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Warning: Don't cheap out on expansion joint filler like I did
Last Tuesday I poured a 20x30 patio slab in Kansas City and figured I'd save a few bucks buying the generic expansion joint filler from a big box store instead of the name brand stuff I normally get from my supply house. Big mistake. The filler was way too rigid and cracked right along every joint after only three days of curing. The homeowner called me yesterday saying the gaps are already showing and it looks like crap. Now I gotta tear out all that filler, buy the good stuff from my supplier, and redo it on my own dime. That cheap filler cost me an extra $150 in materials and a full day of labor. Has anyone else had bad luck with generic joint filler or is it just me?
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jakewhite1mo ago
Damn @allen.iris you just reminded me of the time I used cheap caulk around a bathtub and it turned yellow within a month. Looked like someone had been chain smoking in there. My wife made me redo the whole thing with the good stuff from the plumbing supply house. That cheap caulk cost us a weekend and a lot of sour looks. Never again.
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allen.iris1mo ago
Double down on that mistake by telling you the cheap filler also didn't hold up to the heat we get here in summer. I used some off brand stuff on a walkway last year and it literally melted and oozed out of the joints on a 95 degree day. Had to go back and scrape it all out with a putty knife in the blazing sun, worst afternoon of my life. The name brand stuff stays put no matter what the weather does, that's the real difference. You pay for that reliability so you don't have to explain to a client why their brand new patio looks like a patchwork mess after one week.
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