Freehold Concrete Inc

When we first met Dylan, we were impressed with his knowledge and professionalism. We read great reviews on HomeStars, so we hired him to remove an old driveway and to pour a new one with a patio.

Within a week the driveway developed two large cracks right about the place where the concrete begins to slope 3/4" over a 4' distance towards the house. Also, after the first winter, areas of the driveway began spalling and flaking.

We reached out to Dylan who dropped by in the spring to look at the driveway. His demeanour was disrespectful, belligerent and hostile. He was yelling at us, swearing and complaining about all the home owners who were unhappy with his workmanship.

We have since contacted Dylan over a dozen times. He first agreed to fix the slope, and we discussed options, he said he was committed to honouring his contract which clearly states that the driveway will slope away from the house. Then, he changed his mind.

It's now two years after the initial driveway pour and this is a snippet of Dylan's most recent email:

"You are correct that I am still running the crew. I have however lost my house due to corporate debt and now renting a house near my daughter [sic] school. I will be unable to complete any work at your house. ... it has been a battle that can't be won against shotty product that we can't control. I am currently transferring out of concrete into the RCMP and hope to be done with this industry by his time next year." - end comment.

Dylan has refused to accept responsibility for the work done, citing 'shotty product' is to blame rather than poor quality workmanship. So, during the last two years, I have researched the concrete industry and the chemical nature of concrete itself.

A driveway that slopes towards a house is the result of poor workmanship, this is not an issue of the product. So now, we have water draining off the driveway soaking the house foundation.
The issue of scaling is also one of workmanship. Concrete that has been 'overworked' will draw water to the surface and as the water moves up to the top - so do lighter weight materials, like sand. What you end up with is a concrete mixture that is no longer uniform and with surface integrity that is greatly compromised. As a result, when we began driving on the driveway the surface began spalling.

Dylan was on the job site the entire time, and it was his responsibly to ensure that the concrete sloped away from the house and for how the concrete was worked. With so much variety in composition, it was Dylan who specified the concrete mixture that ultimately became our driveway.

I'm sure Dylan will respond to this review to defend himself and say how sorry he is, and how it is not his fault but the fault of the 'industry' and the fault of the product but you have to ask yourself, 'Would you hire a guy who won't honour his contract?' 'Would you hire a guy who won't accept responsibility when things go wrong?' 'Would you hire a guy who is trying to get out of the industry?'

We are absolutely disgusted with the dramatic switch in Dylan's behaviour. I guess money really does change a man's demeanour. Dylan's lack of honesty, integrity and professionalism is beyond description. We won't be around to see it, but I hope what goes around will come around ten-fold, he's earned it.