Mark Lisak Construction

Mark called to respond and he stated: I performed the work specified by the contract and went back and inspected the driveway when she called to question about the grass allegedly growing through itI found no appearance of anything growing through it or any loose stonesIf she can prove
there is any damage, it is quite possible it may have been caused by a dump truck delivery of firewood last fall when I inspected it the first timeThe upper half of the driveway in front of the garage door was covered with firewoodI don't see any deterioration or anything to cause a hazard for her walking on itI did go back again on August 8th of this year and inspected it again without going onto the property, and found no additional inconsistenciesTherefore no refund or partial refund will be given as the job was completed as per the contractThere is no written guarantee on any of the work

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 photos I submitted had no space in which to write captions. They  show the loose stones, holes, and plants growing through the asphalt as  described in my original complaint. I have more photos if needed. I  submitted them because of Mr. Lisak's denials that there was anything  wrong with his work.  Regards,  [redacted] Wallace

Please call me and let me know you got this letter an 2 pictures     also my pictures show the house     her's do not      is that even her driveway       Thanks Mark Lisak 607-687-4042Regarding the complaint ID [redacted]: The customer called in fall of 2016 regarding issues of weeds growing in her driveway. We visited the the customer until this complaint was issued the following summer.The customer submitted photos of loose stones and plants growing in the base asphalt. A base coat of asphalt is a layer that contains larger stones known as number 2 stone as well smaller stones. After a full year, loose stones are to be expected in a base driveway. When the larger stones lay at the surface of the area they will frequently be knocked loose over time due to their size and inability to compress together. The amount of number 2 stones in a mixture is widely variable and is out of our control, we can only lay the material down as we receive it from the blacktop plant. While some of the stone on the surface may be knocked loose, the structural integrity of the driveway will stay intact. The larger stones inability to compress together also causes a base coat of asphalt to be porous. This means that sometimes a plant's seed may find its way into a pour of the asphalt between those rocks and begin to germinate, or potentially grow through from underneath through the gaps between the bigger stones.Because of these variables we cannot give any guarantees with a base coat asphalt job, there is far too much out of our control. The above being said, the customer was told before the job started, as all of our customers are told, that  a base coat driveway is not a finished product. A layer of top coat, consisting of very fine stones, must be added the following year to a base coat driveway, at additional cost, in order to achieve a smooth top coat will also fill in the surface pours of the base coat, and adhere the larger stone which may be loose on a driveway. The base coat is strictly structural. In regards to actions that can be taken, if the customer feels the structural integrity of the affected area is compromised, there are a few options. The most disruptive of which is to saw cut that area out and replace it with new base blacktop. A layer of driveway sealer can be added in an attempt to bind the  stones back together. A patch of topcoat asphalt can also be applied to the area in order to attempt to bind the stones together. All of these suggestions of course come with no guarantees. In our opinion of the driveway, there are no serious issues or damage to the driveway that will cause the customer any issues down the road, after the top coat is applied. Be that aesthetically or structurally.  Therefore, our suggested action is to add the final top coat of asphalt to the driveway as planned, either by us or another contractor as the customer chooses, and complete the driveway building process. This  would be at the customer's expense. Regards, Andrew Lisak    Mark Lisak Construction