Benco Concrete

The owner of Benco will promise you anything, until you pay him. DO NOT GIVE HIM HIS DOWN PAYMENT! There are NO in advance material costs in concrete, there is no need to give a down payment. He took my down payment and then didn't show up for a year. He promised to review the design of my driveway and drainage before pouring, instead he just started digging. Piles of gravel were dumped on the road blocking access, he didn't seal the driveway properly cheaping out and only using about 1/4 of how much should of been used. He promised the job would cost $16000 and the number exploded after he finished. If you ask him to do anything he'll refuse / tell you he'll do it and then he won't. If you have any negative thoughts about his work he'll loose his mind and disappear not completing the job.

Driveway done in Oct. 2021.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!
Thought we were smart, read the reviews, got various quotes, educated ourselves...or so we thought. Then you pay the deposit. Then it's the start of longer periods of time before the owner gets back to you, or people even show up to do the job.
We have an old sloped property, below sidewalk level where driveway is. Expected it to be tricky...he made us believe he was more than competent. We agreed drain was needed and that it would be on edge of driveway in grass with concrete sloped to drive water to it. This way my husband could repair drain if ever necessary. Owner arbitrarily changed where drain went without ANY consultation with us and set it in the concrete. His fix...cut out part on concrete...never offered to move drain back to where it should have been and rpoor concrete. So now we have huge chunk cut out. He was always late, or never showed up on time. Was really bad when sealing the driveway...so late he was doing the last rinse off with a pressure washer at 2 AM! Thank god for good neighbors who did not complain. We certainly did not sleep that night! And he missed sealing part of driveway near garage! To top ot all off...garbage and huge chuncks of concrete and such left. Had to nag him to come clean. We feel he only did a minimal clean up. Driveway done in Oct 2021, then during fall in March 2022...HUGE SPIDERWEB CRACKS THROUGH HALF THE DRIVEWAY!!! Emailed him. He responded that day, assuring me he would take care of it. Never heard from him again. 2 more emails in April with no response. Have included screenshots of these emails to show proof of contact. Hopefully someone will be saved some money!! Because I certainly wish I had been saved spending just under 20K for this!

Benco Concrete was one of the few firms willing to take the time to return our driveway inquiry and discuss options. Choosing the right concrete colour is difficult and we appreciated the suggestions given that it isn't possible to see a "sample" up front. Their start date estimate was accurate even 3 months away from the beginning of concrete season and the final price was accurately estimated up front. The crew did a great job and there was follow-up on the one or two small issues that needed attention after the fact.

Made the mistake not to properly vet this "contractor" before signing. According to the Ontario corporations public records, BENCO CONCRETE INC. was registered 2009/05/22, and has an address in Strathroy, Ontario, not a FedEx PO box in Kitchener.

Be sure to read the other reviews before they get removed, here and BBB for example, not the reviews that appear to be solicited. On BBB there was Kim, who had the exact same story and timeline as mine, can't find it anymore. I can confirm for any post, the sloppyiness, defects, significant over charges, and lastly the bullying, especially if you stand up for yourself.

Save yourself some potential headaches and sleepless nights. Search for the Ontario governments publication "Your rights when starting home renovations or repairs". Be sure to study it carefully, you will need most of that knowledge. Be aware of the 10 day "cooling-off period" if you already signed. Be sure to ask for "proper" insurance documentation. Be sure to clearly define the scope of work, in Kitchener the bylaw is the walkways must be distinguishable from the driveway. Especially, look for answers on how disagreements and disputes will be dealt with. There is only one with this contractor from my experience, "pay", or there will be a "lien".

According to the Ministry database, under the Subjurisdiction Searched: Kitchener, there are 11 active Small Claims Court files naming Benco Concrete Inc. Only searched for Kitchener. Before you get that far, you may get something like the picture attached, which was during the simple adjudication of the contract, before that determination.

And now for the brass tacks. So far, my contract was for about $7,900, has gone up to near $12,000, plus costs related to the disputes. Lawyers work on retainers, that's $5,000 upfront, (unless you are a repeat client).

Home Reno’s where to begin. Choose very carefully. When you look at a job you wants things done completely. Having major renovations is big job when you do your whole house
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Benco concrete took my money and promised to show up in 12 weeks, then didn't show up for 6 months. Then when they finished paving my driveway it won't drain when it rains. The water pools on the driveway, The owner said there was nothing that could be done about it. When I consulted other concrete businesses they said the job was sloppy, and the drainage is their fault. Benco got concrete all over my house and when I talked to the owner about it I was told my house was garbage and the concrete on the wall was already there before any work was done. I was charged 150% of what the original quote was for and I wasn't given a word about how much it would cost until the job was done. Benco then insulted my home saying it's the worst one on the bock.

When inquired about the poor workmanship I was met with hostility. Do not waste your money on Benco Concrete.

I had originally written a bad review due to a heat of the moment issue involving a previous contractor who didn't do the job correctly to the city code. Benco has since been following my progress and even reached out to me to see if the issue had been resolved which upon hearing and accepting my apology for my review he offered to help me fix the issue. He originally scheduled to come in 2 weeks after we spoke but had suddenly called me up to see if his guys can start sooner which they did an amazing job in comparison to the previous foundation. The guys were all great and easily communicated what was going on so that I had records of everything.

We had a great experience with Benco Concrete Inc this past fall. After hiring another contractor who started the job then disappeared this summer, we felt ripped off and manipulated. We started our search for a new contractor. I bet we called 15 different contractors. They'd either not return or calls or set appointments they wouldn't show up to.
Thank God we found Benco Concrete. When we first called them, the gentleman explained that they were all booked up. After I shared what we'd been through, he said they'd help us, and they did.
They showed up when they said they would. The guys were very polite, hard working, and professional. We finally have our new exposed aggregate driveway. Its absolutely beautiful! We would recommend them 100%

After starting a project 2 months late. The owner was a bully. After ducking out calls for weeks it was only after threat of legal action could we get him to call us back. His workers showed up then disappeared for 3 days. When we asked them why it is because they got a bigger 50,000 job. They left the road on a residential street covered with large piles of stone and dirt on unmarked creating an extremely dangerous situation at night. If you question his work he gets extremely defensive. Ironically the day he finished the job he could not stop calling or texting for payments. The concrete work is scared with leaf impression as they did not cover the area with a tarp.

I had several quotes from companies and decided to go with Benco Concrete for a number of reasons. The salesman was extremely knowledgeable about the various types of finishes and explained the process in detail. You could tell he cared about the quality of his work and making sure I would be satisfied. His pricing was very reasonable as well. He didn’t rush or pressure me into making a decision. I felt confident that they would do the best job and they did. They were on time, the workers were very polite and they made sure my property was left clean. The quality of the job was great!! I would recommend them to anyone. I will definitely use them again in the future.