Blew a finish on a 300 yard driveway in Boise because of a sudden hailstorm

I was smoothing out a big residential driveway last June over in Boise when the sky just opened up and dumped hail the size of marbles. Ruined the whole surface in about 10 seconds flat, had to tear it out and re-pour the next day at my own cost. Now I always check weather reports 3 times before I even mix a batch. Anyone else get caught out by surprise weather like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan7051mo ago

First off you didn't lose that job Boise gets sudden hail every June so that's just bad planning on you. Second the homeowner probably would have been fine with a little texture from the hail since it adds grip for winter traction. Third you basically paid to redo a driveway that might have worked perfectly fine if you'd just left it alone instead of panicking.

the_holly10d ago

Tried that same "just leave the texture" approach once on an old driveway of mine. Turned out the divots collected standing water and froze into ice patches every winter, which was way more dangerous than any slick surface. Took me two seasons and a neighbor complaining about their mailman slipping to finally pave it over.

drew6901mo ago

Hold up, is nobody gonna talk about the insurance side of this? Ngl, if that homeowner had hail damage on a brand new driveway and didn't get it fixed, their insurance company might have dropped them or jacked up their rates next renewal. A lot of policies make you fix damage like that, even if it's just cosmetic. Plus if they ever tried to sell the place, a beat-up driveway with divots is gonna be a huge red flag for any home inspector. So yeah, maybe the other guy panicked, but at least he covered his own back instead of leaving a mess for the next owner to deal with.