered from a reputable cement company truck can be accompanied by documented “mix strength,” but usually if requested before the delivery. If the mix was done on site, by hand, it’s anybody’s guess what strength was installed. The other issues involve not recognizing or providing for expansion and contraction. Wood expansion joints are a problem waiting to happen, being unstable, expanding, contracting, drying out, leaching chemicals, warping, twisting, etc. Unless joints are installed in the right places, the material underneath is compacted to proper density and the reinforcing is designed for the mix strength, thickness, frost conditions and site characteristics, cracking is inevitable. Cracking seems like the only thing the installer could guarantee would happen.