Horsch Contracting, LLC

July 27, 2015In response to **and [redacted] 's letter, they state that they noticed standing water right after completion of their jobHad I been contacted immediately after noticing this, (earlier than a year, and definitely before the winter), this situation probably could have been avoidedAs I stated earlier, there are many possible contributing factors for the water to get under the driveway not just the customers versionPlease refer to my earlier letterThe issue I have is about the so-called standing water going on for seven to eight months before winter even set it without a callIt wasn't until almost a year later that I received a call, but it was too late at that time to repairI cannot be held responsible for acts of nature and lack of CommunicationThis was not a result of poor workmanship nor sub-standard material for which I have receipts and can confirm the PSI

There was nothing in the estimate and proposal that stated I was going to do any landscaping workI removed excess dirt and rocks on the lawn area, racked the dirt into little divots left by back-hoe tracksThe last block was cut for a half block so that the seams were staggered and all of the lines would not be straight from top to bottom.The "apprentice" she saw has been doing work with me for years!The wall was properly installed as recommended by the manufacturer of the product that she picked outThe one piece at the bottom of the wall was put there purposely to hold back dirt from coming out from behind the wall until the dirt settles and becomes hardThis is done so that the dirt doesn't wash awayRock face block is rough and uneven to make it look like natural stone.Again, I feel deeply saddened that she is not happy with the wall that she picked out herself, but there is nothing for me to do nowI completed the job as outlined and proposed in the estimate.Stopped by on 10-26-+We moved piece onside holding back dirt Tamped down dirt

June 25, 2015I did the job in April of I got paid for the work and everyone was happy with the resultsreceived a phone call in March from the homeowner saying there was a crack in said driveway, which I did confirm to be trueoffered to patch the cracks with a quality epoxy mix product but I was told that was unacceptableI went back to the property with a couple of retired masons to see if they could provide input into what might have caused the issueWe all came to the same conclusion, that the most likely cause was water got underneath the drivewayIf water indeed gets underneath, the natural freeze/thaw cycle of concrete probably caused the cracksHaving been the 4" coldest winteron record did not help mattersThe driveway did rise about an inch or so, as the homeowners told me.During the thaw cycle it never returned to its level and is now about V,” above the padThe homeowner stated the problem occurred in November of 2014, which was a cold month and might have happened somewhat thenIf water puddled for up to eight months, I think it would be noticeableIf I would have gotten a phone call about the situation at the time, I might have been able to do something before the real cold set in and this may have been prevented.Upon further review of the situation, there are flower beds along the front of the house that are about two feet wide and slope to the driveway and water runs off the front of the house into the flower/dirt bedsThere is an existing stone wall on the side of the drivewayIf the drainage holes in the wall are clogged or non-existent, the water can't escape, which makes the water go underneath the wall and seep under the drivewayThese are all possibilities and you cannot point to just one, but probably a combination of all, which are acts of nature, not poor workmanship on my part.I did work with current standards and practices - laid stone and tampered the area thoroughlyFurthermore, I have on-file the concrete slips with the amount of concrete and the PSI usedIn addition to the driveway, I replaced the walkway, apron and curb with the same batch of concrete with no issues or problems.I have over years of experience in the field without issueIn my opinion this was an unfortunate situation that no one could have foreseen and the extremely cold winter did not help mattersI feel bad for the homeowners as they were very nice people and I did not encounter one issue with them while working at their property, however I did try and offered to resolve this issue, but I cannot be held accountable for the situation that occurred.Regards,Klaus H

[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: MrHorsch does not have his facts rightAt first, he told my husband that he can not do anything about the cracks, when I did not accept that as an answer, he wanted us to pay $ for him to redo the cement on the driveway and landingThen through the Revdex.com, he claimed he would seal the cracks, yet, he did not attempt to call to meet and resolve the problem, and lastly, he now claims no responsibility for the bad pitch on the two areasHe has been giving us the run-around since the beginningIt is definitely clear that there is a bad pitch that causes water to lay and not roll off. There are no other contributing factors for water to runoff in that direction, and there was never a problem with standing water before MrHorsch did the cement work.Why the change of heart after he was willing to resolve the problem in the first place? He seems to be flip-flopping with what he is willing to doThis does not seem like a person who is trying to resolve the issue.The standing water started in November's rainy season, not in the Summer, when it hardly rained last year. I reported it to MrHorsch in March during the freeze/ thawing of the winter season. The freezing weather last year arrived in JanuaryMy husband and I both lost our mothers between that time, So, it was only about months after that I contacted him, and not as long as MrHorsch claims. Also, this problem could not have been resolved by any other means than by redoing the cement to fix the pitchIt is never too late to repair and redo the cement as MrHorsch claims. I contacted MrHorsch multiple times and sent the Revdex.com a list of phone calls that I made to him since March, so there was no lack of communication on our endThe workmanship of the bad pitch is very evident, I wish the Revdex.com could send someone out to see the job with your own eyesYou will see the hump, the bad pitch and the branches of cracks on the driveway and the two large cracks on the landing. This was not an act of nature as MrHorsch claims, but the result of bad workmanship (bad pitch) that led to standing water at the top, which eventually seeped down and caused the cracks during the freezing/ thawing seasonThe problem is visible to everyone who sees it, professional or notSomething needs to be done before the winter arrives
Regards,
*** ***

