Booth's Cobblestones Inc

After two months, has completed half. They will not return calls or emails. Use to be the company for pavers many years ago. Something has happened.

This is a complaint against Booth's Cobblestone, Inc. and specifically their salesperson/job supervisor Tom Lohman who performed work for me during December 2015 and early January, 2016. I contracted with Booth's Cobblestone Inc. whose name I obtained through Angie's List, to perform a complete re-installation of pavers on the pool deck and coping around the pool perimeter at our home. The job was to include removal of existing pavers, cutting and removal of existing poured concrete pool curb, installation of new coping around the pool perimeter, re-installation of existing pavers including cutting of pavers to fit tightly at all curved and straight boundaries, installing Alliance Gator Maxx polymeric sand (highly recommended by paver supplier) as fill in the 1/4 inch grout lines between pavers, and finally, sealing the entire deck surface. Total paid for the job was $7,484. (The pool coping and enough new pavers to cover non-reusable existing pavers were supplied by me at my expense). The salesperson who quoted the job and supervised the work was Thomas (Tom) Lohman. I was favorably impressed by Tom during our initial meeting and chose him and his company over several others recommended by Angie's List who also quoted the job. The first day of work, the paver installers arrived to begin cutting the curb off the pool. Instead they attempted to convince me that the new coping should be applied over top of the old curb. I explained why I didn't want that and they said they would have to talk to Tom and then all left the job site. I immediately sent Tom an email asking for an explanation and wanting to make sure we were all on the same page regarding what needed to be done. The following day, Tom responded that "they should be onsite this morning sorry for the delay" but with no explanation of what happened the day before and no confirmation that we were indeed all on the same page. This turned out to be Tom's style when it came to communicating. He would generally act on messages I left him but was not good about getting back to me with explanations and I was often left wondering whether the workers had been given my latest directions or concerns. The workers spoke very little English so communicating directly with them was difficult. The job progressed very well in general and the amazing skills of the paver installers (evidently stone cutters from Brazil) were readily apparent as I watched them cut and install the coping and especially as they cut each paver to fit seamlessly against the complex curved perimeter of the pool coping. They did a magnificent job. Things went south when they dumped a wheelbarrow of sand on the deck to begin filling the grout joints between pavers. I asked if it was Alliance Gator Maxx polymeric sand as specified in the contract and all I got back was blank stares. I stopped them from proceeding and immediately called Tom. Tom said he would look into it. The next thing I knew, they were shoveling the sand back into the wheelbarrow and then left the job site. It was a good thing I was there to catch that mistake before they got any further! Days went by with no word on what was happening. I called Tom and when he finally got back to me, he said they would return once he got the required Gator Maxx product. I asked him to please keep me informed as to when they would be back so I could be sure to be present. He did not. A number of days later, they just showed up and started installing the Gator Maxx. Fortunately, I was there to watch. The Gator Maxx package has 10 detailed installation steps that are apparently critical to getting a good installation and a hard cure. Instead they simply spread it out and wet it down several times. They did not compact it at all and didn't observe any of the timing constraints detailed in the package instructions. About 4 days later, we had rain which washed a great deal of the Gator Maxx out of the joints along the gutter drip line even though the data sheet stated that only 1 hour minimum (24 hours max) was required after product activation before the deck could be rained on. Further examination revealed that even where there was no wash-out, the Gator Maxx had not hardened properly over about 70% of the entire deck area. I notified Tom about the problem and my fear that none of it was installed properly and that even the parts that seemed solid would not last as designed. He said the guy who seals the deck would do the needed repairs prior to sealing. For a short time after sealing, it looked fine on the surface but within a short time, it was no better than before. About 30% had cured fairly hard, 20% was cured on top with voids underneath and 50% was soft and granulated. When I called Tom to complain, he blamed it on the product, stating that "Gator Maxx sucks" and he claimed that he told me that from the beginning. I guarantee, if he had told me that at the beginning, I would have either had him use a product he endorsed or gotten another installer who didn't have an issue with Gator Maxx to install it. Since he believed the Gator Maxx was to blame and I believed it was the improper installation, he agreed to have a manufacturer's rep come out and evaluate the installation. I requested that I be present for that evaluation. A number of weeks later, Tom called to tell me that the manufacturer's rep (Steve Kuzoian of Oldcastle Pavers) had been to the house two weeks prior and said the consistency of the Gator Maxx was essentially as one would expect - that it tends to get soft when wet and re-hardens when dry. I was extremely upset that I was not afforded the opportunity to be there for the visit as I would have pointed out all the areas where the Gator Maxx was perpetually soft even when dry and where it had hardened on top but had voids underneath. I finally contacted Alliance and told them the whole story. They informed me that Steve Kuzoian was NOT a rep for their company and gave me the name of their representative for my region, Mike McGinnis. Mike came out to the house, looked at the installation and confirmed that the condition of the deck was completely unacceptable and while it was theoretically possible that we happened to get a bad batch of Gator Maxx, it was extremely unlikely because 1) their process control was extremely tight and 2) there would have been issues with more than just the 6 bags that were used on my job. In any event, Mike agreed to supply new bags of Gator Maxx and Mike got Tom to agree to fix the problem areas but Tom told Mike it would be my responsibility to have the loose Gator Maxx pressure washed out of the joints prior to his making the repairs. Since about 50% was cured fairly hard, at least on the surface, I knew that removing all the suspect Gator Maxx was going to be a very difficult and expensive job. I also had lost all confidence that Tom would be able to install the new Gator Maxx properly especially since he believed that "Gator Maxx sucks". When I expressed all these concerns to Tom, he 1) denied ever saying that "Gator Maxx sucks", 2) continued to deny that he had botched the installation, 3) continued to blame the product, 4) insisted that Steve Kuzoian was indeed a rep for Alliance, 5) accepted no responsibility for failing to give me advance notice of Steve's visit and 6) was indignant that I had called him out on 1 thru 5. On a positive note, he did agree to take care of pressure washing the old Gator Maxx out as well as installing new. At that point, I told him that I had no confidence in his fixing my pool deck satisfactorily and would rather have someone with extensive experience with Gator Maxx perform the repair. I revealed that had received a $1200 quote for the entire repair job from an installer that Alliance's Mike McGinnis expressed 100% confidence in and that, if Tom would provide me with a refund of $1200 I would consider all the work done by Tom and Booth's Cobblestone to have been performed satisfactorily, give him a good review on Angie's List and absolve him of further responsibility. Tom laughed at that and told me I wouldn't get a penny out of him and that my only option was to have him do the repair as promised. I then informed Tom that I would be seeking the assistance of the Complaint Resolution services of Angie's List to help resolve this matter. The desired resolution to my complaint is for Tom Lohman of Booth's Cobblestone, Inc. to refund to cost of having an experienced installer repair my pool deck. Despite all the stress and anguish at having to deal with Tom over this matter for almost a year and a half, and having to look at the mess that my pool deck had become, I would consider a refund from Booth's Cobblestone in the amount of $1200 without further ado to be a satisfactory resolution to my complaint. NOTE: Though my experience dealing with Tom Lohman was stressful and unpleasant, Booth's Cobblestone has some of the most highly skilled stone cutters who did an absolutely exceptional job of cutting and installing both the pool coping and deck pavers. The A-F ratings in this review apply only to the installation of the Gator Maxx polymeric sand and my experience with Mr. Lohman.

