Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
A couple of years ago my wife fell on the ice in front of our house and dislocated and broke her shoulder. Last year, my feet flew in the air and I cracked my head on the concrete after slipping on an ice patch on the concrete pad. When I hired Concrete Surface and Design to resurface the concrete pad, filling the shallow spots where ice forms was not a trivial issue and a cornerstone of our agreement. If he had said he couldn’t or wouldn’t do it, I would not have hired him.
It is my belief the preparation was incomplete and not done in a professional manner. The bottom line though is that after the job was completed and the first rain came, the puddles on the surface were larger than before he started. Within a few weeks, the original cracks in the surface broke through the surface in their original location. The puddles (soon to be ice patch) form right in the main walking path for anyone entering or leaving my home or office and present a dangerous concern.
I was given a 1 year warranty on the work in our agreement and have a right to expect work be done in a professional manner. If problems are found, I have a right to expect they will be quickly resolved in a professional manner. When I showed Concrete Surface and Design the problems and asked to have it fixed, his only proposed solution was to use a saw to cut channels across my cistern top so the water could drain. This would weaken the structure, create numerous edges that would crack off, the saw cut would quickly fill with dirt and debris and I’d have my puddles back and it would look absolutely terrible. Besides, it does nothing to resolve the improperly fixed cracks now breaking through the surface. This is not a realistic solution, not what I paid for and a totally unacceptable proposal.
I’ve asked Concrete Surface and Design to do the work they were hired to do in a professional manner and honor their contract, warranty and our agreements, or to refund what I paid and restore the surface to its original condition so I can hire someone else to do the job without having to incur additional expense.[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]Regards,[redacted]
Revdex.com;I fully understand with the homeowners concern of ice and the slipping potential. I to have slipped on ice, once cracking some ribs and once leading to a shoulder surgery on a drive way that even had a considerable slope. If water drainage was the main focus and to assure there would be no standing water that would have required a different approach or application. Such as tearing out re-framing and screeded to a proper pitch or grade, or a concrete cap, where it is framed and another layer poured on top. If that was the case we would have declined. That is type of work we do not do and requires another form of profession. I did not make any claims that we would assure preventing any standing water. We do decorative concrete such as staining, coatings, overlyments etc. We apply decorative coatings to existing concrete to protect and beautify. We talked about what we were going to do and was put into a contract describing the work to be performed. The low lying area the homeowner he pointed out we did patch that low lying area. It is not standard practice to try and identify and eliminate the chance on any standing water. Not only that with the products needed to give a decorative surface that con not be accomplished. Because of the different product limitations, such as how thin, thick can be applied, cure time and hand trowel ability. A sealed surface will hold the water until it evaporates unlike a unsealed porous surface. In the profession of decorative concrete this was professionally done. I have had training and certification from a number of manufactures regarding surface prep and application. I have had training from one of the leading crack repair product manufactures. The home owner claims improperly fixing the cracks. Crack repair is essentially filling and sealing and for what purpose. To help cosmetically or to prevent water intrusion. There are many products for this and for what application: horizontal, vertical, structural, moving cracks, static cracks, how big depth, width etc and for what purpose. Inside, outside. There are many limitations and can a decorative surface be put over top of these. Cure times can also affect when a decorative surface can be applied. Do to the many variables associated with cracks one cannot guarantee a crack cannot resurface. Concrete expands and contracts with changes in temperature. I have seen crack appear to disappear in warm weather and open back up in cooler temperatures.I did propose cutting a channel not channels. This is a narrow shallow depth saw cut. We have done several decorative saw cut projects. Most concrete patios, walkway, driveways etc have already either a saw cut and or a trowel joint which serve as a purpose to help control or prevent a visible crack and they also help dissipate water. When we do a decorative surface these are still honored and visible when done. The work to be done in the contract was honored and the application was done in a professional manner. The warranty covers using high quality products free of defects, application per manufacture recommendations and product failure. [redacted]
Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.The response given by the business is inaccurate and misleading. His suggested remedy is unacceptable.
The simple fact is that the contractor was hired to level the patio and resurface it in a professional manner, consistent with the large fee he charged and he gave a warranty on all work. It was on this basis that he was hired. He did not do what he was hired to do and has refused to honor his warranty.
