Keystone Concrete Construction

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.
Regards,
[redacted]

On Mon, Apr 3, 2017 at 10:08 AM, Rodger S[redacted]> wrote:Answer: This business has been my passion for the last 20 years, since I left the Marines. I never want anyone to feel like I don't care. I go into each project trying to give the homeowner total...

satisfaction throughout the process.  I met with the Homeowner and quoted a price that was $1,000 out of there budget. In a $5,400 job that is a significant portion, but I lowered the price to get the job, which sometimes I'm willing to do for advertising. When I sign a contract I ask for 25% down. At the sugning, I didn't get a check, because the checkbook was with his wife. This should have been a red flag. I gave a tentative start date, but was a few days late in starting. When I arrived, I was greeted with a less than pleasant demeanor, obviosly because I was delayed in starting. I usually feel like a great product will win any homeowner over in the end and I have a hugely successful track record of smiles at the end. Even the homeowner in a previous complaint is smiling now.   In the bid I include repairing the yard and the homeowner mentioned the light post wasn't where he would like it. I made it clear that I'm not an electrician, but I could probably move the pole to the desired location. When the pole was moved, a lens cracked. This prompted a replacement, but the new light wouldn't work. After quite a number of visits trying to figure it out, both with and without the homeowner, I couldn't figure it out. With it being a brand new house I really hoped the builder could shed some light on the subject. Well, they couldn't figure it out either. The last time I was out, with noresolution, I left with intention to return and I texted my intentions, to which I got no reply. The following saturday my plans changed abruptly and I didn't make it, and I didn't hear from them either.4 months later I got this lengthy complaint. After reading it, I felt bad that's how 1 of my customers feels. I also said out loud that merely a thanks for trying would have gone a long way.   I'm a small business that cares about each and every job and customer.  I work hand in hand with my sons, so I'm always trying to lead by example and learn from mistakes.Sincerely,          Rodger S[redacted] @ Keystone Concrete Construction

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and after speaking with the owner/operator, Roger S[redacted], it has been agreed that he will be at our home on April 15, 2017, to remove the cracked concrete and to replace it as he mentions above. I accept that resolution and look forward to the repair being done.
Regards,
[redacted]

I received a call from [redacted] in February about spalling on the driveway. I did tell him he would be first on my list to address the issue, as weather permitted. I took a look at the concrete and the damage was concentrated in front of the garage door and decreased as it followed the slope...

