Concrete path around house. Use of expansion joints?

I had my concrete driveway completed through my builder and noticed a foam expansion joint (correct term??) was placed around the slab where the concrete met the slab.

I am now getting a concrete path around my new house including the alfresco area. The job is almost complete.

Today I noticed the concreter hasn't included the same foam lining used by my builder for my driveway. The concrete is sitting flush against my slab. My question is: is this ok? Is it legal and will my warranty still be valid?

I am very worried and have absolutely no idea about this type of thing.

Unless the regulations have recently changed, the use of expansion foam isn't mandated but it is best practice.

There also is a tear away strip on top of expansion foam that is designed to be removed and a suitable flexible weatherproof sealant applied once the path has settled.

Have added some photos.
Gave the concrete a rinse today, water pools near the entry to the alfresco!

What H2O said is accurate.

Two things also jump out and that’s the construction or control joint cuts in the path don’t go all the way to the end, I’m assuming the concreter will cut those closer when they finish and the weepholes in your brickwork are tight to your path, keep an eye on those

Thank you for your reply. I am also concerned by the height of the concrete. Hopefully the concreter can do something about it!

Yes, really bad non compliance. The concreter is a cowboy.

The path should have a 1:20 slope (50mm) over the first metre away from the house.

As mentioned there are a few issues here, have a chat with the concreter

Have spoken to the concreter
He says he used 10mm expansion joints and will finish off the work tomorrow. He is now asking for the rest of the money before the job is complete
I have a knack for picking ******* tradies!

Have you also had termite treatment?

Yes I have. This is how concreter has left it. He is now refusing to complete the job until all money is paid

This isn’t a great situation you’re in, a Concreter who has his back up now and won’t complete a job that should be better than it is.

Maybe you can agree to pay half of what’s owing so he can finish the job and go from there

Ok....he has done serious non compliant work as already mentioned and now he wants full payment before he finishes the job. This is the classic modus operandi of a shonk!

The path needs to come up and the money refunded.

You also need to check ASAP with the business/company that did your termite protection to ascertain/confirm as to whether the termite barrier has been compromised.

The concreting cannot be left the way it is unfortunately.

Good answer from SaveH2O but what you see now are symptoms of underlying condition and builder's non compliance.

Once your builder has finished then ground levels around your dwelling should have been 2 bricks(150mm) below bottom of the weep hole (location of your DPC) and graded away from dwelling 50mm in the first metre.


Your concrertor then could have finished your paving by constructing it on top (without even putting brain in the gear) and it would have complied. Instead he just put paving on top of what he found (without thinking and probably without knowing) and it is now non-compliant.

It seems no one checked your builder's work and your builder has saved the cost of taking additional load of surplus soil from the site.
If you had spent around $ 600 on a competent pre final inspection you could have avoided your problems, and probably have some more problems picked up that you don't know you have. Instead you saved $600

Don't forget that doing the concrete with your own contractor makes you a second builder on the job. You might be giving the first builder free kick when warranty items appear (especially if you start having foundation problems). Yes there are plenty of shonks about but who are they?

1 First builder is a shonk because of defective ground levels
2 Concreter is a shonk because he should have known his levels and grades even if the builder didn't
3 Second builder is a shonk because no one checked concerters preparations (grades and levels) before concrete was poured.

I am saying all this not because I want to be disrespectful but because I have seen this so many times that the point has to be made brutally so that the message sticks. The message is: Your home is your investment and you need to get professional help to protect your investment. If you are doing extra work, there may be risks you are not aware of, get professional help.

Totally agree about getting an independent professional inspection however it’s no guarantee that the building company will listen. I’m there at the moment looking at fair trading or even considering media that deal in exposing these “professional” builders. Did our research before choosing a company and went with a “reputable” company. It seems their just good at publicity not construction. And customer service is non exsistant.

I had concrete paths around the slab recently and the concreter refused to add the expansion joints against the brickwork claiming he didn't have to as the other side of the concreting was an open area. he did however do it lower than the termite barrier which is lower than the first row of bricks.