There were only a few areas that needed to be filled or leveled. The contractor filled one small area, but ignored the rest. The fact that he filled the area shows we discussed filling the low spots as part of the job, and he did agree to fill the shallow spots, the issue is only that he did an incomplete job due to negligence. Those areas are still forming rain puddles, even more so than before and as a result will be dangerous black ice spots this winter. The process of finding and filling shallow spots would have been very simple and easy, if the contractor had simply used a level to find and skim over low spots, but he did not. He did not even fill all the spots pointed out to him. His failure to use a level across the surface, or any other reasonable method to find and skim fill the low spots was unprofessional.
As to the cracks, any contractor who simply pre-skims a crack and expects it not to crack again doesn't know what he is doing or is intentionally negligent. Cracks need to be scraped out, filled with a wide layer of compound that is guaranteed not to crack or at least taped. The cracks he skimmed over re-cracked within a couple weeks, even before a change in weather. The very fact these cracks have re-appeared so fast is evidence they were not repaired in a professional manner.
Contractors have an obligation to do their work in a professional and workmanlike manner. He also gave me a 1 year warranty on all work. The warranty was not limited in any way. I've asked the contractor to fill the shallow areas and fix the cracks properly and he has refused.
Instead of filling the low spots, the contractor suggested sawing a channel across my patio as a solution. This is one of the craziest things I've ever heard and have previously listed several reasons why this is totally unacceptable but most importantly it is not what I paid for.
The unfortunate part of this is that to fill the shallows and fix the cracks, the entire surface needs to be sanded down and the whole process repeated.
Either the contractor is going to do it, or I will need to hire someone else to do it, then I will have to pay someone else the same amount to do the job he was hired and paid to do.
Therefore, I have asked that the contractor restore the surface to its original condition and refund what he has already been paid, or refund what has been paid and also reimburse me for the cost to have someone else restore the surface to its original condition.
To get this resolved, I will agree to go to binding Revdex.com arbitration with this contractor on the basis that the arbitrator is a qualified construction contractor.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
A couple of years ago my wife fell on the ice in front of our house and dislocated and broke her shoulder. Last year, my feet flew in the air and I cracked my head on the concrete after slipping on an ice patch on the concrete pad. When I hired Concrete Surface and Design to resurface the concrete pad, filling the shallow spots where ice forms was not a trivial issue and a cornerstone of our agreement. If he had said he couldn’t or wouldn’t do it, I would not have hired him.
It is my belief the preparation was incomplete and not done in a professional manner. The bottom line though is that after the job was completed and the first rain came, the puddles on the surface were larger than before he started. Within a few weeks, the original cracks in the surface broke through the surface in their original location. The puddles (soon to be ice patch) form right in the main walking path for anyone entering or leaving my home or office and present a dangerous concern.
I was given a 1 year warranty on the work in our agreement and have a right to expect work be done in a professional manner. If problems are found, I have a right to expect they will be quickly resolved in a professional manner. When I showed Concrete Surface and Design the problems and asked to have it fixed, his only proposed solution was to use a saw to cut channels across my cistern top so the water could drain. This would weaken the structure, create numerous edges that would crack off, the saw cut would quickly fill with dirt and debris and I’d have my puddles back and it would look absolutely terrible. Besides, it does nothing to resolve the improperly fixed cracks now breaking through the surface. This is not a realistic solution, not what I paid for and a totally unacceptable proposal.
