Client wanted me to skip the expansion joints in their new driveway

Met with a homeowner in Phoenix last Tuesday who insisted the gaps would mess up the look of their concrete. I explained the science but they told me they'd 'watched enough YouTube' to know better. What do you do when a client fights basic physics like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliot_harris254h ago

Got a buddy who does flatwork outside Dallas, had the exact same thing happen last year. Guy wanted a polished floor in his garage with no joints because he thought they looked ugly. My friend warned him but went ahead and did it since the customer paid upfront. Fast forward to August when the Texas heat started cooking the slab, cracks showed up everywhere within a month. The homeowner was furious, tried to blame my buddy, but he just showed him the signed waiver on his phone. Ended up having to tear the whole thing out and repour it with joints. Cost him almost double what he would have paid the first time. People think concrete is magic or something, but it moves and you can't stop it.

tyler8224h ago

Last driveway I poured in Tucson, the customer had the same idea and I ended up putting in a written waiver about liability for cracking. Three months later they called me begging me to come cut in joints because a hairline crack ran the whole length of the slab. I told them I'd do it for double my normal rate since they wanted to play architect.