Had concrete driveway and path poured in May 2025. The contractor also sealed it. March 2026 we noticed spalling that was fairly wide spread but worse in some areas. We never use de-icing salt, cars parked in garage not on driveway.
Our deal with the contractor was for an exposed aggregate driveway in Ontario. They said this was something they could do. No discussion on which type of cement they were using etc.
Contractor is now saying they don’t offer any guarantee on their work or warranty. They claim this isn’t their fault. They are blaming the new 1L cement they used, that it’s difficult to work with and prone to breaks/fractures/spalling. They claim they’re forced to use this so it’s not their fault. They also claim that any residual road salt that gets on the driveway from tires also are causing the spalling.
Driveway is 10 months old. This is Ontario, winter and road salt are part of life. We didn’t put salt on our driveway but we can’t prevent it from being on tires. We also weren’t told anything about 1L cement or the “risks” associated with it.
To me this looks more like a surface failure from how the job was done. Maybe the type of cement does factor in, but our deal wasn’t with the supplier it was with the contractor.
This was a very expensive job. He is wiping his hands clean and blaming government regulations and this new cement.
Can someone offer goods and services and then refuse to remedy issues?
Next step is small claims court.
Thanks