We were out of town and came home to beautiful work.

They knew their business but they didn't have artistic vision. They didn't make it a generous curve like the circular driveway would be. I had a step on going up to the front entry and I didn't notice when the forms were in until it was all poured, its only a two inch step now. They should have call my attention and asked me.

They did a pretty decent job on the paver work - though they were months behind schedule. I'd grade the cleaning and sealing as an F. They charged a lot of money and cut a lot of corners on that one. I'd probably give them a B if I only did the pavers. I don't know if Booth subcontracted the cleaning but the crew that did it was sub-par.

We had heard positive things about this company from a neighbor and when we met the salesman Tom, we were very pleased. He was very nice and seemed very knowledgeable. He assured us it would only take a week. Not sure what happened but more than two weeks later, the finished product is beautiful, but it took pulling teeth to get it done! We never knew when they were coming or who was coming. The workers themselves were very nice but spoke little English so it was difficult to get answers from them. My husband had to make many calls and send many emails to get our questions answered. I even texted once and no one ever responded to me. The communication was awful. And to top it off, in the beginning after only being here for a few days, one of the workers accidentally opened up a drain, and we came home to find our pool completely empty!! Their only response was and quot;Sorry, it was an accidentand quot;. Nothing was done to compensate us for that or to even explain why it happened or what they would do about it. We never knew who was showing up and there were days when no one came at all!! But it's amazing, how the bill came right on time!! As I mentioned before, we do love the finished product. but we're not sure it was worth all the stress to get to this point.

They did a fantastic job and they are so professional. I just received a handwritten thank you note from the owner!

Overall, all the jobs have gone smoothly. Weather played a factor in scheduling, but that is to be expected in Florida. Booth's Cobblestones is responsive and reliable. Without hesitation, I recommend their services.

the job is excellent.

We are very pleased with the completed job. Booth's went above and beyond in terms of taking care of technical details that were not specified in our very detailed contract. Some examples include putting in chases that were needed (but not specified), and properly terminating the deco drains so that they went under the pool deck (rather than over as our builder had incorrectly done). They also repaired driveway curbing that they themselves did not damage to make the finished job more appealing. They were very good about curtailing the concrete dust during the demolition process, and doing a pretty thorough general cleanup after they were done. One of the things that Booth's does (and many other Paver companies do not) is to use rebar in the curbing which is important for Florida's sandy soil. Prior to contracting with Booth's, we went to view some high end homes for which they had done work. The quality was excellent for every job that we viewed. Booth's was also very good about working with us to re-write their contract to our detailed specifications. This made it easier for both us and them, as it was very clear what our expectations would be.

We are thrilled with Booth's Cobblestones. They did an amazing job. Both their customer service and workmanship on the job were excellent. Our pool deck is absolutely beautiful. They were the best company that we have dealt with in a long time. Though their prices were slightly higher than some other quotes that we received, it was worth the extra expense for the great results.

Sales Rep provided a quick estimate and we selected our brick based upon his recommendation of the two week delivery time. We contracted in February and we were expecting work to begin in early March. When no one contacted us by mid March I began to call the company. Every phone call was responded with "we'll get back to you." No one ever did. I continued to call through March and April. Finally a voice mail to the owner was responded to after a week. The sales rep put me in touch with the supplier and finally by mid May we had brick. Installers showed up unannounced and spoke no English. Installation was done within a week. I had to call for clean up as they blocked my driveway and it was cleaned up quickly. After I received a bill for the sealing that wasn't done, I had to call again to get that portion of the job done. Very frustrating experience as each step has required constant prodding to get done. Contracted in Feb, work still to be completed end of May.

It's a beautiful driveway, and everyone comments on it. I did have to call them about 50 times to clean up and they never replaced a light that they broke.