Dreams Unlimited Builders

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: Regards, [redacted] *** Not all observations about the overall quality of the job where addressed in the last responseHowever I would be open to pictures if we first lay the groundwork of what is correctIn other words what should I have expected from this job? Should I expect flaws such as patches, should I expect sloppy finished edges, should I expect a solid pour or just enough to make it look good and how long should I expect this job to last? I had my driveway paved about to years ago and the man who gave me the quote told me there was one price for thinner blacktop and another for the thicker which would last longerI only had the money at that time for the cheaper one and soon I will have to have the driveway done again but you know what I appreciate his honesty in letting me know upfront what I was buyingI still remember the conversations we had about the concrete too! I told you I expected this to last many years since what you replaced was over years oldSo I guess you can tell me nowWhat did I purchase?

The owner is right that he called me and talked to me about this crack I did tell him that I would go out and take a look at it which I did he did call and leave a message for me Friday June 12th I did not return his call because I did not get his message until today due to the fact that I was out of the office on appointments on Friday I did call the owner back today on this.This crack would be expected The sidewalk, steps and porch were all poured in the same concrete pour as a "Mono-pour" A control joint or saw cut could not be put there due to this The crack then developed when the ground shifts and moved due to frost The steps and porch have footings under them which existed before we worked on this project Sidewalks do not have footings under them Again, this is a thing to happen for concrete

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
*** ***
Not all observations about the overall quality of the job where addressed in the last response. However I would be open to pictures if we first lay the groundwork of what is correctIn other words what should I have expected from this job? Should I expect flaws such as patches, should I expect sloppy finished edges, should I expect a solid pour or just enough to make it look good and how long should I expect this job to last? I had my driveway paved about to years ago and the man who gave me the quote told me there was one price for thinner blacktop and another for the thicker which would last longerI only had the money at that time for the cheaper one and soon I will have to have the driveway done again but you know what I appreciate his honesty in letting me know upfront what I was buyingI still remember the conversations we had about the concrete too! I told you I expected this to last many years since what you replaced was over years oldSo I guess you can tell me nowWhat did I purchase?

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
[redacted] 
Not all observations about the overall quality of the job where addressed in the last response. However I would be open to pictures if we first lay the groundwork of what is correct. In other words what should I have expected from this job? Should I expect flaws such as patches, should I expect sloppy finished edges, should I expect a solid pour or just enough to make it look good and how long should I expect this job to last? I had my driveway paved about 10 to 15 years ago and the man who gave me the quote told me there was one price for thinner blacktop and another for the thicker which would last longer. I only had the money at that time for the cheaper one and soon I will have to have the driveway done again but you know what I appreciate his honesty in letting me know upfront what I was buying. I still remember the conversations we had about the concrete too! I told you I expected this to last many years since what you replaced was over 50 years old. So I guess you can tell me now. What did I purchase?

The owner is right that he called me and talked to me about this crack.  I did tell him that I would go out and take a look at it which I did.  he did call and leave a message for me Friday June 12th.  I did not return his call because I did not get his message until today due to...

the fact that I was out of the office on appointments on Friday.  I did call the owner back today on this.This crack would be expected.  The sidewalk, steps and porch were all poured in the same concrete pour as a "Mono-pour".  A control joint or saw cut could not be put there due to this.  The crack then developed when the ground shifts and moved due to frost.  The steps and porch have footings under them which existed before we worked on this project.  Sidewalks do not have footings under them.  Again, this is a normal thing to happen for concrete.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
[redacted]
The owner stated that the steps have a foundation and the sidewalk does not and the two move independently. The obvious question to me is why would you use a "Mono-Pour" knowing this? I mean it can't be the only option. There are situations where you pour concrete and it butts up against something it is not attached to or "Mono-Poured". Such as pouring a patio against your house leaving a joint between the two. I would never "expect" a project to be done where there is a known flaw in it and I will never accept that kind of mentality. The owner already told me this can't be repaired. There have been problems from the very beginning starting with holes that where drilled in the wrong spots and had to be patched along with a chunk of concrete that was missing from when the form was removed that I had to point out because the worker didn't see about a foot long piece missing from the side of the steps. Given all this I am asking for a refund minus the hand railing because the guy that did this did it without flaws. Well not counting the holes being drilled in the wrong place!

