Complaint Review: Concrete Designs - George Caldwell

September 2005 Original job

To our knowledge, George never returned after original work was done to inspect the final result.

Did not clean up after work was done (concrete chunks left lying around).

Stamping around edge of pool was slopped onto aluminum coping, so called George to inquire. They came back and scrubbed with wire brush to remove slopped concrete from aluminum coping. This scratched the white finish on the aluminum coping, beyond repair.

Stamping around edge of pool was slopped onto vinyl steps and buddy seat. Never fixed. Still looks bad and wont come off.

Winter 2006 - Started noticing cracking in brushed concrete.

Spring/Summer 2006

Called George to inquire about cracking in brushed concrete, sinking in section surrounding the pool steps, and cracking and sinking in sections surrounding the buddy seat.

Response delayed until Fall 2006. (I can't recall his excuse for the delay. He made so many excuses over the year and a half of dealings, I can't remember them all.)

Fall 2006 - George/Team came back for repairs.

Sprinkled Quik-Crete into cracks in brushed sections and wet with hose. This did not match the color of the original concrete and did not seal the crack.

Poured Quik-Crete into severe cracks in stamping surrounding buddy seat. These cracks were to inch wide and there was apparent sinking involved as well.

Removed and re-poured the sinking section around the pool steps. Again, they used Quik-Crete for this repair, so the color did not match. There was originally 1 foot of stamped concrete on the edge of this section. They removed the stamping, but did not replace it. Instead, they re-poured the entire section with Quik-Crete. Also, the brushing was done poorly, so the finish was very rough. It was so rough that it would hurt to walk on it with bare feet.

Called George to advise the repairs were not satisfactory color mismatch, texture issue, and the fact that the repair did not solve the problem in the buddy seat area. Advised that framing was never removed from re-poured section. Also inquired about why the colored finish on the stamped concrete appeared to be wearing off. George advised he would come back in the Spring to repair.

March 2007

George came to examine the problems and develop a repair plan. George seemed embarrassed at quality of repair mismatch, texture, etc. He spoke of limited education of workers.

George advised he would resurface the re-poured section with a product called Ardex. He advised it would improve both the color and texture. He also advised he would use this product on the cracking in the brushed sections.

George advised he would need to cut out and remove 2 of the 3 stamped sections surrounding the buddy seat. He advised he would need to order the colored concrete for this section.

Regarding the color of the stamped sections/patio, George advised that where the color appeared to be wearing off was actually called crazing. He said it was due to non-perfect weather/heat conditions during the original pouring and drying/curing time. He said there is not much you can do to prevent it, but a new coat of sealer might help. He said he would put a new coat on at his next visit.

May 2007

George & team returned. Used Ardex (or so he says) to resurface previously repaired areas cracks in brushed concrete & section surrounding pool steps.

George applied a new coat of clear concrete sealer (from Lowes, not professional grade) to the stamped patio area, but not to the stamping around or behind the pool. He did not clean the concrete before applying.

George stated he would come back another time to cut, remove, and re-pour the stamped section behind the buddy seat.

Summer 2007

George returned to cut out the 2 stamped sections from the sides of the buddy seat. He advised he would leave the concrete in place, for structural reasons. George stated that he needed to order the colored concrete and set-up a delivery date. He said he would come back on the scheduled delivery date to remove the cut sections and re-frame the sections before the concrete arrived.

George also advised that he would apply another coat of Ardex to the cracks in the brushed concrete.

Summer 2007

Team arrived, without George. Applied another coat of Ardex to cracks in brushed concrete. This was now the 3rd attempt to correct/conceal this cracking.

Removed two previously cut-out sections. Re-framed sections and waited for concrete delivery. Repoured and stamped these two sections.

Immediately after repair, it appeared they had used cherry release on the repaired sections. This is something George offered in our original consultation in Summer 2005, but we declined because we werent excited about the appearance. At this time, we were concerned that the newly repaired section would, again, not match the rest of the concrete.

After several days of drying, we were concered that the newly poured & stamped sections were much lighter than the original stamped concrete. We thought maybe the concrete sealer, once applied, would bring the true color out.

June 24, 2007

Tim applied a coat of clear concrete sealer to stamped areas around the pool, including the 2 newly poured & stamped sections. It was now obvious that George did not order the correct color of concrete for these sections. These 2 sections are now several shades lighter than any of the other stamped concrete.

We decided that we would not allow any more chances for George to try to repair. We would seek legal advice and contact other concrete companies for repair/replacement options.

Leane
Fredericksburg, Virginia
U.S.A.