of the driveway. I really had to wonder what got on that area and caused that reaction. After talking with a colleague, I realized it could be salt damage from winter melt off running out of the garage and down the driveway. Not all new homes have floor drains in the garage, some slope towards the garage doors and let the water run onto the driveway.When I told [redacted] my thoughts, he wasn't happy and began to bad mouth me. I wasn't able to deal with his cut downs and remarks because I didn't just go over in february with a jackhammer, so I cut communicating with him. I did contact [redacted], I deal with them on a daily basis. It turned out that before we could meet at the site, [redacted] had already gotten so excited that he threatened to take me to court. This was taking place during this spring which was one of the most turbulant weather filled spans I can recall. It was raining hard every day or every other day til just last week, July 27, crazy storm.I even told [redacted] that had a major role in when we could make any repairs, he wouldn't hear it. So one day in july I was working after not hearing from him for 6 weeks and he pulls up to my jobsite at another homeowners house and proceeds to try to embarass me and harass me. I told him I would share the cost of the repair, even though I k[redacted] it wasn't bad craftsmanship or bad concrete or the whole job would be junk. He refused the offer and called me some names.   I asked him if there were the drains in the garage and got no answer and he left.  I care about every job and customer. I go way beyond the everyday contractor to do the most I can to the best result possible. On [redacted]'s white stucco house, there was deterioration along the edge where it met the driveway. Most likely it stayed moist and crumbled away. It was unsightly and would have been a costly and noticeable repair. I was able to use thw expansion joint creatively to hide that. I also came up with a strategy to pour concrete over an existing front porch that was cracked and had water sitting on it. I used my cut and bevelled stone textured concrete in an outdoor tile design to add a fresh look to the porch for $2500 instead of a $15k demo.So in no way did I overinflate my prices or give bad service or craftsmanship.[redacted]'s house was for sale for $1 million.It was on the market for a year before I worked there. It sold after I workwd at the home. I was hired to do the driveway and by just looking around, I made 2 pretty substantial corrections that I new would be a concern to a new potential buyer. I could have left both well enough alone. I didn't make any money hiding the damaged stucco, I did it because I love a great finished product. That stucco looked like hell before I started and looked brand new when I was done, because I care.  I asked [redacted] if he ever once rinsed off the driveway. He laughed and said for what? Just because it's guaranteed, doesn't make it bulletproof. He acted surprised that concrete could get damaged by salt. It's more the freeze/thaw and refreeze that is dangerous.  [redacted]'s job had even been sealed by me, at the proper time of curing. There are slight hue differences in the different pours, very subtle and well within what to expect when you're doing a job with multiple pours. I hate to see a relationship go south over someone not wanting to understand that everything isn't someone's fault. Sincerely,        Rodger S[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.
First let me begin my addressing the fact that my husband did not have the checkbook (it was with me) at the time of the contract being signed. It was signed on Saturday, June 4th. The check was dated June 4th and given to Roger later that day. It was cleared through the bank by the morning of June 7th, so there really was no delay in him receiving his money. Also, we put 50% down at signing not 25%, so I am not certain where that number is coming from.    Second, it is true that we were originally quoted a higher amount for the project, but as stated the project was re-quoted at a lower cost so that Keystone Concrete could “get the job”. Honestly, we simply would have gone with a different contractor who was able to give us a more reasonable price. More importantly, no where in the process of agreeing to the lower quote and signing the contract did we agree that this would not hold Keystone Concrete liable for any damages or poor workmanship. Therefore, it seems pretty irrelevant to the issue at hand. As far as the lamp post movement goes, as you can see in the pictures the project could not have been completed without moving the lamppost. Clearly it was “in the way”. This was one of the first things we discussed and Roger said naturally the lamppost would be moved and they could place it “anywhere the wiring could reach”.- I believe were his exact words. Obviously we would have gone with a contractor that was able to complete the “full job” if anyone had told us moving the lamp post was not possible, but Roger never even questioned the need and ability to do so. Maybe this is just another thing he did/said to “get the job”.   A few of the conversations about the damage done to the light post are included in the attachment. It is true that Roger did admit to damaging the glass in the light and replaced it. He has been out a couple times over the course of this issue to attempt to rectify it, but has been unsuccessful. Multiple times through the course of this project he has said he would “be there on Saturday” and failed to show up, just as he did the final time we were in contact with him. We actually did have Maronda check the light and as I had explained to Roger, the gentlemen stated that his readings indicated a splice or knick in the wiring. He said that the damage was under the concrete, therefore they would “not touch it” and it was an issue the concrete company needed to address. As you can see in the photos Roger has cut the wires (which he has left exposed around the sidewalk) and there is a wire that is cut coming out of the slab directly outside the front door. At this time, this wire shows no electrical activity, indicating that the damage is somewhere between where it exits the house and exits the concrete slab. Truthfully, the fact of the matter is this; if the electrical wire was knicked, spliced, damaged, etc while the concrete slab and sidewalk were being dug and placed; it doesn't even matter if the light was moved or not. Had the lamppost stayed exactly where it was and the concrete been poured around it, that damage would still exist as a result of Keystone Concrete’s workmanship. Regards,
[redacted]

[redacted]  Keystone Concrete replaced the concrete pad and steps to the front porch at [redacted]s home 2 years ago.A small pad at the base of the steps where it meets the driveway developed a hairline crack after the first winter. It honestly did take a little while to organize the repair....

Initially, I was in reserve, because I didn't feel like the crack was a craftsmanship fault.Regardless, it was more important to have a happy customer than argue over a crack. I did get the pad fixed and made a slight change for longevity.After the next winter, [redacted] called to say a crack had developed in the porch. Once I got a look at it, I decided that replacing that portion of concrete was necessary. In this case, I could have done something different with my cuts to prevent that from happening.This was a small job where attention to very small details could have saved me some future work. I try not to make excuses for any lack of immediate response. I can say that every customer matters. I work hard to make people happy, that's my goal. [redacted] and I agreed that by mid April, Keystone Concrete will be in work on replacing the concrete.

