Mr. Small Concrete Construction

In response to Mr [redacted] 's complaint, [redacted] did not sell any warranty on this jobNor was there any warranties specifiedWithout a warranty, it becomes almost financially impossible to take on the entire cost of replacing a slab [redacted] does offer a small warrantyAt our discretion, we will cover a certain amount of square footage depending on the situation at no cost to the customerIn the event that the concrete supplied was bad, the supplier could be responsible for the cost of a new load of concrete when used to replace the bad concreteI'm that situation, the supplier's quality control department would inspect the concrete, and at thier discretion would determine if they will be held financially responsible for the concrete, but the concrete only, not the labor to remove the old slab and pour the new oneWe always try our best to make sure the the customer is fully satisfiedIn this situation, the cost would be too great therefore we would have to meet in the middle and charge a reasonable service fee to help pay for the cost of equipment, fuel, labor, time, ectto replace the slab.Salt could definitely be the cause of the surface deterioration, even if the salt is not directly applied to the slab due to the position the slab is in, it would have alot of melting snow and ice that could be contaminated with salt, or if salt was used anywhere uphill from the slab.In response to the "wet" load of concrete poured, the wet concrete was delivered and poured in an entirely different location than the problem area he is havingIt was a different pourAnd that concrete is holding up just fineA wet mix certainly does not mean the concrete will have any problemsThe concrete used to pour the slab in question was not "too wet", it layed down nicely and finished like any other pourThere was no way to know if the concrete was badOf there was something noticeably wrong with the concrete, it would have been sent back for a new one [redacted] would never use inferior product knowinglyHe mentions inexperience, which is not the case with [redacted] LLCThe owner and foreman has over years of experience in ordinary to decorative concrete, and also road and highway constructionWe are very experienced and have many satisfied customers, many repeat customers, and most of our work comes from word of mouthWe did everything from the removal to prep to pouring and finishing properly and as specifiedMr [redacted] claims I was "seen merely compressing wet cement" with a wood 2×leaving the area very thinThat claim is outrageous and out right ridiculousThere is absolutely no such thing as compressing wet cementEspecially to make the concrete thinThe thickness of a slab is determined by the preparation of the subgrade, which is measured to unsure a full depth slab, which in this case way 4" inches thick as to specificationThe wood 2xis used as a straight edge to flatten the surface of the concreteWhen the concrete is laid down, the material is maluable, giving us the opportunity to move and level it as neededThe wooden 2xis used with precision to make the surface of the concrete flat, and prepare it for the proper finishThat method is called "screeding" and it is used by every concrete professional in every application of concreteSometimes it's done with a wooded board, aluminum 2x4, vibratory screeds and so onScreeding has no effect on the "compression" or thickness of a slabWe apologize for the inconvenience caused by the bad load of concrete he is experiencingAs mentioned above, [redacted] can contact the supplier and see if quality control would be willing to cover the cost of a new load of concrete, and would be happy to assess the cost of labor to replace itAnd of course, given the circumstances, [redacted] is willing to meet in the middle on that cost

[redacted] contends that salt may cause the cement surface to deteriorate after winter, I had cement poured at the start of my driveway and it receives lanes of Highway salt and snow yet looks great after years [redacted] fails to address the crack that is in the cement after year [redacted] ***s other work that he says is “holding up fine” is also crackedThe fact that [redacted] offers no warranty is telling due to the obvious results of [redacted] ***s workI would be a fool to have [redacted] come back at any expense and do any workIt took repeated calls and failed claims by [redacted] to come and fix his issues until I contacted the B.B.Band now [redacted] merely state that the expense is on his customerIf his business is due to word of mouth, I will do my best to explain his work, warranty policy and overall unprofessionalism to anyone and everyone even considering cement work

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
Ben *** The crack still shows and we do not know if it was adequately filled

Hi ***In response to complaint #***, I received complaint of a small hairline crack in the upper corner of the customers drivewayIt explains in the signed contact that concrete cracks due to shrinkage from hot and cold temperatures, settling of subgrade, and other internal and external
stressesWe can minimize random cracking with control joints, but cannot prevent all crackingIt was a very small crack which has been caulked

n response to complaint #***:In MrSmall, LLC's construction contracts, we include the following statement:"The nature of concrete is that it will eventually crack, peel, spall, ect.: we cannot prevent all."It is often difficult to determine the exact cause of damage to new concrete
However, upon inspection of this customer's concrete, we believe the spalling and cracking is due to the customer's use of rock salt on his driveway over the winter (in addition to road salt), and not a bad batch of concreteIt is our policy to recommend to our clients to avoid using rock salt for the first year after concrete is laid.If indeed we had found that our supplier had sent an improper mix, *** *** would have contacted the supplier and asked for a replacement batch

