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Concrete Spalling

by Mary Sinclair
(Atlanta, Ga.)

Stamped area

Q. I live in Atlanta, Ga. and had a new driveway and sidewalk poured on 2/11/2010. We did experience 4 inches of snow the next evening.
I was told that I could begin parking in the drive the following Tuesday (2/16/10),which I did. Today, 12 days later, I noticed that there are several areas of scaling. In the areas that were stamped I am able to see the aggregate. Can you give me any advise as to why this is happening after only 12 days? I appreciate your input.

A. There are a few common reasons for concrete scaling. The most common is too much water on the surface during finishing. This can be from water bleeding up to the surface or water added to the surface. Is it possible that it rained or snowed on the concrete before it was finished? Another cause of scaling is freezing. Is it possible the surface froze? I know it was unusually cold down south a few weeks ago. It's unlikely that the snowfall the following day is the culprit.
I will say that five days is usually too soon to drive on new concrete, especially during the winter when concrete cures at a much slower pace. I always tell customers to wait at least two weeks, even in the summer.
I can't say what caused the scaling, but it could be a combination of a few factors. If you know which ready mix company supplied the concrete, you should have them send out a representative with a copy of the sales ticket. Then you need another concrete professional to help figure out what went wrong and who's at fault. Concrete that falls apart this quickly should definitely be replaced with no cost to you.