Fixing Driveway Chips

[displacedhoosier]

Home is about 3 years old and noticed that our driveway is "chipping" at the edges where the individual slabs of the concrete come together. Kinda like the edges are breaking off from stress... Is this normal and what can I do to fix these areass or minimize this in the future. Planning to have the driveway coated/painted soon and would like to have in good shape before I get that done.

ANyone had this kind of work done?

[retiredguy123]

If there are a lot of chips, it is not normal. It sounds like the concrete does not have sufficient aggregate near the surface, which makes it weak. Faulty installation. The chips will be difficult, if not impossible to repair, and any repairs may not be permanent. The only repair process I know of is to patch the chips.

One thing I have noticed is that, when a contractor paints or seals a driveway, they will sometimes drive wood stacks between the slabs near the road to attach tape to prevent vehicles from driving on the driveway. Don't allow these stacks to be used because they often cause chips in the concrete.

[JohnN]

It's not really faulty installation so much as cheap installation, bare minimum. No rebar, no nothing.
Sure you can patch it, might work. The guy who put on the sealer on ours says there's not really a good fix.
I mostly just leave mine alone and thank God that it's outside and I don't worry about it. Good luck, let us know.

[retiredguy123]

It's not really faulty installation so much as cheap installation, bare minimum. No rebar, no nothing.
Sure you can patch it, might work. The guy who put on the sealer on ours says there's not really a good fix.
I mostly just leave mine alone and thank God that it's outside and I don't worry about it. Good luck, let us know.
I would just add that concrete is a mixture of cement and aggregate. Some contractors will speed up the finishing process by adding too much water to the surface, which results in insufficient aggregate near the surface. This creates a weak concrete surface that is more susceptible to chipping.

[Craig Vernon]

Just had my driveway and garage floor done and they fixed the couple chips I had as part of their Process. Good luck.

[villagetinker]

Decades ago, my dad had me repair a nasty groove in a driveway, the repair lasted for many years (15+). I have no idea what I used, IMHO, I would ask at ACE hardware if they know of a product that will work. I would also ask the vendors you are considering to, see if they have any recommendations. I would also carefully use a hammer and chisel to make sure the surrounding concrete is solid.

[biggamefish1]

I have always been taught that the only guarantee you will get from a concrete flat surface is it may crack and chip

[BrianL99]

I have always been taught that the only guarantee you will get from a concrete flat surface is it may crack and chip

You're 100% right.

They probably used 3000 lb concrete on driveways, that would be typical. It's going to chip & crack. A lot depends on the sub-strata, but for typical residential use, that's not going to be anything fancy.

There is no way to prevent "chips" on concrete edges, nor is there any way to "fix" them. Anyone who says they have a way to do it, is smokin' really good stuff. It's the nature of the product.

[displacedhoosier]

Who did you have do the painting work?

Just had my driveway and garage floor done and they fixed the couple chips I had as part of their Process. Good luck.

[Miboater]

You can try RapidSet Cement All. It can be applied thick to a feathered edge and it has binder agents so it adheres to existing concrete as long it is clean and dust free. I used this in my Michigan house about 6 years ago and was still holding strong when we sold last year. The downside is that the repair color didn't match the existing concrete but since you are painting over it that should not be an issue.

There's a utube channel called "Michael Builds" and he has a video called "Concrete repair in one hour" that shows the process.

[merrymini]

The colosseum is still standing and my driveway is chipping after several years. Tells you all you need to know.

[BrianL99]

The colosseum is still standing and my driveway is chipping after several years. Tells you all you need to know.

"Chipping" vs "structural integrity" is comparing apples to oranges.

[Marathon Man]

The colosseum is still standing and my driveway is chipping after several years. Tells you all you need to know.

The Colosseum is partially standing.

[CarlR33]

LOL, a reputable company doing the coating will or can fix them as part of the process. When I got my garage done up north it had a fair amount of erosion from the salt and they repaired it with a leveling machine before the coating went on. I was told unless it’s more then a certain depth they will not charge extra so down here you should be fine.

[villagetinker]

OP, sent you a PM.