In response to Mr. [redacted]'s complaint, [redacted] did not sell any warranty on this job. Nor was there any warranties specified. Without a warranty, it becomes almost financially impossible to take on the entire cost of replacing a slab. [redacted] does offer a small warranty. At our discretion, we will cover a certain amount of square footage depending on the situation at no cost to the customer. In the event that the concrete supplied was bad, the supplier could be responsible for the cost of a new load of concrete when used to replace the bad concrete. I'm that situation, the supplier's quality control department would inspect the concrete, and at thier discretion would determine if they will be held financially responsible for the concrete, but the concrete only, not the labor to remove the old slab and pour the new one. We always try our best to make sure the the customer is fully satisfied. In this situation, the cost would be too great therefore we would have to meet in the middle and charge a reasonable service fee to help pay for the cost of equipment, fuel, labor, time, ect. to replace the slab.Salt could definitely be the cause of the surface deterioration, even if the salt is not directly applied to the slab due to the position the slab is in, it would have alot of melting snow and ice that could be contaminated with salt, or if salt was used anywhere uphill from the slab.In response to the "wet" load of concrete poured, the wet concrete was delivered and poured in an entirely different location than the problem area he is having. It was a different pour. And that concrete is holding up just fine. A wet mix certainly does not mean the concrete will have any problems. The concrete used to pour the slab in question was not "too wet", it layed down nicely and finished like any other pour. There was no way to know if the concrete was bad. Of there was something noticeably wrong with the concrete, it would have been sent back for a new one. [redacted] would never use inferior product knowingly. He mentions inexperience, which is not the case with [redacted] LLC. The owner and foreman has over 11 years of experience in ordinary to decorative concrete, and also road and highway construction. We are very experienced and have many satisfied customers, many repeat customers, and most of our work comes from word of mouth. We did everything from the removal to prep to pouring and finishing properly and as specified. Mr. [redacted] claims I was "seen merely compressing wet cement" with a wood 2×4 leaving the area very thin. That claim is outrageous and out right ridiculous. There is absolutely no such thing as compressing wet cement. Especially to make the concrete thin. The thickness of a slab is determined by the preparation of the subgrade, which is measured to unsure a full depth slab, which in this case way 4" inches thick as to specification. The wood 2x4 is used as a straight edge to flatten the surface of the concrete. When the concrete is laid down, the material is maluable, giving us the opportunity to move and level it as needed. The wooden 2x4 is used with precision to make the surface of the concrete flat, and prepare it for the proper finish. That method is called "screeding" and it is used by every concrete professional in every application of concrete. Sometimes it's done with a wooded board, aluminum 2x4, vibratory screeds and so on. Screeding has no effect on the "compression" or thickness of a slab. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the bad load of concrete he is experiencing. As mentioned above, [redacted] can contact the supplier and see if quality control would be willing to cover the cost of a new load of concrete, and would be happy to assess the cost of labor to replace it. And of course, given the circumstances, [redacted] is willing to meet in the middle on that cost.

[redacted] contends that salt may cause the cement surface to deteriorate after 1 winter, I had cement poured at the start of my driveway and it receives 2 lanes of Highway 11 salt and snow yet looks great after 8 years. [redacted] fails to address the crack that is in the cement after 1 year. [redacted]s other work that he says is “holding up fine” is also cracked. The fact that [redacted] offers no warranty is telling due to the obvious results of [redacted]s work. I would be a fool to have [redacted] come back at any expense and do any work. It took repeated calls and failed claims by [redacted] to come and fix his issues until I contacted the B.B.B. and now [redacted] merely state that the expense is on his customer. If his business is due to word of mouth, I will do my best to explain his work, warranty policy and overall unprofessionalism to anyone and everyone even considering cement work.

In response to complaint #[redacted]:In Mr. Small, LLC's construction contracts, we include the following statement:"Concrete cracks due to shrinkage, settling of subgrade, and other internal and external stresses. We can minimize random cracking with control joints, but cannot prevent all cracking."It is often difficult to determine the exact cause of damage to new concrete. However, upon inspection of this customer's concrete, we saw that the crack was a very minimal, hairline crack. This type of cracking is very normal where there are harsh winters, as in the state of Wisconsin.We recommended to this client that hairline cracks, such as this one, be left alone, as the cracks are too small to successfully fill. But upon the customer's insistence, we did complete a repair service.