Just realized the new city hall steps are already spalling after one winter

I was downtown in Springfield yesterday and walked past the new city hall building they finished last fall. The main entrance steps are this fancy exposed aggregate, but you can already see big chunks flaking off at the edges. The whole bottom riser looks like it got salted hard and the finish just gave up. It's a brand new public project, man. Has anyone else seen jobs fail that fast with the wrong mix or finish for the location?

3 comments

3 Comments

abby_martinez2d ago

Saw a whole article about this last year. Some developer in Ohio used the wrong concrete mix for sidewalks near a bus depot. The freeze-thaw cycles just ate it up in a single season. They had to rip it all out and repour, which cost way more than getting it right the first time. Seems like a basic thing to check for a city project.

harperp242d ago

My buddy's HOA did the same thing with their parking lot. They saved a few bucks on the mix and ended up paying triple to fix it after one winter.

the_jenny2d ago

Classic government project corner cutting.