On Tue, Aug 25, 2015 at 6:06 AM, Rodger S[redacted] <[redacted]> wrote:Response to [redacted]   I'm midway on the repairs to the [redacted]'s concrete driveway and patio. The driveway and patio both had some sealer issues. I was able to remove the old sealer with a pressure...

washer. I will seal both this week. I also removed the portion of concrete in the patio that had a hairline crack. The concrete has been poured and stamped to replace it. The sealer issues were a result of changes to all acrylic sealers. The EPA changed the way sealers were made and that had an effect on our industry. I  actually worked directly with a local sealer manufacturer from the area to resolve some problems that other contractors had on their jobs. As a result,    now we only seal when the sun isn't glaring on the concrete, it dries the top too fast. Sealing decorative concrete must be done in conditions that allow the sealer to settle in to the concrete before the outside air makes the top dry. The result can be a thousand small bubbles in the sealer if done wrong.  These issues are part of growing as a contractor. I sincerely care about my customers. It's our hope that the pride we take in our work allows our customers to take pride in their homes.

Keystone concrete aka Rodger [redacted] response is a total fabrication of the facts. He was never told that there was a French drain in place. When he installed the original driveway he just threw the rebar into the concrete and it sunk to the bottom and did nothing to support or strengthen the concrete. He never cut expansion joints into the concrete. He made some minor cuts called control cuts and did not do those correctly. He removed the lousy concrete work he did and then created a void at the bottom of the driveway that was basically an open ditch with no water exit so to collect water. As the SURFACE water from heavy rains ran down the driveway it collected in the ditch (swimming pool) he created. I had to tell him to open a channel to allow the water to exit before it filled my garage. He is the ONLY person who has ever said there needed to be a French drain under the driveway. He waited until he made a total mud pit of my driveway which prohibited me from using the driveway and garage. He figured, calculated at that point he had me at a disadvantage to demand more money and  not honor his guarantee. He first wanted $1200 then he wanted $4000 more for a total of $5200. When I asked him why he was not working on the driveway he said it was raining but when I looked through my security camera the sun was shining. I got tired of his lies and excuses so I told him to never come on my property I had six other concrete driveway firms look at the driveway to get estimates to fix it and I asked them all about the need for a French drain under the driveway and they all said it was absolutely not necessary.

Review: had this company install a concrete driveway in July of 2012. they gave us a guarantee for 5 years. within 6 months the driveway started cracking. my husband contacted Rodger [redacted], the owner, about the cracking. he came once and tried to put some kind of glue in the cracks. it didn't work. my husband continued to contact him and he constantly ignored the contact. finally, this summer on June 1.2015 he came to start removing the bad parts of the driveway.

he removed the whole lower half of the driveway, by June 3, 2015. then on Monday, JUne 8th , 2015 he demanded we give him $1200.00 for a French drain or he was walking away and said 'Sue me' you have water and he was not informed on the water problem. when he put in the driveway initially, he put in 3 drains which was requested by my husband. when he started tearing out the driveway, we assumed this was at no cost to us. if we would have know he was going to charge us, I would have told him not to bother. leave the driveway alone. we already paid him 16 grand in 2012. After we gave him this check it did not rain June 9, 10, 11 and not till june 12 at 5:30, but they never showed up the rest of the week.

