salts on surface of printed drive

Hi can anyone help!

I had a pattern imprinted drive laid 4 years ago looks great.......until; National Grid contractors Gas Alliance dug up a small section to replace a gas pipe.

The guy that repaired it did not put any membrane under the patch and now I have salts migrating to the surface. He has been back and just puts diluted seal on so it looks ok until the seal dries and then salt returns.

Am right in thinking that this patch will not improve unless it is dug out and a membrane put underneath, I also understand that a too porous mix will create channels for the salt to migrate up.

Gas Alliance will make him dig it out but only if I insist and stand my ground but I have been hoping that maybe it would not be necessary as the colour match etc. is good and I have cleaned and resealed the whole drive since the job was done

Grateful for any advice.

efflorescense when the salts migrate to the surface isn't a long term problem as eventually it subsides....

but if they are sealed in, it's hard to see how the problem will go away. maybe it's not that the contractor is at fault & did a bad job (you can't avoid efflorescense, sometimes it just happens) but just thinking out loud, maybe the fact it was sealed is the actual problem?

by membrane do you mean impermeable damp proof stylee or porous ground stabilisation stylee?

Thankyou for replying.

Yes the problem did become apparent after the seal went on.

The mix used for this type of drive is a special recipe I was told by the original contractor, and is always laid on a waterproof membrane, he laid what looked like a very very heavy cling film all over the area to be concreted and poured the mix directly onto that. Any membrane protruding beyond the joins' eg. when adding a different coloured border was burnt off or cut away.

Pattern imprinted drives are always sealed it enhances the colour and stops any staining, their selling point, it is advised to reseal every few years mine has been done once since it was laid in 07 and it looked pristine again. This patch will always look different if it isn't sealed.

There has been no problem with salts migrating up on the original drive just on the new patch. Every time he comes he puts on more seal and of course it appears to go away and just comes back.

I know he didn't put membrane under when he laid it and suspect that perhaps he isn't using the correct mix I understand any concrete won't do. He isn't a large contractor but but a one man band who follows Gas Alliance round repairing these drives so he is patching small areas of different patterns and colours, I understand he used to work for a large contractor and has now taken this job.

He is a nice guy and I am sure he is capable of doing a good job but he made a mistake and to put that mistake right it means starting from scratch and neither of us want that, I was hoping someone out there might have a solution to avoid that. The drive cost £4.500 and they have messed it up. But thanks again for getting back, You have helped... know what to do now...start again!

moneypenny said:

Thankyou for replying.

Yes the problem did become apparent after the seal went on.

.

He isn't a large contractor but but a one man band who follows Gas Alliance round repairing these drives so he is patching small areas of different patterns and colours, I understand he used to work for a large contractor and has now taken this job.

He is a nice guy and I am sure he is capable of doing a good job ...what to do now...start again!

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I`m sure he is but he is only the agent ( probably sub sub contract ) for National Grid - I know whose office I would be standing outside - come first day after Bank Holiday - Is National Grid owned by the French

Yes Nige F, National Grid sub Gas Alliance and Gas Alliance sub the guy who is doing the repair.

The Parish Council in the village have complained to the chief exec of National Grid about the poor reinstatement of roads footpaths and verges here.