The week a simple office job turned into a concrete nightmare

We were supposed to be doing a basic drywall and paint job in a small law office downtown. The client said they had a 'minor' floor issue in the back room. When we pulled up the old carpet, we found a 3 foot by 8 foot section of the slab had completely crumbled, like someone poured acid on it. The GC hadn't budgeted for a concrete crew, so we had to stop everything. I spent two full days just chipping out bad concrete, hauling 60 bags of mix, and trying to get the new pour level with the existing floor, all while the lawyers needed their conference room back. The dust got into everything, and we had to re-clean the whole space twice. Has anyone else had a 'simple' job blow up because of a hidden slab problem you weren't told about?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles76615d ago

That sounds brutal, and @quinn968's story is just as bad.

tyler620d ago

Read about a guy who found a whole buried sinkhole under a patio. Sounds like your concrete surprise, just with less lawyer pressure.

quinn96820d ago

Man, does that ever bring back a bad memory for my buddy. He bought a house and the back yard had this weird, slightly soft spot. He figured it was just poor drainage. One weekend he starts digging to fix it, and his shovel just drops into nothing. Turns out the old owners had filled in an old, collapsed well with trash and a thin layer of dirt. He had to get the whole thing professionally filled with gravel, which cost him thousands. It was a total nightmare.