Hot take: granite hardener is a waste for 99% of driveways

Poured a 3500 sq ft driveway outside Tulsa last month and the homeowner insisted I use that expensive granite hardener on the surface. I told him it's snake oil for residential work, but he paid so I did it. I've been finishing concrete for 12 years and I've never seen a driveway wear out from soft granite. It's always cracking from bad prep or freeze-thaw cycles. Has anyone else had a customer demand something pointless like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

christophermorgan15d ago

Well I'll disagree with you there. I've seen plenty of driveways around here that got that ugly rough surface after a few years because the soft granite wore down and left the sand exposed. The hardener might not fix cracking but it sure keeps the surface looking good longer.

grantnelson15d ago

Remember reading something about using a densifier to help with that, basically seals the whole thing up so the sand doesn't wash out. Think that's what @christophermorgan is getting at with the hardener, keeps it from turning into a mess.