then after we gave him a check for $1200, he said he needed $4000 more, in advance, or he would not complete the driveway. at this point we have a giant mud hole and he kept saying he was coming back but always had some excuse why he couldn't. finally on June the 17th 2015 we started calling other contractors to come and give us estimates on putting in concrete for our driveway. they all said a French drain was ludicrous. Rodger [redacted] was supposed to come on June 17 to start completing the job, never showed up or even called. then he was supposed to come again on June 19. He told us it was storming in [redacted]. We were away but called our neighbors and they said the sun was shining. we finally got sick of his excuses and threats and told him to stay off our property and were stopping payment on the check for $1200. he got very abusive in texts and on the telephone. we called the [redacted] Police and they said since we told him to stay off our property to call 911 if he should be seen in our neighborhood. We now r convinced he just wanted to tear out the driveway and cause us much stress since my husband had continued to bug him over the last couple years to honor his guarantee. I am retired and my husband is working for 3 more months and he will also be retired and I know how sometimes people like to take advantage of retired people. I would assume when u r supposed to honor a guarantee u would tell someone up front that this is going to cost them additional money after you paid them in good faith for a service. we don't want any more to do with this company as do not want any additional contact with this person after being treated so badly. Wanted other people to be aware of this kind of thing and want this company to cover the cost of the driveway being fixed. this has been very stressful for us. there have been big storms in the last couple weeks which almost caused a flood in our garage from the torn up driveway.Desired Settlement: I want them to cover the cost of us getting the driveway replaced that they tore up. I want no further contact by this person, Rodger [redacted], other than a check for the cost of the driveway being repaired by another company. we have 3 bids currently. the lowest being $9000. the highest $15500.

Business

Response:

On Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 9:24 AM, Rodger [redacted] <[redacted]> wrote:Could you also add that [redacted] did not tell [redacted] anything about what took place between Keystone Concrete and the [redacted]'s. He did not tell [redacted] about the water issues.On Aug 4, 2015 9:16 AM, "Rodger [redacted]" <[redacted]> wrote: I worked for the [redacted]'s 3 years ago. I replaced the original concrete driveway, but added a channel drain halfway down the driveway and then another 20 foot long 10 inch deep drain at the bottom. This is a large downhill driveway with a retaining wall as the border on the left and large landscaped banks on the right as you go down the driveway. Both of these drains tied together to exit the area and channel the water 140 feet to the back yard and over the hill. All of this work was included in the price of the project, as well as repairing the yard around the new concrete and the drainage line. The driveway had a couple hairline cracks after the first season. I went to the residence and sealed the cracks. The next season, [redacted] called to say the cracks were worse and there was spalling in the lower portion of the driveway. The upper portion of the driveway had remained perfect.I didn't get a chance to repair the driveway that season, so at the beginning of the 2015 season, [redacted] told me he had already talked with [redacted] of [redacted] in [redacted] about the project and he had given his opinion of what could have made the difference, but said he would supply the concrete if Keystone would do the work. One of the impending forces on this concrete driveway was a large stone retaining wall, over 5 feet in some areas, that in just 3 years had leaned in 6 inches over the driveway. Other concerns was the concrete thickness and reinforcement around the trough drain. I then talked with [redacted] and he agreed to supply 10 of the 20 yards used for the lower portion, that had damage. This isn't how [redacted] described the scenario and during the conversation about it, he went into detail about when he asked [redacted] why only the lower half had damage. This was [redacted]s indication of weak concrete, not poor craftsmanship on Keystone's part. [redacted] said he would talk to the other owners of [redacted] about supplying the other 10 yards at no cost, so I started the demo of the driveway. It took 3 days to demo the concrete. After 2 days, I was only left with the trough drain near the garage to remove and the ground was very soft. I addressed the issue with [redacted] that a french drain was needed to relieve water pressure from the retaining wall and surrounding slopes to help keep the area dry. By getting this in place, it helped to keep the area dry and workable. [redacted] ok'd the work on Friday afternoon for $1,200 , but then texted me at 6:30 pm on Saturday to say that the french drain work wasn't necessary. When it rained on Monday morning, I couldn't work due to mud, so I pulled the machine from the jobsite. [redacted] did call me directly afterwards to ask why we weren't working and we talked about the french drain again, which he agreed to again. We returned to the jobsite the next dry opportunity for the last day of demo and install the french drain. As I was demoing the area around the drain, the concrete was 8 inches thick with the rebar dead center, when I got to the drain itself, the concrete was 10 to 12 inches thick and it took half of a day to get the drain to break into smaller pieces to be lifted and loaded by a skidloader. I was getting very frustrated that concrete this stout had cracked. During the last part of the demo, as I finally got the drain area to move, then break into small enough peices to load, a small piece of pvc came out of the drain area. I was reminded that [redacted] had insisted on that pipe to take extra water to his french drain system around the garage as a precaution. This demo was taking place during a very rainy June/July, so I was able to see that [redacted] didn't have any french drains that worked. I called [redacted] and reminded him about his addition to the project and that could have been part of the problem, if his original french drains weren't taking the water anywhere. I was glad that we already had an agreement to add french drain and it work out that we would be able to utilize our original pipe work as the port. I bought 200 feet of pipe and completed the demo. I got the area graded and started trenching and reconnecting the drains. The [redacted]'s were out of town during this work. The heavy sporadic rainstorms really held me up, especially with the downhill driveway. During one heavy storm [redacted] called me to say that he could see by his security camera that the water was pooling in the turnaround area so badly that it may come into the garage. When he told me this, I realized what could have cracked that concrete. When the lower half got so saturated and froze, it could move anything, as proven. So I went over and opend my port for the channel drain and all of the water drained out. I was thankful that this situation brought the answer to the problem and I brought it to [redacted]s attention. He had stayed right on me to rectify the situation for 3 years and I felt like we had done a great job, that's our standard. [redacted] had his own friends in the industry give their perspective on the jobsite and he is intellegent himself, so I knew that common sense would prevail. I willingly removed the old driveway portion at my cost. I asked [redacted] to cover the replacement portion of the costs which were $4,000. He agreed, but after a couple days which I couldn't work due to rain, not only cancelled his agreement, but also cancelled the check for $1,200 that he gave me for the french drain work. He also said not to come back to his property. I made a few attempts at communication to resolve the issue, but was only ever given the option to continue without payment, which I wouldn't. The [redacted]'s hired someone else to pour the job. [redacted] supplied 10 yards for free and [redacted] paid for 6 yards himself. He didn't reinstall the trough drain and probably didn't address the french drain work. The contractor repoured the driveway on a day it rained.Sincerely, Rodger [redacted]

