Should my contractor have installed a new concrete patio on top of sod and an existing patio?

Question

Contractor added concrete patio around the back of my house, but its already cracking after less than 6 months.

I believe that there should be cuts and expansion seams throughout the slab to allow for the patio to flex and bow with the north Texas soil.

I also think that they should have excavated a few inches of top soil before laying the concrete, but instead they laid it on top of the grass and on top of my pool deck.

Can anyone tell me from these pictures what (if anything) was done incorrectly? Can anyone tell me if my above assumptions are correct?

This is all part of a $70k insurance claim that has been dragged out for 1.5 years since the Texas freeze of 2021.

Answer 1

It's clearly substandard work, but unless you have a contract specifying standards of work, have fun getting it sorted.

• Soil prep
• reinforcement
• expansion joints

All appear to be lacking.

I'd bet on the concrete itself being mixed wrong (too wet) as well, given everything else wrong here (resulting in lower compressive strength.)

Answer 2

Yeah you can tell the concrete was mixed wrong and you can always come back and cut expansion joints afterwards which you have to do after it’s dry anyways but you have cracked concrete which means it was incorrectly mixed and poured due to lack of proper preparation and reinforcement.

Answer 3

First off. Yes there should have been control cuts put in. Another thing is the edge looks like the slab is pretty thin. This is why it's important to research and get a contractor that has been in business a long time and check previous work.