# Saving an apron



## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

I had a client call regarding concrete grinding after a township inspector flagged her driveway apron as a trip hazard (she's selling the home). Around these parts, when you're selling, the township comes by and marks any faulty public walkways and aprons. The onus is on the homeowner to have the work repaired prior to receiving a transferable Township UO certification for the new owner.

She mentioned that the inspector thought maybe somebody could grind down the concrete as opposed to replacing it and maybe save a few bucks 

Told her I'd have to take a look at it first and that I wanted to talk to inspector just to make sure we were on the same page.

I set a time and met with him at the job and sure enough he said, "as long as you can grind out the trips, I'm fine with it."

I ain't particularly fond of doing this kinda work, but I did save the homeowner a pretty sizable chunk of cash by not having to pull out the curb and apron and pour new. Temps around here are going to be dropping big league this week and soon, concrete work gets put on hold as the ground freezes.

I was glad to sneak this one in...made a nice day's pay as well! 

Had to remove about an inch at the sidewalk juncture and the lower curb area as well.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

Did you get a price for mud -jacking ?


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

I know, looks like chit doesn't it :laughing:

People actually pay me for this stuff...

Anyhoot, once I got all the highs off, I went back and ground the whole surface to blend the color a little better and smooth things out. 

The inspector showed up again just as I was wrapping up and loved it...took a bunch of my cards :thumbup: and said he could refer me for a chit ton of this work in the township. It's the 2nd largest in our county and he's marking stuff every day.

I said cool!


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## overanalyze (Dec 28, 2010)

Could be a nice little gig...inspector flags it and says here is your guy! Nice job on the blend. Looks pretty decent for old crete. Did you seal it at all after or is it just wet from cleaning it? 

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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

fjn said:


> Did you get a price for mud -jacking ?


Na...it's just too small to warrant that whole rig...I would have rather just replaced it, but it turned out alright. Actually dry, It looked really good.


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

overanalyze said:


> Could be a nice little gig...inspector flags it and says here is your guy! Nice job on the blend. Looks pretty decent for old crete. Did you seal it at all after or is it just wet from cleaning it?
> 
> Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk


Just wet from the hose...


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

superseal said:


> I know, looks like chit doesn't it :laughing:
> 
> People actually pay me for this stuff...
> 
> ...


Looks great for what you were working with and going the extra mile blending it... :thumbsup:

Only concern I'd have is after grinding it down would be cracks at the edges from swaying temps and thinner edge... no warranty provided, right?


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Nice save. Ill have to put that into the book of tricks I may or may not need someday


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

KAP said:


> Looks great for what you were working with and going the extra mile blending it... :thumbsup:
> 
> Only concern I'd have is after grinding it down would be cracks at the edges from swaying temps and thinner edge... no warranty provided, right?


That's not a concern I'd lose sleep over...Aprons are required to be 6" thick and they usually are... and that depressed curb sits 12" below grade.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

fjn said:


> Did you get a price for mud -jacking ?


Could be a PITA to bring the 2 sidewalk slabs up to level and try to not get a trip hazard on the sidewalk, at least from what I can see.


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## slowsol (Aug 27, 2005)

concrete grinding is a big business around here for HUD apartments right before their HUD inspections. They use big specialty rigs. Bang it out. 


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## Windycity (Oct 3, 2015)

They grind sidewalks around here all the time like that to eliminate the trippers when the sidewalk heaves up 

You said it was about an inch high, did you finish it with one diamond grinder cup wheel? 


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## MechanicalDVR (Jun 23, 2007)

Looks good!


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## FarmerBrown (Dec 4, 2009)

A question for the thread parent, and first I want to congratulate you on a job well done. The whole piece looks great. My question is this: how much could you have been on the hook for if it hadn't turned out well? Besides facing the existing property owner, could you have also landed in hot water with the township?


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

Windycity said:


> They grind sidewalks around here all the time like that to eliminate the trippers when the sidewalk heaves up
> 
> You said it was about an inch high, did you finish it with one diamond grinder cup wheel?
> 
> ...


Used a mix of a regular segmented 8" blade, a 4 1/2" continuous rim and an 8" cup grinder. I scored the edge using kerf cuts and blew them off like dominos with the chipper gun to get my rough height...After that, it was all grinding. Took about four hours.


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

ContractorsLiability said:


> A question for the thread parent, and first I want to congratulate you on a job well done. The whole piece looks great. My question is this: how much could you have been on the hook for if it hadn't turned out well? Besides facing the existing property owner, could you have also landed in hot water with the township?


Thanks for your comment...I wasn't too worried about making look okay, but if it didn't work out for some unforeseen reason, I told her we'd have to replace it...After all, she was looking to save money vs. replacement and that's what I was able to accomplish.

As soon as I did a test patch, It was clear I could get it close, so I ran with it. 

I swung by this morning to see how it looked dry and everything looked good, the owner called and said the check is in the mail and like I said earlier, the inspector was very pleased...a trifecta win!


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

I think you did replace it and you're telling a tall tale! It looks too good. :thumbsup:


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## slowsol (Aug 27, 2005)

It's like a mentos commercial. 


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## FarmerBrown (Dec 4, 2009)

MarkJames said:


> I think you did replace it and you're telling a tall tale! It looks too good. :thumbsup:


Truly, lol. Now I know who to contact if I need any kind of concrete grinding or modifying at my house!


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