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
[redacted] The owner stated that the steps have a foundation and the sidewalk does not and the two move independently. The obvious question to me is why would you use a "Mono-Pour" knowing this? I mean it can't be the only option. There are situations where you pour concrete and it butts up against something it is not attached to or "Mono-Poured". Such as pouring a patio against your house leaving a joint between the two. I would never "expect" a project to be done where there is a known flaw in it and I will never accept that kind of mentality. The owner already told me this can't be repaired. There have been problems from the very beginning starting with holes that where drilled in the wrong spots and had to be patched along with a chunk of concrete that was missing from when the form was removed that I had to point out because the worker didn't see about a foot long piece missing from the side of the steps. Given all this I am asking for a refund minus the hand railing because the guy that did this did it without flaws. Well not counting the holes being drilled in the wrong place!

The owner is right that he called me and talked to me about this crack.  I did tell him that I would go out and take a look at it which I did.  he did call and leave a message for me Friday June 12th.  I did not return his call because I did not get his message until today due to the...

fact that I was out of the office on appointments on Friday.  I did call the owner back today on this.This crack would be expected.  The sidewalk, steps and porch were all poured in the same concrete pour as a "Mono-pour".  A control joint or saw cut could not be put there due to this.  The crack then developed when the ground shifts and moved due to frost.  The steps and porch have footings under them which existed before we worked on this project.  Sidewalks do not have footings under them.  Again, this is a normal thing to happen for concrete.

Again, the concrete walk/steps are poured correctly.  The crack is a horizontal crack along the joint of the steps.  The owner is saying that a control joint should have been installed at that spot.  he is complaining that a crack is there now.  If a control joint was there, a larger crack or joint would be seen.  If needed, I am more than willing to stop out to the house and post a picture of the concrete for you to see and then everyone can see that the work was done right.

Review: In late spring 2012, we signed a contract with Dreams Unlimited for some remodeling tasks. Although [redacted] – owner of Dreams Unlimited - mentioned early September as a starting date, work finally started in January 2013 (!) after being postponed by him for many reasons. Part of the job was replacing a large window in the family room. We then agreed for an additional work order to check on whatever problem there could be behind the drywall (which was replaced as well).

We mentioned a ‘mystery’ outlet; it got checked out and one of [redacted]’s carpenters figured out how the outlet worked by aligning two switches instead of one. Before the new drywall and paneling went up the outlet was moved about 8 inches for easier access and a plate was put on the previous location (see picture).

When the job was finished in the beginning of February 2013, we noticed that the outlet did not work anymore, whatever we tried. There were also other issues to be taken care of; all of them were acknowledged by [redacted] (including that the outlet had worked before – see his e-mail of Feb 4, 2013). As we were going away for two weeks, he asked for the balance of the payment and promised to come back for the punch list.

Then again we had to wait forever (until October 2013, some 8 months later) before this punch list was addressed. At that time one of his men realized that aligning the two switches did not result in a working outlet but he mentioned that [redacted] had an electrician who could probably solve the problem.

Suddenly, [redacted] balked out and proposes to fix the outlet only if we would pay for a service call. We don't agree, because he knew the outlet worked before it was moved over 8 inches.

Moreover, we realized that by plugging an appliance into the mystery outlet and switching it on (without the appliance working), the safety circuit receptacle in the powder room always trips. As long as the appliance is connected it is impossible to switch back on the safety receptacle. This suggests maybe a deeper problem (leaky circuit?) that might maybe result in a safety liability.

We think we were quite forthcoming on his demands, we were very patient and we already started talking about a new project.

Note that we have had a lot of e-mail correspondence on this subject.Desired Settlement: We would like to have the outlet in working order.

Business

Response:

To whom this may concern,

I agree that the outlet does not work. What is not being said is that the wiring of the outlet was original and that they had issues with the outlet before we touched it. We told the owner that we would try and fix it however we could not. We changed out the outlet and moved it and it still did not work and thus we know that the wiring is bad. All of this work was done as a favor to the customer and never billed since we were at the house doing other work.

I also have an email from the owners telling them that I would stop out to their house and check it out for them. Since then, I have been out of town.

Dreams Un-Limited Builders

Consumer

Response:

We have had some e-mail contact with the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and they will do the necessary to fix the power outlet and make it operational.

Therefore we retract our complaint.

Regards,