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Year old garage cement cracking.

6 years ago

Hello all,

I have a less than year old garage cement slab that is cracking. The garage builder has told me it is normal. The cracks do not look normal to me. I am afraid they will spread. Does anyone have a professional or experienced opinion on this? Attached are pictures. I have a video if I can figure out how to attach it. Thanks

Comments (14)

  • 6 years ago

    Here is a video. I think.

  • 6 years ago

    Those cracks normal? No but they are not uncommon. They accure in proportion to jobs done by poor craftsmen. The troweling or more accuratlly lack of proper troweling tell's me they didn't take pride in their work.

  • 6 years ago

    That’s what I figured. The troweling job looks terrible. I’m not happy about these cracks but I’m not sure if I can make them do something about it. I just don’t want those to get any wider.

  • 6 years ago

    Concrete that is poured in large areas (even WITH stress joints) can and WILL crack. The one's in the photo do nothing to scare me. They are small, even and non-crumbling. All point to normal. Normal. Normal.


    Spider cracks like this can be very normal. How large is the SINGLE piece of slab? Give us the dimension of the slab....like 12'x12' or 10'x10'....



  • 6 years ago

    The slab is 22x20. The crack extends from one side of the garage to another. Hv

  • 6 years ago

    While the cracks may or may not get larger,chalking and spalling are very likely,and that's as bad as larger cracks. I wager those guys do fenceing,painting,deck building,tree trimming,remodeling,roofing and all kinds of handy man services. I don't have a solution for the slab but we can learn something from it. People will tell you it's normal to add water onsite but it's not. It's only common and it's bad. That was poured at the consitance of pancake batter. They do that so mix flow's out and self level's and they don't have to drag and screed. You can see that in pictures.

    Normal? No. Common? Yes and there should be a special place in hell for those who cheat customers by doing it and other rip offs.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    The finish work is poor, I guess they figured its a garage so it's not a big deal... but the job is definitely subpar.

    As the crack goes it's common, there is no expansion joints which normally never installed in the garage and there are no control joints which most don't cut in the garages unless there is a column some will take their time and make the cuts.

    On the general note noting to worry about, slabs can shrink as much as 1/2" per 100'. The shrinkage occurs because the forces in the concrete typically pull the slab apart, so the crack you have is normal.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    This is just stress cracking that should have no effect on the utility of the floor. It may look ugly but will still serve. It is really bad finishing, however. Don't hire this guy again.

  • 6 years ago

    That's a MASSIVE slab! You want stress joints every 8 - 10 feet. Your slab should have at least 1 joint on on the long run and one on the short run. It should look like a 't' in the middle of your garage. If not, then the cracks will do it themselves. Which is what happened.

  • 6 years ago

    Here are a few more pictures for the hell of it. It does look terrible. Not much I can do now I guess. Maybe leave bad reviews.

  • 6 years ago

    So the good news is you have stress joints. Excellent. Good. The bad news is you don't like the hairline cracks that form when concrete dries.


    At the end of the day it is a garage floor. If you wished a different look you would have specified and paid for the upgrade.


    Garage slabs are VERY different from household slabs. A non-living situation is much cheaper and much faster and has much less work/skill involved for the concrete pour. They are utilitarian slabs by nature. Cars are to be parked on top. That's it. That's all they need to do.


    I'm sorry if the hairline cracks distress you. They are normal for concrete.



  • 6 years ago

    Are you in road salt area? Dripping salt and slush will eventually deteriorate the slab where any cracks are.

  • 6 years ago

    Yes I am big time. Cleveland