I’ve asked Concrete Surface and Design to do the work they were hired to do in a professional manner and honor their contract, warranty and our agreements, or to refund what I paid and restore the surface to its original condition so I can hire someone else to do the job without having to incur additional expense.[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]Regards,[redacted]
Revdex.com;I fully understand with the homeowners concern of ice and the slipping potential. I to have slipped on ice, once cracking some ribs and once leading to a shoulder surgery on a drive way that even had a considerable slope. If water drainage was the main focus and to assure there would be no standing water that would have required a different approach or application. Such as tearing out re-framing and screeded to a proper pitch or grade, or a concrete cap, where it is framed and another layer poured on top. If that was the case we would have declined. That is type of work we do not do and requires another form of profession. I did not make any claims that we would assure preventing any standing water. We do decorative concrete such as staining, coatings, overlyments etc. We apply decorative coatings to existing concrete to protect and beautify. We talked about what we were going to do and was put into a contract describing the work to be performed. The low lying area the homeowner he pointed out we did patch that low lying area. It is not standard practice to try and identify and eliminate the chance on any standing water. Not only that with the products needed to give a decorative surface that con not be accomplished. Because of the different product limitations, such as how thin, thick can be applied, cure time and hand trowel ability. A sealed surface will hold the water until it evaporates unlike a unsealed porous surface. In the profession of decorative concrete this was professionally done. I have had training and certification from a number of manufactures regarding surface prep and application. I have had training from one of the leading crack repair product manufactures. The home owner claims improperly fixing the cracks. Crack repair is essentially filling and sealing and for what purpose. To help cosmetically or to prevent water intrusion. There are many products for this and for what application: horizontal, vertical, structural, moving cracks, static cracks, how big depth, width etc and for what purpose. Inside, outside. There are many limitations and can a decorative surface be put over top of these. Cure times can also affect when a decorative surface can be applied. Do to the many variables associated with cracks one cannot guarantee a crack cannot resurface. Concrete expands and contracts with changes in temperature. I have seen crack appear to disappear in warm weather and open back up in cooler temperatures.I did propose cutting a channel not channels. This is a narrow shallow depth saw cut. We have done several decorative saw cut projects. Most concrete patios, walkway, driveways etc have already either a saw cut and or a trowel joint which serve as a purpose to help control or prevent a visible crack and they also help dissipate water. When we do a decorative surface these are still honored and visible when done. The work to be done in the contract was honored and the application was done in a professional manner. The warranty covers using high quality products free of defects, application per manufacture recommendations and product failure. [redacted]
Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.The response given by the business is inaccurate and misleading. His suggested remedy is unacceptable.
The simple fact is that the contractor was hired to level the patio and resurface it in a professional manner, consistent with the large fee he charged and he gave a warranty on all work. It was on this basis that he was hired. He did not do what he was hired to do and has refused to honor his warranty.
There were only a few areas that needed to be filled or leveled. The contractor filled one small area, but ignored the rest. The fact that he filled the area shows we discussed filling the low spots as part of the job, and he did agree to fill the shallow spots, the issue is only that he did an incomplete job due to negligence. Those areas are still forming rain puddles, even more so than before and as a result will be dangerous black ice spots this winter. The process of finding and filling shallow spots would have been very simple and easy, if the contractor had simply used a level to find and skim over low spots, but he did not. He did not even fill all the spots pointed out to him. His failure to use a level across the surface, or any other reasonable method to find and skim fill the low spots was unprofessional.
As to the cracks, any contractor who simply pre-skims a crack and expects it not to crack again doesn't know what he is doing or is intentionally negligent. Cracks need to be scraped out, filled with a wide layer of compound that is guaranteed not to crack or at least taped. The cracks he skimmed over re-cracked within a couple weeks, even before a change in weather. The very fact these cracks have re-appeared so fast is evidence they were not repaired in a professional manner.
Contractors have an obligation to do their work in a professional and workmanlike manner. He also gave me a 1 year warranty on all work. The warranty was not limited in any way. I've asked the contractor to fill the shallow areas and fix the cracks properly and he has refused.
Instead of filling the low spots, the contractor suggested sawing a channel across my patio as a solution. This is one of the craziest things I've ever heard and have previously listed several reasons why this is totally unacceptable but most importantly it is not what I paid for.
The unfortunate part of this is that to fill the shallows and fix the cracks, the entire surface needs to be sanded down and the whole process repeated.
Either the contractor is going to do it, or I will need to hire someone else to do it, then I will have to pay someone else the same amount to do the job he was hired and paid to do.
Therefore, I have asked that the contractor restore the surface to its original condition and refund what he has already been paid, or refund what has been paid and also reimburse me for the cost to have someone else restore the surface to its original condition.
To get this resolved, I will agree to go to binding Revdex.com arbitration with this contractor on the basis that the arbitrator is a qualified construction contractor.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Regards,[redacted]