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rebars inserted into garage floor to connect new cement drive

by Michelle
(Windsor)

Q. We live in a 3 year old home . Now we are ready to pave our driveway with concrete . The contractor wants to drill into our garage floor and insert rebars , that will connect the new cement to the garage floor .Does this sound like a good idea ? I am concerned this may damage our garage floor now or possibly in the future .
Thanks for your expertise, it is much appreciated !!

A. This is one of those questions that contractors will disagree with each other on. In my opinion, I think it's a bad idea to connect the driveway to the garage floor. The garage is on a footing whereas the driveway is a floating slab. The driveway is going to move or shift some throughout the year, especially during freeze and thaw cycles. If it wants to raise any, it's going to take the garage floor with it. My personal driveway is a perfect example.

Every time we have a really hard freeze, the driveway lifts about an inch above the garage floor. This is no big deal because it sits back down where it's supposed to be when it thaws. The driveway is reinforced with steel so it doesn't crack apart when that happens. Had I connected it to the garage, it would pull the floor up with it and who knows what kind of shape that floor would be in now.

Reinforce the driveway and let it float on it's own. A properly prepared subgrade is the key to keeping the driveway in place. That's my professional opinion.