Spent 4 hours trying to fix a pop in a driveway slab before I figured it out

I had this 10x10 slab that kept popping up right at the control joint every summer. Thought it was base prep or bad expansion material, wasted a whole Saturday tearing it apart. Turned out the dowel basket was installed crooked by about a quarter inch. That little offset was enough to push the slab up when it expanded. Finally fixed it with a grinder and some silicone, took maybe 20 minutes once I saw the real problem. Has anyone else found hidden issues like that after way too much guesswork?

2 comments

2 Comments

wilson.jesse26d ago

Boy howdy, don't I know that feeling. I spent a whole weekend once chasing a squeak in a deck board that turned out to be a single nail head rubbing against the joist. I had pulled up half the decking, replaced screws, added extra blocking, the whole nine yards. Finally sat down in frustration with a cold drink and just stared at it. Saw that one little spot glinting in the sun and felt like the biggest fool on the planet. A dab of roofing cement and five minutes later, silence. Makes you wonder how many hours we've all wasted before we finally stop and look at the obvious stuff.

sandra_black27d ago

Classic case of a quarter inch causing 4 hours of pain. Sounds about right for concrete work, where everything looks fine until it's not and you're left wondering why you didn't just check the dowels first. Hope that grinder saved your sanity a bit.