The only real positive thing I can say about the driveway expansion Adams Concrete performed is that I now have a bigger driveway. However, the concrete workmanship was sloppy, they failed to deliver on any of their promises, and I’m not very confident my driveway was last more than a few years.
1. Took them several weeks from the time we gave our deposit to the time they started. Zero communication from them as week after week went by, we constantly had to call them, only to be told the rain has delayed their schedule.
2. Driveway isn’t level, I don’t mean it’s slightly not level so rain can run off, I mean REALLY not level.
3. They cut the lines in the concreate by hand using a trough instead of waiting for it to dry and using a saw. Now nearly all the lines are crooked and of uneven depth.
4. Promised to relocate my bush that was in the path of the driveway extension, instead dug and hacked it up and left it sitting against the side of my house.
5. Then promised to replace the bush, never did.
6. They promised to relocate the sod they removed, they didn’t. When I pointed this out, they claimed the grass wasn’t any good anyways, but that he would replace it with new sod, he never did.
7. Promised to fix the crooked lines, never did.
8. Used too much water when “finishing” the driveway, this resulted in portions of my driveway being nearly white and with an almost shine like finish.
9. There’s boot prints in the concrete, brought this to his attention, like everything else, he promised to return and fix, but never came back.
10. His workers left cigarette butts on my lawn, nearly 20 of them.
11. His workers cleaned off their tools on my lawn, I ended up with large puddles of hardened concrete in my grass, I had to break these up with a sledge hammer to remove, because…. you guessed it, he promised to fix, but never returned.
12. They used cheap cement. You want concrete that supports 4000psi, this is what they call a 6 bag mix. 6 bags of cement for every cubic yard of concrete. These guys used concrete that was rated at 3000psi, 25% less strong that recommended. The concrete they poured looked more like a mix of driveway gravel than any cement I’ve ever seen.
13. He claimed the cement that the concrete supplier brought had calcium added to it which made it dry faster, in order to get it “finished” before it dried he added A LOT of water, this results in my driveway having a very very rough and dusty finish. All that extra water also weakens the cement. When this happens it usually means your driveway will start to fall apart prematurely.
14. They didn’t lay any kind of base down before they poured the driveway, another shortcut that will probably mean premature cracking. No subgrade, subbase, or base at all. Where I live, it’s all sandy soil, that base was necessary to evenly support the driveway.
15. They also did not “cure” or seal the concrete. This is all the more important because he used cheap cement and then added more water on top of that weak cement.
The real kicker is that he did mine and my neighbor’s driveway expansion at the same time, and their driveways looks EVEN WORSE than ours. I wish I had done my homework first, if I knew then what I know now, I would have stopped and complained every single step of the way as he cuts corners.
All USA
The only real positive thing I can say about the driveway expansion Adams Concrete performed is that I now have a bigger driveway. However, the concrete workmanship was sloppy, they failed to deliver on any of their promises, and I’m not very confident my driveway was last more than a few years. 1. Took them several weeks from the time we gave our deposit to the time they started. Zero communication from them as week after week went by, we constantly had to call them, only to be told the rain has delayed their schedule. 2. Driveway isn’t level, I don’t mean it’s slightly not level so rain can run off, I mean REALLY not level. 3. They cut the lines in the concreate by hand using a trough instead of waiting for it to dry and using a saw. Now nearly all the lines are crooked and of uneven depth. 4. Promised to relocate my bush that was in the path of the driveway extension, instead dug and hacked it up and left it sitting against the side of my house. 5. Then promised to replace the bush, never did. 6. They promised to relocate the sod they removed, they didn’t. When I pointed this out, they claimed the grass wasn’t any good anyways, but that he would replace it with new sod, he never did. 7. Promised to fix the crooked lines, never did. 8. Used too much water when “finishing” the driveway, this resulted in portions of my driveway being nearly white and with an almost shine like finish. 9. There’s boot prints in the concrete, brought this to his attention, like everything else, he promised to return and fix, but never came back. 10. His workers left cigarette butts on my lawn, nearly 20 of them. 11. His workers cleaned off their tools on my lawn, I ended up with large puddles of hardened concrete in my grass, I had to break these up with a sledge hammer to remove, because…. you guessed it, he promised to fix, but never returned. 12. They used cheap cement. You want concrete that supports 4000psi, this is what they call a 6 bag mix. 6 bags of cement for every cubic yard of concrete. These guys used concrete that was rated at 3000psi, 25% less strong that recommended. The concrete they poured looked more like a mix of driveway gravel than any cement I’ve ever seen. 13. He claimed the cement that the concrete supplier brought had calcium added to it which made it dry faster, in order to get it “finished” before it dried he added A LOT of water, this results in my driveway having a very very rough and dusty finish. All that extra water also weakens the cement. When this happens it usually means your driveway will start to fall apart prematurely. 14. They didn’t lay any kind of base down before they poured the driveway, another shortcut that will probably mean premature cracking. No subgrade, subbase, or base at all. Where I live, it’s all sandy soil, that base was necessary to evenly support the driveway. 15. They also did not “cure” or seal the concrete. This is all the more important because he used cheap cement and then added more water on top of that weak cement. The real kicker is that he did mine and my neighbor’s driveway expansion at the same time, and their driveways looks EVEN WORSE than ours. I wish I had done my homework first, if I knew then what I know now, I would have stopped and complained every single step of the way as he cuts corners.