Review: AGGREGATED CONCRETE DRIVEWAY has badly deteriorated. Driveway is only 4 years old. The problem has existed the last three years. The CONCRETE PATIO is chipping. Mr. S[redacted] did a "slate look" topping using a dry powder coloring. This was applied after the concrete dried. Where the concrete is chipped, the white of the base concrete is showing thru. Looks like a polka dot patio. Absolutely horrid. PLUS the patio cracked immediately after it was poured. Roger simply patched over the crack & it has cracked the same place!We have phoned, sent e-mails several times over the last three years. Two weeks ago I again sent Roger an e-mail requesting his help. He guarantees his work, claims to be insured. Roger would promise to take care of the problems but never showed up. Now he will not acknowledge our contact efforts. Roger has great designs with poor construction habits. Does not deserve an A+ Revdex.com rating.Desired Settlement: I want the driveway repaired with new seal & to our satisfaction at no cost to us.I want the patio repaired to our satisfaction at no cost to us.Both items above to be completed by the end of August, 2015.

Business

Response:

On Tue, Aug 25, 2015 at 6:06 AM, Rodger S[redacted] <[redacted]> wrote:Response to [redacted] I'm midway on the repairs to the [redacted]'s concrete driveway and patio. The driveway and patio both had some sealer issues. I was able to remove the old sealer with a pressure washer. I will seal both this week. I also removed the portion of concrete in the patio that had a hairline crack. The concrete has been poured and stamped to replace it. The sealer issues were a result of changes to all acrylic sealers. The EPA changed the way sealers were made and that had an effect on our industry. I actually worked directly with a local sealer manufacturer from the area to resolve some problems that other contractors had on their jobs. As a result, now we only seal when the sun isn't glaring on the concrete, it dries the top too fast. Sealing decorative concrete must be done in conditions that allow the sealer to settle in to the concrete before the outside air makes the top dry. The result can be a thousand small bubbles in the sealer if done wrong. These issues are part of growing as a contractor. I sincerely care about my customers. It's our hope that the pride we take in our work allows our customers to take pride in their homes.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.