Disappointed with work and contractor
Going with this company was the worst decision I have made. They do not know what they are doing. Shawn talks a good game but when you challenge him he accuses you of threating him or yelling at him. He talks a good game but does not know anything about concrete or asphalt. I had the company come in a quote for stairs going down the side of my house and a walkway as well as have my driveway paved. The stairs are not square to the house and are different depths, the concrete has been crumbling since day one and the asphalt has divits in it and such a slop on it that the cars look like they have a flat tire when they sit in the driveway, but apparently the divits are not deep enough and the angle not bad enough or worthy of him going back to the company he contacts out to, to have them repair it. Shawn assured me he would be back to fix the mess once the weather cooled down a bit because he had the concrete poured in the really hot weather and did not have enough men to do the job properly. I have had crickets and radio silence as he never return as he promised. I held back some money obviously it wasn't enough, if you have made the mistake and already hired him, keep a full 50% back until the job is done to your satisfaction, that is the lesson I have learned. It's been nearly a year now and he still hasn't reached out to me. He has my numbers, my email address and my address yet nothing. Over the winter the concrete has gotten worse there is now erosion and based on previous reviews I'm guessing he will blame it on salt even though we do not use salt as we have dogs, and it was not even required this winter as we did not have any ice on our driveway or walk ways. I wish I could get the name and number of the owner of this company as the only way to fix the mess they made is to rip it up and start over again which I know they will not do. I also know Shawn will not reach out to me as he knows I am not satisfied and the only way to have me as a satisfied customer is to redo the job the right way. This company has ruined the curb appeal of my house, they don't care and now I will need to spend twice as much to get this fixed and looking properly. You don't have to take my word for it, I've attached pictures to show you just how bad of a job they did. I really don't want to deal with Shawn and listen to his we only guarantee construction grade work, this is a mess. The city sidewalks that have been there for over 20 years look better than my walkway. I wish I could speak to an owner and if Shawn is the owner then I guess I'm out of luck because there is no way he is going to agree to rip it up and start over to do it the right way.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $16,800.00
- Company Response
Hello Pat,
Usually clients contact us when there is a problem, especially before leaving a bad review. This came as a surprise as you didn’t reach out to us.
We understand your frustration with the concrete finish and we are committed to fixing it. With the pandemic happening last year and the logistical issues brought forward by it, we were not able to return on time to repair it. Reading your response, there are truths and falsities.
Concrete finish: As we told you last year, it is true that one concrete finisher did not show up due to a personal reason and it affected the quality of the final product. We take full responsibility for this and will resurface the concrete to give it the good look it should have.
Steps not square: This is not correct. We use square tools when we are forming the concrete. Furthermore, the design of your steps is that your steps widen as you go down and the outside line is not parallel to your wall. Mathematically, your steps can’t be square on both ends. As a whole, and in our eyes, your steps look great and we were complimented on them from bypassers.
Steps are different depth: Not correct. You asked us to maintain the same layout as the existing steps prior to removal. This was done, except for one step, where the bracket for the A/C unit was in the way of the form. This step was made a few inches shorter to accommodate the wood form. Furthermore, the foreman on site checked with you multiple times regarding all details. Some forms were removed and reinstalled, per your request, with very minor alteration just to ensure your satisfaction. You were happy with everything and only pointed to this step after the concrete was poured and the forms were stripped.
Asphalts having divits: We visited the site to look at this complaint when you brought it up and also sent photos to the asphalt company. There are no divits in the asphalt. We did your neighbour’s driveway at the same time and have had no complaints from him. In fact he was very happy with the work. We hired a very reputable company that’s been paving in the GTA since 1975 to do your driveway. We have worked with them before and never had complaints.
Lastly, we would like to point out that personal attacks are not warranted. The Fida Restoration team has been in the construction industry for over 2 decades and are very experienced and professional. Though Fida Restoration is a young company, the experience of our staff lies with multi-million dollar bridge and high-rise building restoration projects. As we work hard for our clients to achieve a high quality product, we communicate with respect and we expect the same in return.
Regarding the repairs, unfortunately we can not rip everything out and re-do it as this is not necessary and therefore an unrealistic expectation. The area with bad finish will be re-surfaced with an appropriate product for this application. As mentioned above, we always aim for a high quality product and we will contact you next week to meet on site. Our hope is to inspect the area needing repair and develop a resurfacing plan to bring the finish to satisfactory standards. We will explain to you the process when we meet. Once this is done, we will schedule the work and have it completed.
We hope this response meets your expectations and that we can give you the curb appeal that you are looking for.
