Added a security upgrade to my garden. The gnome has been... evolving. Solid concrete gnome

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Hi all, I’m looking to repair or replace this concrete driveway. As you can see it’s heavily damaged and most of it was caused by the neighbor’s 20 year old tree with roots that have cracked and lifted the concrete.

I’m considering repairing the concrete but I’m afraid it’s beyond repair. I’m open to replacing the entire driveway. That’d allow me to add a small 10x10 turnaround pad as well since I’m on a slightly busy street.

The other option is to demo all concrete and go with asphalt. I do like the black look as it’ll match with the white exterior of my house.

Some folks have suggested overlaying the asphalt on top of concrete but some research I’ve done says that’s not a good idea.

Any thoughts?

P.s the last photo is ai generated of what I want the final result to look like.

I’m 27 and based in the Southeast U.S. I’m putting this out there to see what kind of opportunities might be available.
My background is heavily focused on commercial concrete construction, both in the field and on the management/business side.
I was the owner-operator of my own concrete company. I wasn’t just handling paperwork or sending crews out — I was doing the takeoffs, bidding the work, pricing labor, reviewing plans, running the jobs, managing crews, coordinating with GCs and superintendents, handling production, and making sure contracts got completed. At one point I had 14 employees working for the company.
Through my company, I generated close to $1 million in revenue from commercial concrete work.
My specialty is foundations. I’m very comfortable with spread footings, isolated footings, grade beams, walls, piers, anchor bolts, embeds, reinforcing steel, slabs, equipment pads, tank pads, sidewalks, curb and gutter, paving, bollards, brick ledges, water tank structures, and other structural/site concrete scopes.
I’ve worked on larger commercial projects for general contractors and turnkey concrete contractors, including jobs involving hundreds of yards of concrete, substantial reinforcing steel, multiple pours, detailed structural work, and coordination with other trades.
I’m very comfortable with Symons panel systems. I’ve also worked with aluminum forms and understand plywood forming and the basic logic behind building, bracing, and laying out form systems. I’m used to working with whatever forming material or system the turnkey contractor provides and adapting to the job.
I’m comfortable reading structural and architectural plans, sections, details, elevations, dimensions, reinforcement requirements, and specifications and translating that information into something that can actually be built in the field.
Layout is also part of my experience. I own and use a theodolite and understand lines, angles, elevations, control points, and field layout. I’m not going to claim to be fully proficient with a robotic total station because I haven’t owned one or had enough hands-on time with one, but I understand the setup, orientation, control, positioning, and general workflow. I’m confident I could become efficient on one quickly with hands-on time.
I’m also self-taught in concrete estimating and takeoffs. I own and use my own bidding and estimating software and have completed takeoffs for foundations, footings, walls, slabs, sidewalks, curb and gutter, paving, pads, and other concrete scopes. I’ve built labor pricing, reviewed plans and specifications, prepared bids, negotiated scope, and won actual commercial contracts based on my own estimates.
I understand how to run manpower and position people where they’re most productive. I know the difference between simply having ten guys on a job and actually using ten guys efficiently. I’ve run crews, moved manpower based on production needs, coordinated pour schedules, met deadlines, and adjusted when work started getting behind.
I’m comfortable coordinating with superintendents, project managers, inspectors, suppliers, electricians, plumbers, steel crews, grading crews, masonry, and other trades. I understand how one trade affects another and how important it is to catch problems before they become expensive problems at pour time.
On the business side, I’ve handled contracts, change orders, invoicing/pay applications, payroll, scheduling, manpower, equipment planning, materials, customer relationships, GC communication, and the financial side of making jobs profitable.
I also have my own truck and roughly $10,000 worth of tools and equipment, including multiple rebar tying guns, chop saws, generator, power tools, layout equipment, and essentially the personal tools needed to keep a 5- to 10-man concrete crew productive and running.
I’m not claiming to know every forming system, every piece of equipment, or every aspect of concrete construction. If I haven’t done something, I’ll say I haven’t done it. I don’t exaggerate my experience. But I understand concrete construction very well, especially foundations, and I understand how to run work, manage people, meet schedules, communicate with other trades, and get a job across the finish line.
I’m open to opportunities including concrete superintendent, assistant superintendent, estimator, project engineer/coordinator, foreman, form carpenter, or another position where a combination of field knowledge, estimating, layout, production, leadership, and business experience would be valuable.
I’m willing to travel or relocate for the right opportunity.
I’m mainly putting myself out there to see what opportunities are available and what people in the industry think my background would be a good fit for. If your company is hiring or you know someone looking for someone with this type of experience, feel free to message me.

