Driveway Installation Damages in Los Angeles

Driveway Damages in LA

When looking for a respected driveway installer in Los Angeles it can feel like a true game of Russian roulette. Your driveway is a ton of stone to deal with that needs to be handled with a wrecking ball level of surgical precision.

Each material used to secure the durability of your driveway has its own special way that it can go completely wrong by the way it’s incorrectly installed.

Concrete Mesh is Not as Strong as You Want

Concrete mesh is a material meant to hold concrete in place by ‘floating,’ around the center third of between the slabs.

What goes wrong:

You’re going to get mixed answers on this but the general consensus is mesh is great for patios and walkways but complete disaster zone for driveways. The average car weighs four thousand pounds, that’s four one thousand areas of point pressure that wants to crack through your driveway.

Sure, mesh has been used to effective result in some driveways. It’s not too rare to find someone state that they’ve exclusively used the material without upping to rebar. Be clear though. If your driveway installer doesn’t know what they’re doing, which they often don’t, you’re going to be paying for concrete driveway repair.

The vast majority of driveway installation damages in Los Angeles happen because a contractor doesn’t properly ‘float,’ the mesh in between the slabs, and the stuff just sinks to the bottom. It becomes completely useless in helping your concrete withstand any damage.

Concrete Fiber is Not the Answer

This is a relatively new technology that old concrete installers are not completely sold on. Fiber threads (many different kinds of materials) mix in directly with the cement to give it a little muscle.

What goes wrong:

Where this goes wrong, wrong, wrong, is where a contractor tries to convince you that fiber is EVER a replacement for mesh or rebar - and they’ll try to convince you of this because they want to save on all the money you’re spending. Fiber is like a snorkel without scuba gear when you’re deep diving. It serves a purpose, but never alone for the job.

Rebar is Your Best Option

Rebar is steel rods spaced out then secured, layered with a hard mesh that rises above the soil.

What goes wrong:

Not much. Obviously you’ll want a good driveway installer in Los Angeles but overall the only ‘bad,’ you can expect is the cost itself. The setup is top heavy but again, it’s nothing with the right concrete installer can’t deal with. When people talk about ‘cutting corners,’ this is where they do - and it’s the last place they should be.

Cheap Concrete Wrongs You

Not all concrete is made equal. Trouble is, your concrete installer can ask you to pay for quality without giving any. At its basic, concrete should withstand c2500 psi for a concrete driveway installation. Placing your trust in anything less is just begging to be broken. In Los Angeles, damages on driveway installation happen when you skip out on quality, sure. But the real reason is -

Your Driveway Installer is Dishonest

If you haven’t noticed so far I’ll let you in on a little trend. The biggest contributor to driveway installation damages in Los Angeles is your installer.

They can let your mesh sink, charge you for weak fiber, offer garbage cement, and install that rebar all wrong. Look up reviews. Ask your friends. All I’m saying is when you pay someone to handle your driveway, don’t just assume that a license means anything.

A ‘licensed professional,’ handled all of these jobs.

These are your typical installers who have a little piece of paper saying they know what they’re doing. Here are projects from Novel Remodeling showing, they know what they’re doing.

Getting a proper driveway installation in Los Angeles, damage free, should not be a hassle. Contact Novel Remodeling for an estimate on what it takes.