Investigating a driveway: depth, joints and what lies beneath
How a defect investigation works, shown through one driveway that failed early.
In short: Exposed steel, thin concrete, missing joints and voids under a north west Sydney driveway.
The complaint
A driveway in Ermington was the subject of one of our defect investigations in July 2026. The task was to establish why it was failing, not just to list where.
Measured, not described
Slab depth was irregular and thinner than required in places. Reinforcement was exposed at the edges, and the edges were honeycombed.
Joints and tie-ins
Sections were poured at different times with no proper tie-in, and there were no isolation joints at pits or the spoon drain.
Beneath the slab
Voids and poor compaction under the concrete meant it was not fully supported. That explains much of the cracking.
What the report did
It set out each finding against the standard, the likely cause and what rectification would involve, so owner and builder were working from the same facts.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Gables. Licensed building practitioners, NSW Fair Trading licence 366177C.
