French Curbs, Walkway, Shed slab
My neighbor recommended this company to myself. John (the owner) is extremely unprofessional and rude – to customers and his employees. I met this person later on in the project and not on the first day the project began unfortunately; otherwise I would not have gone with this company.
The French Curbs turned out great I must say though. The walkway had cracked in multiple places after a single winter season. Workers apparently did not compact gravel enough. 1 Year later he came back to repair as per warranty admitting it was an error on SoloCretes part, but he also told me to fix my water draining as he suspects that was the cause of the cracks (even though he himself (personally) put piping into the ground to allow for adequate drainage.)
He eventually broke up the concrete and refused to repair it unless I paid him extra as he needed to rebar, and come back to my neighborhood even though he had no projects at the time in the area, etc. Complete misrepresentation and fraudulent warranty.
The shed slab is a whole other story.... Supposed to measure 12 x 10... SoloCrete made it 11 x 10, even though his sales guy clearly indicated 12X10... They came back, put in rebar and essentially made a gigantic mess. One year later, the attachment/band aid fix he did is broken up and a crack across the slab/platform has taken place. No apologies for this whatsoever.
STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS CONTRACTOR. This is a family run business and his secretary is completely unprofessional and rude – has a habit of directly hanging up on people. Not worth your risk or potential aggravation dealing with this company since there are far more options out there.
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UPDATE: MAY 17 2012
With respect to Homestar's readers' time, I would like to reinstate how poor the workmanship and customer service Solocrete provides. John's response is a typical response a tradesman would provide in an ever competitive industry. There are many folks out there that provide concrete services and i would strongly encourage you to seek other vendors. I realized he has a few positive comments here and am glad to see the positive experiences; however, I would strongly be cautious.
John/Solocrete: I noticed you completely ignored the fact that you made a severe error with my shed base. Shows your credibility. Your PVC solution btw is absolutely worthless. The drainage solution you provide is a very temporary solution as it get plugged up and clogged very quickly. Let's not waste time discussing this as it's a novice solution.
You John, have NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. I had Essential Landscaping from Bolton come in and fix your mess and they echo that they are surprised with the work you performed.
I've attached pictures to my message in hopes that I can help someone out there avoid the mess you created on my property.
Homestars Readers: There are many concrete contractors/vendors out there. Please don't waste your time and dollars on this one.
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- Approximate cost of services:
- $6,000.00
- Company Response
Solocrete would like to take this opportunity to adequately respond to and clarify, in full, the content of this review. Solocrete has high standards for great workmanship, quality and service that make this company one of the most reputable and successful businesses located in Southern Ontario. Contrary to the client’s statements, I have more than 30 years experience in the concrete business. As per the issues of the walkway cracks, Solocrete always stands behind our warranties provided the cracks are related to issues covered by company policy. In this particular case I notified the client that the existing flowerbed required a pipe for drainage of the downspout water flow and that this pipe is not part of the contract or paid for. As a precaution Solocrete installed, free of charge, a PVC pipe underneath the concrete into the flowerbed, leaving the remaining attachments to the downspout up to the owner. He failed to ensure that this connection was made therefore allowing the water running from the downspout to become trapped in the flowerbed. The trapped water resulted in a build-up of ice that causes lifting of the concrete and thus cracking. The company did respond to the client’s complaints, an inspection was done and it was determined that the cracks were in fact the result of water trapped and frozen in the flowerbed. It is very unfortunate that the owner ignored the company’s advice and compromised the warranty that under this circumstance is not covered under the company’s policy. The client was never able to accept the responsibility for the root cause of the cracks. Taking into consideration and respect for our clients, Solocrete in fact did start the repairing process free of charge, but the client stated that he did not want to see Solocrete back on his property and would seek someone else for the job. As a result, Solocrete did not return to the property or contact the client ever since. The client’s account of what occurred, his arguments and explanation of the cracking are inaccurate and do not make sense. - John