Cracked Driveway in New Home (sales, lawyer, construction)

[wellguy]

I am in need of suggestions concerning a verticle crack (hair line, horse tail hair) in the driveway (side to side). Our home was finished in December and we moved in after the first of the year. I realize that we had unusually cold weather and some rain after we moved in. We did not allow the Moving Company to park their box truck on the driveway(I hate oil spots) and the heaviest vehicles that have been on it are my pickups (my previous and new Silverado).
The soils here in Kallison Ranch are clay with river rock / gravel and some larger rocks. I haven't overwatered or should I say unevenly watered.
I have no idea as to the quality (psi rating) of the concrete, construction soil / base / prep. etc. The driveway does have expansion joints.
One thing I know for certain is that the drainage between several homes, including ours is POOR. If a neighbor runs their sprinkler system too long or often we have extremely soppy ground.

I'll look here in a bit to see if any surrounding neighbors have cracks....
Does anyone have any suggestions / comments???? Should I have expected the entire driveway to have a crack in it (from side to side) this soon?

I will contact the Builder, LENNAR, in the morning. Your information could be a LOT of help to me.

[TexasRedneck]

You ain't gonna like this, but good luck. The builders typically do nothing w/regards to this.

[huckster]

I don't know much about residential construction but - New homes come with a warranty unless a waiver was put in effect at closing.
The driveway must be sawcut at the joints,removed, the subgrade repaired and then repoured by the cement contractor.
Give them the name of your lawyer and tell them you will contact the local news station- the builder will be more worried about his reputation than
the cost of replacing 4 yards of cement. He should be.

Originally Posted by wellguy

I am in need of suggestions concerning a verticle crack (hair line, horse tail hair) in the driveway (side to side). Our home was finished in December and we moved in after the first of the year. I realize that we had unusually cold weather and some rain after we moved in. We did not allow the Moving Company to park their box truck on the driveway(I hate oil spots) and the heaviest vehicles that have been on it are my pickups (my previous and new Silverado).
The soils here in Kallison Ranch are clay with river rock / gravel and some larger rocks. I haven't overwatered or should I say unevenly watered.
I have no idea as to the quality (psi rating) of the concrete, construction soil / base / prep. etc. The driveway does have expansion joints.
One thing I know for certain is that the drainage between several homes, including ours is POOR. If a neighbor runs their sprinkler system too long or often we have extremely soppy ground.

I'll look here in a bit to see if any surrounding neighbors have cracks....
Does anyone have any suggestions / comments???? Should I have expected the entire driveway to have a crack in it (from side to side) this soon?

I will contact the Builder, LENNAR, in the morning. Your information could be a LOT of help to me.

[cwcavazos]

We had this same issue(about 2 months after we moved in). They came out and told us "it happens when the ground settles." I wish you luck!

[scuba steve]

Originally Posted by TexasRedneck

You ain't gonna like this, but good luck. The builders typically do nothing w/regards to this.

This, because it'll be cosmetic not structural.

[TexasRedneck]

Yep, spot on SS.....

[Dopo]

I had my crack fixed for good

Right where they put the control joint, my driveway started opening up after... I think 6-9 months and it kept on going.
When it was almost 1" they came and filled it up with some kind of epoxy.
It opened up again 1/2" more and they filled up my crack again
It opened up again 1/2" and they decided to cut 10' off my driveway, fix the level of the grass a little because a puddle would stay right next to it.

FYI, the warranty is online on a pdf format, but I don't remember the webpage.

Now, this might help you some...
I got a concrete patio built in the back and it moved away from the wall about 1".
I filled it up with sand several times until it settled.
Then my wife told me that the epoxy used in our driveway was "Sonolastic SL2"
I would let your crack get bigger ... and then use that product (it's expandable)
SL2 had the consistency of thick paint, so I put it into a 2 liter bottle and pour it slowly on the crack,
it was about 3/4" by 40' long and I used about 75% of the epoxy. It took a couple of days to dry out completely.
I tried to save the rest of the epoxy and the whole bottle became solid.

Any other questions about fixing cracks, just send me a DM

[huckster]

The crack in a brand new cement driveway is a- structural defect, not a cosmetic one. A home driveway's subgrade(what is underneath) is actually a very very,tiny engineered backfill built to specifications supposedly, and designed to support the weights of automobiles and pickups, easily without breaking. If it was not built right someone is liable, it is defective and contains shoddy workmanship underneath.

Originally Posted by scuba steve

This, because it'll be cosmetic not structural.

[TrapperL]

Your driveway is considered flatwork and is not part of any warranty offered by most builders and it is not part of the warranty that is required by the State. It is not considered structural as it has nothing to do with the structural integrity of the house. The only part that gets any inspections at all is the driveway approach and that is performed by a County inspector. It does not carry any warranty and a defect after it is poured is not considered by the County. I don't remember the Plasticity Index of Kallison ranch but it can't be good. For future reference, you probably need to go by the sales office and get the report- it is a required disclosure and will cost you nothing. But if I had to guess, it is above 50 and that will mean problems later for the house if you don't take care of it now. Do not put any flower beds against the house that require watering or expect to have to water the entire foundation at the same time. Do not put any rock gardens against the house or within 10 feet of the house or expect foundation issues. A rock garden causes ground percolation which means it drys the soil. The soil must maintain a constant and even moisture level completely around the house and 10 feet out. You should have gutters that also drain the water away from the house. Grass should be planted around the house that does not require water like Zoysia. If you have an A/C drain line that runs out of the side of the house, make sure that it remains in place and undamaged or expect foundation issues. This is a homeowner responsibility.
While you do have a first year warranty, I would suggest turning in a warranty complaint to Lennar with the expectations that Lennar is not going to fix it. At least you have documentation should something later come up. Make sure their customer service inspector gives you paperwork in the regards to the driveway. At closing, you should have been provided a warranty booklet that explains the warranty by the builder and the warranty that is required by Texas. There will be items listed, items specifically not covered, items with a time limit, and the procedure of how to file a warranty claim. You may also already have in your closing papers the PI rating of your lot.

[scuba steve]

Originally Posted by huckster

The crack in a brand new cement driveway is a- structural defect, not a cosmetic one. A home driveway's subgrade(what is underneath) is actually a very very,tiny engineered backfill built to specifications supposedly, and designed to support the weights of automobiles and pickups, easily without breaking. If it was not built right someone is liable, it is defective and contains shoddy workmanship underneath.

I was going to reply but someone beat me to it...