Holberger Inc

I requested and accepted a price from a decorative concrete sub-contractor (Keith Holberger, Inc.) working for the pool contractor refinishing our pool and spa. They removed sod, set 2X4 forms, poured and finished a cool deck concrete sidewalk between an existing door on the pool screen patio and the exterior door about 25 feet away leading into our guest bathroom. The price was based in part on utilizing a portion of a concrete delivery Keith Holberger had already scheduled for another job. During the setting of the forms Keith Holberger discovered a sprinkler system controller and told me they would simply put a form around the controller and use the controller cover to cover the hole at the sidewalk level. I accepted Keith Holberger's proposed solution since it would still allow access to the sprinkler controller, and moving the sprinkler controller would delay the sidewalk concrete pour which would have increased the cost. The sidewalk was satisfactorily completed at the end of January 2010. Since I don't use the irrigation system during the winter months, I didn't discover a irrigation system water leak under the new sidewalk until April 2010. I dug underneath the sidewalk and saw the source of this leak was an irrigation system pipe with a small jagged hole. The damaged irrigation pipe was approximately a foot inside the edge of the new sidewalk and I couldn't get a hacksaw into the area to cut the damaged portion of the pipe and replace it. I also discoverd a second sprinkler controller buried underneath the new sidewalk next to the one Keith Holberger had found during the sidewalk construction. I called Keith Holberger and explained the entire situation. He came out and after looking at what I had found admitted the damage had likely been done while removing sod and/or setting forms for the new sidewalk. He offered to help me fix the leak and I drove to The Home Depot and brought back the parts he needed. Keith Holberger did fix this leak and even though the second sprinkler controller was still partially underneath the new sidewalk I shoveled the dirt back under the sidewalk the next morning. A few weeks later after I had set the irrigation system to run automatically on a schedule, my wife told me the area inside the new sidewalk was flooded with water. This was on the opposite side of where Keith Holberger had repaired the first leak. I called Keith Holberger again and told him the irrigation system was leaking again from the other side of the new sidewalk. This time he told me he didn't know that much about irrigation systems and I should get a irrigation company to assess the extent of the damage and fix the problem. That was the end of the phone conversation since he told me he couldn't help me any further. I called Inline Sprinkler Repair to evaluate the damage. Using a stethoscope Inline determined the source of another irrigation system leak was coming from underneath of the new sidewalk towards the middle approximately two feet from the initial leak near the sprinkler controllers. Inline recommended rerouting the irrigation system to eliminate that portion underneath the new sidewalk since a lot of dirt would have to be removed from underneath the sidewalk, and they couldn't be certain how many of the existing irrigation pipes underneath the sidewalk may had been damaged. I authorized Inline to repair the damage caused by the installation of the new sidewalk by rerouting the irrigation system. Inline told me the cost to reroute the irrigation damage from underneath the new sidewalk was $210. I called Keith Holberger once again and I told him I thought the irrigation system damage his company caused during the building of the new sidewalk was careless and irresponsible. When I asked him to pay $210 to compensate me for the cost of the repair, he became belligerent and told me as the homeowner I should have checked the sprinkler system before the concrete was poured for the new sidewalk. I told him that I had every right to expect a contractor to use care when digging to make sure no damage was done before pouring concrete. Mr. Holberger then offered to pay half of the repair cost. I told him I felt it was his responsibility and I expected to receive a check from him for the full $210. His reply was he would send me monthly payments which I told him was not acceptable. It's been over a month since that conversation and although I sent Mr. Holberger an email, I've received no compensation. I'm filing this report primairly out of concern Keith Holberger, Inc. may demonstrate the same type of carelessness and disregard with other homeowners as he did with me.