This may seem trivial to some, but it bothers me. We hired a company to come and fix some of the glass in our front door that had broken. The company is incorporated and insured. The person that came fixed the glass and at my first glance just now he did a good job, but he had an accident in our driveway. He accidentally spilled boiling meratic acid, leaving a 3-4 feet long discoloring stain and trail on the driveway (even some tire marks through it). It's like it sapped the off-white color out of everything it touched -- leaving a yellowish look. Fairly ugly. I wasn't here for it -- I was the one who discovered it. My wife was here and all she knew was that he asked to use the hose to clean the driveway (which had a lot of broken glass still which I drove through). He didn't say what happened. I called him just now and to his credit he told me what happened, that he thought the hosing down would have taken care of it. He was very apologetic and told me they were willing to take care of it however possible. So I'm going to find a powerwasher and they're going to pay for it. My questions are: 1) Is powerwashing going to fix a driveway stained by acid? 2) If not, then what? I mean I don't want to be a prick here, but I keep that driveway fairly flawless and it's a major ugly area now.
Hopefully that works better than your "Let's start Stephen Graham" suggestion. Seriously though ... thanks DaDakota.
Powerwashing is worth a try but I don't know if that is going to do it. That is some powerful acid. I would be careful with this because if you have a hell HOA you might start getting letters about this and you don't want to pay for it.
Don't mean to be a prick. Dude, you're well within your right to complain about something like that and expect a professional, courteous response...and not be a considered a prick. Before reading the thread, my advice was going to be "Don't hire a contractor"...apologies to anyone here in the profession, but you suck...
Powerwashing is not going to do it. Concrete is very porous, almost like a sponge. Thats why oil and fertilizer stains never go away. I'd call a paving company and ask them what the best remedy is and present the repair and/or replace price to your contractor.
There is a lot of bad in the construction industry I think you will be able to see a distinction in color of the concreete surface. Without seeing it-I expect the color difference will fade with time. That really is not good enough. I would suggest using the power washer with bleach. If that does not work call the contractor and have him come up with a solution to make it like original. In fact - call him before you wash it-so he does not blame the washing for any part of the problem. I wish I lived in Austin- I would come put beautiful glaze on your drive like you see in Cafe Express. I'm sorry it happened to you- Codell is right-I'm afraid the power washer will not take care of it. Do not forget - this is the contactor's problem-not yours! He is required by law to provide a remedy.
Damn -- that sucks... thanks for the advice you guys. TBar - I'm actually in the north Houston area, so this was a Houston company. I took photos of it today (this accident happened not long before I posted), but I'll take video too I guess. Terrible timing for me -- way too much going on. This is a bleepin' hassle.
Muriatic acid is another name for hydrochloric acid. The following are a couple of responses to a similar question about muriatic acid on concrete pavers posed on a forum dedicated to that sort of thing. [rquoter] Hope the yellow spots are agreeable to you. They will fade over time with enough rain, however the only sure way to get rid of them is to sand blast your pavers. Your best bet is to go to Home Depot and get some new ones. [/rquoter] and [rquoter] The reason you are seeing yellow spots on your muriatic acid cleaned pavers is because some of the aggregates used in making the pavers are now exposed. The reason for this is that muriatic acid attacks the pigments used to color the cement that is part of the concrete mix. The pigment most widely used to color concrete is iron oxide (rust). Muriatic acid and metals do not go well together. In fact when swimming pool interiors are are being installed, they use muriatic acid to expose the colored aggregates to give your pool a unique look. Once exposed there is really nothing you can do. You could seal them using an acrylic sealer and have the sealer tinted to a color you like. This will have to be redone about every 3 to 4 years. [/rquoter] source Based on that description, if you really are seeing iron oxide you might try one of the chemical rust removers.
Make them clean it. If they can't, they need to replace it. The problem is that everything else will need to be replaced, because it will stick out like a clean sore thumb against the rest of it. Welcome to my world. I had an insurance claim last August and believe it or not, it's not done. I thank my Lord and Savior for giving me the necessary character to handle this life-challenging matter to the best of my ability. I think the typical Joe would have injured at least a few people, but not me. I have not hit anyone as of yet. I don't plan to, but we must live life a day at a time. I wish you the best of luck. Does it look worse and worse the longer it sits? If so, time is of the utmost essence. I will pray for you.
Thanks again for the advice guys .... got one more question: Should I cancel the check? It was about $200 ... I thought I should cancel the check first thing in the morning just to put pressure on to fix it, but didn't know if that would free him of any obligation to repair the situation.
I'm sorry - I thought it was concrete paving....Is it brick pavers? I do not know about brick. The reason I mentioned the acid glaze treatment you see at some Cafe Express-like on Kirby is that part of the preparation done by some involves an acid treatment. I know that Burrus contractor's supply now has a location on the SE side- I will call this am and find out reputable contractors who do this. I did it for my Uncle in Onion Creek about 4 years ago on his patio. We Saw cut a Star and glazed it Blue- green - with the surrounding area an olive brown. It is the only time I did it - but he was happy. It was cheap to do. I have been wanting to treat (acid etch glaze) my patio as well. Enough about my digression- The contractor should fix it - or his insurance will pay to remedy the problem......
No, don't cancel the check. You don't want to risk a contractor's lien on your house. If it's not fixed, go to small claims court.
No, don't cancel the check. It is the company's insurance company that's supposed to pay for the driveway, not the glazier. Besides, fixing the stain will probably end up costing more than $200, so they won't be pining and dieing for the money you refused them. They'd take it as an excuse to not fix your driveway. Try putting acid on the rest of the driveway so that everything will match. Seriously, I'd think the most expedient and inexpensive but effective solution would be to stain or glaze the whole driveway. It sounds like the stain will also disappear in due time, but if you don't want to wait, any sort of cleaning scheme doesn't sound like it will work.
200 bucks is not worth the hastle. They made a good faith admittance and sounds like they will take responsibility. Trust them to honor that and play nice. Frustration always makes things more difficult.
A photoshop of Rafer in his "I Will Be Here Next Year" shirt standing next to a driveway with a bucket of acid is in order.
When someone makes a mistake and owns up to it and makes a good faith effort to correct the issue, I always give them the benefit of the doubt. I guess you have to look at it this way. How much effort is it worth to repair an accident that put a stain on your driveway in the long term? Especially since the stain will fade over time and has no real affect on the value of your house. I'd say if they give it a shot with a pressure washer or other cleaning solution, how much money is it worth to then try to repair the issue. Is it worth taking large sums of money out of their pocket as well? I know we all live in a sue happy time, but think about the next time that you may make a small mistake that might cost a lot of money for no real gain for someone else. Sometimes in life its better to just let things slide. No matter what course you take, however, I would promote honesty and good faith since it was a simple mistake that has been owned up to and if they deal fairly.
First guy we spoke with this morning was from a powerwashing company ... been in that business for years. He said when that happens with an acid like that, there's nothing that can be done. The powerwashing will help, but it won't take care of it. The only solution is a new driveway ... you could re-do the impacted sections of the driveway, but it won't be the same color. He also said contractors will fight like hell to not have it go on their insurance, since a claim is a big impact to them and their costs. I despise this nonsense with all of my being. $10 grand because the careless dude spills a chemical on my driveway? I don't even want to have to call this contractor back to have to say that.
