That slip joint I fought for 3 hours on a driveway apron

I was doing a pretty standard driveway apron last Tuesday over in Maplewood. Everything was going smooth until I got to the slip joint near the garage approach. The damn dowels kept binding up in the baskets no matter how I set them. I spent a good 45 minutes just trying to get the first one straight and level, and I ended up having to chip out the concrete around it twice. My helper was just standing there watching me lose my mind. In the end I used a speed level and some tie wire to hold them in place while the mud set up a bit. That whole little section took me almost 3 hours instead of the 45 minutes I had planned. Has anyone else run into this problem with the plastic dowel baskets on residential jobs? I'm thinking about switching to the metal ones next time.

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_murray4d ago

Fight me on this one but I honestly think the plastic dowel baskets are fine and your real problem was not prepping the subbase right. If you had packed the gravel tighter and checked your string lines twice before pouring, those baskets would have sat where you put them. Ive done hundreds of slips with those plastic ones and the only times they give me fits is when I rush the base work or my mud is too wet and floats them. Sounds like you were fighting a losing battle from the start with that ground not being solid enough to hold em in place. Plus if you switch to metal baskets youll pay double and they still shift if the ground isnt right. Save your money and spend the extra time on compaction next time.

keith_henderson4d ago

Hold on Fiona, you really think plastic baskets are the answer? I've seen way too many of those plastic ones crack under load when the concrete shrinks, especially in our climate with the freeze thaw cycles. Even if you pack gravel like a maniac that plastic still flexes and the dowels get bound up. Metal baskets might cost more but they hold their shape and dont let the joint open up like a zipper. Plus I've had plastic baskets break just from the weight of the mud when we poured on a slope. You're telling me all those hundreds of jobs had perfect subbase and never had a basket shift sideways? Sounds like you got lucky or are measuring them different than I am.