HOMEOWNERS with driveways are being warned over a “crumbling risk” that has left experts and builders baffled.
It relates to an everyday building essential that is now widely used in Kansas City and across the country.
The issue only came to light after a couple in Kansas discovered their driveway started flaking only months after being installed.
This started off a chain of events that has flummoxed experts and builders, reported Fox4.
The first sign of trouble was reported by Edward and Denise Schlesselman of Kansas who took a builder to court after their driveway started “flaking”.
When the Schlesselmans took possession of the home in August, it wasn’t an issue.
“The driveway looked really good — like everyone else’s,” said Edward Schlesselman.
First sign of problems
Then winter arrived.
Not long after, a problem appeared.
But for the couple, it happened far too soon.
The driveway “was poured less than a year from the (appearance of the) first damage, so there’s something that had to be wrong,” Edward said.
The Schlesselmans believe the driveway should have lasted more than a few months.
And they’re not the only ones dealing with this issue.
Their neighbor, Kyle Burks, has encountered the same problem.
“It just makes the whole property feel cheap,” Burks said.
He said he noticed the crumbling just a few months after the first winter.
Not far away is his neighbor, Maryanne Mannino.
“[It’s] a driveway that looks like it’s been here 70 years, and it’s been here less than a year,” Mannino said.
Call in the experts
Steve Bennett, a professor and expert in construction, was brought in to inspect the problem.
He thought it may have been the process of pouring that was at fault.
“I think what I see here is too much moisture, either where they (contractors) added too much water or worked it too much,” said Bennett.
But the inspection team then uncovered another possible explanation for the issue – one that may not only be impacting Kansas City, but also the rest of the country.
It’s a mix of cement that is now widely used in the Kansas City market and across the country.
It’s officially called “Portland 1L” and it has primarily replaced what is called “Portland 1.”
The difference is that Portland 1L has a lower impact on the environment when it’s being created.
It’s been used in other countries for years.
Then, starting in 2021, various state departments of transportation began approving its use in the US.
Dominates the market
Now, it dominates the market.
But the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City (KCHBA) said many of the builders and concrete contractors didn’t know about the change.
“There should have been alarm whistles going off,” said Will Ruder, executive vice president of the local home builders association.
“We only learned about that after the fact when we started experiencing our own issues.”
Ruder said customers started complaining, and builders were confused by the sudden problems with flaking and deterioration.
“We’ve got a lot of people throwing their hands up in the air saying, ‘I’m confused’.”
Once he learned about the new mix, Ruder said things became clearer. He said Portland 1L is finer and a little more difficult to handle.
But he said that not knowing about the change in mixes has had consequences.
“Some of these driveways are not even surviving the first winter,” Ruder said.
In the Schlesselmans’ case, the builder offered to split the cost of sealing the driveway with the homeowners.
That’s a temporary fix, according to the family, who said they would consider the offer if the builder foots the entire cost.
In the meantime, the KCHBA said it doesn’t want these concrete problems to continue happening.
“We are less interested in a whodunit than what we do moving forward,” Ruder said.
