How to tell if curb is good or bad
Curbing is a handmade product. Installation takes some artistic skill as well as technical knowledge with a large variety of factors from concept through completion
Just drawing a good guide line on the ground takes some skill, let alone actual design considerations. If the estimator can’t draw a decent line, that might be a warning flag. The quality of the ingredients, the mixing ratios used, equipment limitations, dealing with rough or unusual ground conditions, crew experience, choice of materials, weather, all factor into getting a good job.
There are always novices in the market, showing you photos of someone else’s work. Keep an eye out for that scam! You need to be aware that they may have little experience and can easily be using yours as a practise job. There are a lot of things that can go wrong, from thunderstorms to equipment trouble, a messed up mix, bad timing, or simply poor technique.
Curbing should be installed so it flows smoothly without sudden side to side “kinks” in the lines or “bumps” up and down. Admittedly, the ground can be difficult sometimes, and you might see some wiggles in anyone’s work. But this should be minimal.
Curbing should function as a mowing edge. Curbs installed too steeply or too high above the ground are useless as mower strips. You need to mow beside them and later go all along with the weedeater to trim the grass. I just do not understand the rationale behind that kind of curbing. There are franchise system curbs seven inch wide and taller than ours on the market that are useless as a mowing edge. You have to mow beside them then use a string line trimmer to tidy up along the edge. What is the point of that? Maybe people think they show nicely but in reality they can look just too bulky. Our six inch residential bed edging curbs have proven to be the most popular choice by far.
Quality not quantity: Bulkier is not necessarily stronger. The key is the quality of the mix. We do not cheap out on cement or other vital ingredients. Our concrete has been laboratory tested at 45mpa- a very strong mix!
We are including this gallery of “bad curb” so you can see some things you shouldn’t do, or shouldn’t accept in a curb installation.
chipped: typical kwik kerb using the slurry coat they brag about- shows white when chipped- not repairable. Slurry makes bright colours, but doesnt last well.
Bad location- Just not a good place to put curb- beside the driveway- of course its going to get hit and broken. What do you expect?
Very rough finish- We see a lot of this very rough finishing on the quick kerb product.
Line is wobbly besides.
wrong colour The RED just does not belong here. There's no accounting for bad taste.
Line is wobbly besides.
White chip in competitors quick kerb. These are seen frequently. When ours chips, you see the base colour, not weaker white mortar base.
Rope lighting- an expensive mistake. another reason why we do not install rope lighting in our curbs. It may work in California, but not here.
People ask me if we install rope lighting in our curbs. NO we don't and here is why. That uneven black line is the rope lighting. Very expensive to get this done, and doesn't look good.
BUMPY, JIGGLY A very badly done line. up and down a lot
Bad in every way not only is the line wobly- but why the heck not include that obstacle in the bed?
Not enough cement in mix. very cheap with the cement in the mix. Concrete is crumbly
very messy Waste concrete everywhere. You should expect a bit of cleanup, but this is bad.
kinky, not smooth around the curve
Bad technique- the concrete was setting so he used water. very bad trowelling- he used water here to do finishing- way too much of it.
Too tight inside curve not only is the design bad, but the execution is terrible- jerky and wobbly
I couldnt believe how bad this job was. The crew that did this claimed they had a year's experience- well it was September- so I suppose they did a whole summer worth of bad work like this. The lady had paid them- unbelievable.
Terrible "straight lines" like this are unacceptable
another reason NOT to do straight runs along property line- potential damage