June 25, 2015I did the job in April of I got paid for the work and everyone was happy with the resultsreceived a phone call in March from the homeowner saying there was a crack in said driveway, which I did confirm to be trueoffered to patch the cracks with a quality epoxy mix
product but I was told that was unacceptableI went back to the property with a couple of retired masons to see if they could provide input into what might have caused the issueWe all came to the same conclusion, that the most likely cause was water got underneath the drivewayIf water indeed gets underneath, the natural freeze/thaw cycle of concrete probably caused the cracksHaving been the 4" coldest winteron record did not help mattersThe driveway did rise about an inch or so, as the homeowners told me.During the thaw cycle it never returned to its level and is now about V,” above the padThe homeowner stated the problem occurred in November of 2014, which was a cold month and might have happened somewhat thenIf water puddled for up to eight months, I think it would be noticeableIf I would have gotten a phone call about the situation at the time, I might have been able to do something before the real cold set in and this may have been prevented.Upon further review of the situation, there are flower beds along the front of the house that are about two feet wide and slope to the driveway and water runs off the front of the house into the flower/dirt bedsThere is an existing stone wall on the side of the drivewayIf the drainage holes in the wall are clogged or non-existent, the water can't escape, which makes the water go underneath the wall and seep under the drivewayThese are all possibilities and you cannot point to just one, but probably a combination of all, which are acts of nature, not poor workmanship on my part.I did work with current standards and practices - laid stone and tampered the area thoroughlyFurthermore, I have on-file the concrete slips with the amount of concrete and the PSI usedIn addition to the driveway, I replaced the walkway, apron and curb with the same batch of concrete with no issues or problems.I have over years of experience in the field without issueIn my opinion this was an unfortunate situation that no one could have foreseen and the extremely cold winter did not help mattersI feel bad for the homeowners as they were very nice people and I did not encounter one issue with them while working at their property, however I did try and offered to resolve this issue, but I cannot be held accountable for the situation that occurred.Regards,Klaus H

[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: In the last two weeks, we have gotten four concrete professionals to look at the work done by MrHorschThey all agreed that the pitch is not right at the top of the driveway and on the landing at the top of the steps. The top of the driveway was definitely too high when the job was done and when it rained, the water was not able to drain awayThe water laid on the pad in front of the garage due to no pitchBecause of this, the cement cracked because the water had nowhere to goThis was the consensus from all the contractors we called for a second opinionEven the landing that he did was not pitched away from the house, and therefore it has cracked in two placesThe rest of his workmanship has been good, but it is very evident to every cement professional who has seen his work. He has been giving me the run around and trying to make all types of excuses since I brought the problem to his attention, and does not want to take responsibility for his crew's mistake. He has offered to redo the cement, but wants us to pay half of what it would cost him Anyone who sees the job can tell the pitch at the top of the driveway and the landing is not right for the rainfall to drain away from the houseAfter paying him $ 9,for the total job, we don't feel that we should pay more money to fix his mistake
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:Date: Fri, Oct 27, at 10:AMWould like to know when he stopped by the house as we were waiting for *** to install a new box and there were wires and ladders all over the property on October and it started raining when *** finished up.The fact still remains that the estimate would have included purchase and installation of additional stones.I agree that I did not pay for lawn work but I am now left to pay to have half of the existing lawn seeded which would have comprised two thirds of the previous lawn, he just drug the pile of dirt across the lawn to level it out covering the grass with dirtBefore this action, I could have removed the dirt and fill in with top soil matching the border around the rest if the house.Thank you *** ***

June 25, 2015I did the job in April of 2014. I got paid for the work and everyone was happy with the results. received a phone call in March 2015 from the homeowner saying there was a crack in said driveway, which I did confirm to be true. 1 offered to patch the cracks with a quality epoxy...

