Asfaltisti Corp

We got Sammy's contact information (Sammy Zuniga) through a trusted acquaintance, who sold us travertine pavers. We were already ready to go with a local landscaper and mason, when we were advised that it might be better to go with him, as he ?knew? how to put those pavers (6x12) properly. I can't say that we felt comfortable with hiring a guy we never saw before from Florida (were in PA), but since we wholeheartedly trusted the person who recommended him, we decided to give him a shot. At first Sammy said he'll bring 2 more people with him, but in the end it came down to him and another guy (Jerry). Overall, mixed results. Pros: Sammy came, he did some of the job very hastily, and he left. Jerry, the guy he brought along for masonry projects, was of some help, especially with masonry and smaller stuff like integrating conduits for electrical & plumbing (which I did myself). But even Jerry made a few mistakes that definitely brought down the points a bit. Cons (warning, long list): 1. You have to be very careful when dealing with Sammy: he does NOT promptly respond to calls; 2. He read the contract very hastily, without understanding what he was signing up for (I'd say he didn't read it at all). 3. Got lost on his way here - visited some states that were not even remotely on the right path; 4. Small details were not taken care of at all before coming to the site (i.e. accommodations, negotiation for local sub-contracting, obtaining equipment, and much more); some of those extra's we needed to take care of. In the end, it ended up being our problem, as we were forced to: find suppliers, order for materials, negotiate deliveries, make small runs to the stores, rent equipment, pay for his hotel stay and etc. We took that expense of the final bill, of course, but the hassle of dealing with this is not something we expected. 5. He was physically & emotionally overwhelmed when he saw the scope of the job (I guess he imagined flatland, even though the contract he signed specifically stated extensive grading requirement); later emotional outbursts continued through the length of the project (it was like dealing with a child who didn?t want to do HW). 6. Refused to do some of the masonry work (even though I dedicated a full page of explanation for that particular part in the contract) and we agreed to reduce the total compensation by a certain % in lieu of that; 7. Many things discussed verbally already at the site, were not being followed through, and we had to constantly remind him of small and large (scaring enough) details. Some stuff was "forgot" and we had to resort to pointing it out in the contract. Thank G-d I put the important details in the contract, which helped a lot with avoiding "this-wasn't-part-of-the-deal" situations. 8. The entire thing took 3 weeks, while his original estimations were "4-5 days". Thankfully I was prepared for 3 weeks timeframe, but it was still very frustrating for all involved. 9. Excavation/grading/setting of footing took about a week all by itself. The problem is that the grading was not done correctly ? even though I particularly kept of reminding that it needs to be away from the house, Sammy kept reassuring me that he?ll be tampering all that ground later on. When it was evident that they screwed up with grading, and cement pouring, Sammy claimed that I approved a slope TO the house. After a very heated argument, through lack of choice that that point, I insisted to run another slope from the house so that his stupidity won?t flood my basement later on ? it doesn?t look too bad now, but still a very costly mistake. 10. Many of the smaller items he agreed to in the beginning were not done in the end ? replanting of the trees he excavated; installation of post lights; finishing the counter area and many other things. 11. Even though some of the projects were quite detailed that pavers would need to be placed on the wall, since we didn?t use the terms ?coping? and ?fascia?, he argued fervently that we didn?t explain this properly. Finally, he put it all there, but refused to grout. 12. We were not aware that sealing was not part of the deal, and Sammy never informed us of that. He then refused to even consider it, even if we were to pay extra. Now we have to pay someone to do the job. 13. During the installation of the front area, Sammy was cheap enough to skip bracing for the concrete forms (even though Jerry advised to do so). This caused massive delays later on, as the frame they used to pour the concrete rounded off, and was not usable for putting brick around. 14. Absolutely no clean-up ? ridiculous amount of crap were left all over the yard. From the topsoil dug up and dumped on the front lawn, to the base material dumped around the house. Sammy refused to do any cleanup. I'll let the pictures attached do the talking. 15. Filling paver joints - Refused to put polymeric sand (expensive and sturdy), and kept on suggesting play sand (cheap and inappropriate in case of rains). We finally forced his hand to at least mix the two. 16. Insisted to be paid on site, even though that meant 2 hours of driving for us To summarize: absolutely impossible to leave him alone, as he is bound to make a mistake in something; disorganized to a point of ridicule; does not keep his word; one look at our patio clearly shows that he takes no pride in his work. P.S. I posted the pictures of the patio , and those are not he will show you on his ?website? (I would say that's it's a pathetic excuse for a website, as he uses facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tampa-FL/Asfaltisti-Corp/127454286813?v=photos).