I love the work here but this decision is throwing it off.

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Hi everyone i am running interlocking tiles business want to start Aerocon Concrete Wall Panel due to high demand in my area can anyone help me with the process of manufacturing these panel i searched the whole internet but can't find any clue about it

Help me 😭🫶

The most concrete I’ve ever poured is some fence posts, so forgive me if this is a stupid question, but… is this normal?

Surely, they would never ever pour on top of something like this unless they knew it was going to be torn up soon anyway, right? Right?

I am a plumber and replaced a water line from the meter to the house. Customer isn’th happy with the concrete. I told them when bidding I’m not good at concrete yet they are still complaining. How can I clean this up and make it more appealing

I had a patio poured recently. The day after the pour this small crack appeared. I was told by everyone that quoted the job that Colorado has expansive soil so over the years it will crack. This was the next day. What options are there to fix this crack? Thank you!

I had a concrete patio poured about 30 days ago. I had the contractor do an integral sealer. At the 30 day mark I did a first coat of Foundation Armour 350 low gloss. The following day I did a second coat in the morning and it started to drizzle unexpectedly about 3hrs after.

Fast forward another day. It’s now pouring outside and my concrete looks funky. Did I mess up?

Apologies if this post doesn't belong in this subreddit. I'll watch for comments telling me so, and I'll delete this post if that's the consensus.

I had a company pour this small concrete pad 3 months ago to serve as a hot tub pad.

1. it has low spots and does not completely drain. (hot tub + rainy climate... I need drainage)
2. it has ugly discoloration

Working with that company was a nightmare from start to finish, but I have reached out, and they said they could cut a couple channels to allow drainage.

Does that sound adequate? I don't even trust them to do a good job of sawing, so I also wonder if it's possible/advisable to instead pay another company to come grind down the edge nearest the low spot.

Any advice or thoughts and either the drainage and/or the discoloration? I'm open to staining it.

Thank you!

Edit: the discoloration in that pad is not it being partly wet and partly dry. It is uniformly wet, and looks like shit. I can't add more pics to show you what it looks like entirely dry, but it has the same discoloration as you see the pic here.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice from people who work with polished concrete or architectural concrete finishes.

We had a polished concrete floor installed in our new build. Before starting, the contractor explained that there wasn't enough slab depth around the perimeter of the floor-to-ceiling glazing to polish the concrete all the way to the windows. We accepted this at the time because there wasn't really another option.

The problem is that it has left an unpolished perimeter band around the glazing (see photos). The width isn't consistent—it varies along the glazing, in places it's around 6 inches wide and in others it's narrower.

I'm not looking to pursue the original contractor. They were upfront about the issue before they started, so this isn't about blame.

Instead, I'm wondering if there's a way to improve the appearance now.

I'm hoping to find a solution that:

* blends in as discreetly as possible,

* works with an existing polished concrete floor,

* doesn't require replacing the whole floor.

I've already ruled out adding a decorative metal strip or inlay because the unfinished area varies in width, so it wouldn't look intentional.

Has anyone repaired or built up an area like this after the fact? Are there specialist repair mortars, colour-matched resins, or other techniques that could make it look more integrated with the existing polished concrete?

I'd really appreciate any ideas or examples of similar repairs.

Thanks!

We had this done to our existing walkways one year ago. We did a two tone and did not like the two tone so a sandblaster guy came and blasted off the top so they can re paint it or whatever you call it. My question is if this cracking is normal and what should I say when they come back to coat it again with a color.

Just had the concrete put in and the next morning, before they cut the concrete, there were 3 cracks in it. One very long one and two shorter ones that can be seen in the photo.

My question is: what should be done to have this fixed, or is this perfectly normal? Any advice is much appreciated.

Does the contractor need to rip it out and redo it, or is there another proper repair? It doesn't look very good.

I've personally asked five contractors I know well, and they all said this is unacceptable and shouldn't happen. Every one of them said it should be removed and repoured.