mix product but I was told that was unacceptable. I went back to the property with a couple of retired masons to see if they could provide input into what might have caused the issue. We all came to the same conclusion, that the most likely cause was water got underneath the driveway. If water indeed gets underneath, the natural freeze/thaw cycle of concrete probably caused the cracks. Having been the 4" coldest winteron record did not help matters. The driveway did rise about an inch or so, as the homeowners told me.During the thaw cycle it never returned to its level and is now about V,” above the pad. The homeowner stated the problem occurred in November of 2014, which was a cold month and might have happened somewhat then. If water puddled for up to eight months, I think it would be noticeable. If I would have gotten a phone call about the situation at the time, I might have been able to do something before the real cold set in and this may have been prevented.Upon further review of the situation, there are flower beds along the front of the house that are about two feet wide and slope to the driveway and water runs off the front of the house into the flower/dirt beds. There is an existing stone wall on the side of the driveway. If the drainage holes in the wall are clogged or non-existent, the water can't escape, which makes the water go underneath the wall and seep under the driveway. These are all possibilities and you cannot point to just one, but probably a combination of all, which are acts of nature, not poor workmanship on my part.I did work with current standards and practices - laid stone and tampered the area thoroughly. Furthermore, I have on-file the concrete slips with the amount of concrete and the PSI used. In addition to the driveway, I replaced the walkway, apron and curb with the same batch of concrete with no issues or problems.I have over 40 years of experience in the field without issue. In my opinion this was an unfortunate situation that no one could have foreseen and the extremely cold winter did not help matters. I feel bad for the homeowners as they were very nice people and I did not encounter one issue with them while working at their property, however I did try and offered to resolve this issue, but I cannot be held accountable for the situation that occurred.Regards,Klaus H

July 27, 2015In response to **. and [redacted]'s letter, they state that they noticed standing water right after completion of their job. Had I been contacted immediately after noticing this, (earlier than a year, and definitely before the winter), this situation probably could have been avoided. As I stated earlier, there are many possible contributing factors for the water to get under the driveway not just the customers version. Please refer to my earlier letter. The issue I have is about the so-called standing water going on for seven to eight months before winter even set it without a call. It wasn't until almost a year later that I received a call, but it was too late at that time to repair. I cannot be held responsible for acts of nature and lack of Communication. This was not a result of poor workmanship nor sub-standard material for which I have receipts and can confirm the PSI.

There was nothing in the estimate and proposal that stated I was going to do any landscaping work. I removed excess dirt and rocks on the lawn area, racked the dirt into little divots left by back-hoe tracks. The last block was cut for a half block so that the seams were staggered and all of the lines would not be straight from top to bottom.The "apprentice" she saw has been doing work with me for 18 years!The wall was properly installed as recommended by the manufacturer of the product that she picked out. The one piece at the bottom of the wall was put there purposely to hold back dirt from coming out from behind the wall until the dirt settles and becomes hard. This is done so that the dirt doesn't wash away. Rock face block is rough and uneven to make it look like natural stone.Again, I feel deeply saddened that she is not happy with the wall that she picked out herself, but there is nothing for me to do now. I completed the job as outlined and proposed in the estimate.Stopped by on 10-26-17 +We moved piece onside holding back dirt Tamped down dirt

The customer went to the supply yard, met with their sales rep and picked out the style and color of the wall. She picked the Rock Pace look which no two blocks are identical. Some are recessed, some stick out and some are straight. The blocks used are solid and weigh about 60 lbs a piece (6” high,...

16” long, 12* wide). The wall is only about 20 inches high and the cap glue is an acceptable way for securing the block for such a low wall and type she picked. There are many styles and different types of block.The driveway is on about a 30* angle high end at the top of the wall is about 20' long. To keep the wall level we went about 5 block, even with the lawn. As the lawn gets lower you drop down a row (or step down) for another 5 feet and step down again. There were three step downs to the end of the wall. Her neighbor has a similar wall and same driveway angle.I informed her prior to starting that this was the approach we were going to take so the wall sections were level and alittle above the grass line and she said that was fine. The last day of the job she complained about a few little imperfections in the block which are the ones she chose. I explained to her that the style she chose was made like that intentionally and to avoid looking uniform.My feeling is that after the fact, she didn't like the style that she chose and is now blaming me.FYI - I've received several compliments from neighbors which have resulted in three calls for work estimates generated from that job.o Price for wall and concrete: $ 5,800 o Dirt Removalo Plumbing work (I was not involved with this): $ 750