Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - 6 mo old driveway flaking issues....

Hello. I recently had an additional garage added to my house. They had to cut up some of the old driveway and poured an additional section for the new garage. It was poured on July 22, 2008. Recently we had a pretty good amount of snow and ice on the driveway and it was there for a solid two weeks. After it melted, this is what I found. Where the cement is flaking up, I see some rocks. Also, the old section of cement directly touching the new section has no issues. Any standard terms for this so I can search better? How about repair? Thanks!

http://photos.imageevent.com/jasonk/forsale/websize/DSC00464.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/jasonk/forsale/websize/DSC00466.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/jasonk/forsale/websize/DSC00467.JPG

A friend of mine had the exact same thing. She was told it was a bad mix.
The ice shouldn't have bothered it. I'd call the contractor.

A few things: The first is to check with the ready mix plant, not the contractor, to find out if this load of concrete was air-entrained. This is a must for exterior concrete in freeze/thaw climate. For this you'd need to know what concrete company was used, the date of the pour, and the contractor's name. The concrete plant keeps records called a batch ticket that tells what mix was used, and (if the driver did his job right) it will also tell you how much additional water was added to the truck while on the job. Sometimes contractors will add a lot of water to the truck to make the concrete more workable, especially in the hot summer. This additional water will greatly weaken the concrete because it causes a high water:cement ratio. If it's not listed on the batch ticket though, you'd have no proof that the contractor improperly added water. No matter what though, it will say if the concrete was air-entrained.
Additionally, if water is added to the slab surface by the contractor and trowelled or floated in, it will weaken the surface, resulting in exactly what you have. Were you there during the pour? If so, did you see them putting water on the slab while finishing? If they added water to the surface, it's bad. Judging by the photos that would be my first guess.
Next, did you use any de-icing chemicals on the concrete this winter? Even the stuff they say is safe for concrete is not. No concrete under a year old should EVER be subjected to de-icers or it will flake just as yours did.
The fix is either a good concrete resurfacer after all loose material is removed, or a complete tear out and re-do.

Forgot to ask...How did you post the pics in the thread? So many folks have asked over the years, that I thought the website wasn't able to display them. It would help a lot of us to know how you did it. Thanks!

Sorry, but one final note. I said to contact the ready-mix plant first, but that's a mistake. First give the contractor an opportunity to find out what's going on and suggest a fix to your problem. After all, it is possible that it was a materials problem, although that would be a rarity. But give him the benefit of a doubt.
If he can't answer your questions or seems angry or evasive, then get the ready mix company involved. They will send out a representative to meet you and troubleshoot the job and help figure out the problem. If it comes to that point, tell them to bring the batch ticket with them. Another useful piece of info on the batch ticket is the driver's name. If all else fails, you may be able to interview him to see if he remembers them adding a lot of water to the truck or the surface.
I am a concrete contractor myself and ran up against this very problem once. Good luck.

Wow thanks guys.

Unfortunately, I was in Japan when they poured the slab so I didn't get to see it but my wife sent me the pictures that I posted the day afterwards. It was a clear day when they poured it, probably low 80s or high 70s temp wise in July 2008. We live in Columbus Ohio and thru the month of January it was four weeks or so of -5 to 15F temps with ice and snow on the driveway. AFter it warmed up and melted last week, that is what I saw. Unfortunately, the builder has some other unfinished issues on the house and I have been all over him and his lack of attention to detail and quality. I am going to forward him these pictures and tell him there is an issue.

As far as posting pictures, I use imageevent.com for hosting them and when I want to put up a picture here I put it as follows...

XXXXXX.com Link HEre whatever

Change the word "picture" in the brackets to "IMG" with no quotes.

Thank you all for your help!