Robert R Andreas & Sons Inc

Awful. Cracking, flaking mess after less than 4 months. The driveway They replaced was actually in better condition than what we ended up with They do NOT stand behind their work if they screw up which they did in our case. I would NEVER use and certainly NEVER recommend. The experience was the worst. Look up their civil cases in cook county as well as dupage county. Take your money elsewhere. Will update review with photos later

They were prompt, professional and I'm happy with the service.

really a great job, would hire again. Team was professional and helpful. Cement looks great.

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uality of work appears good but advice regarding how to solve a drainage problem was not provided and work provided did not entirely solve the problem. The supervisor was very difficult to communicate with and had an attitude problem whenever I asked him a question or asked for advice regarding issues with the work. Workers did not speak English so I was not able to communicate with them. After working four hours the first day and indicating they would return the next morning, no one showed up. When I called the office late in the morning to inquire they told me the crew would be there in the afternoon but they never showed. The next day they arrived and indicated that at the end of the day they would be pouring cement. This never occurred so the area to be cemented was left framed over the Halloween weekend. I felt this was a safety risk as small children would be running by the house Halloween night. Workers left at the end of the day without communicating to me what would occur next. When I called the office they said it was too late to pour concrete despite telling me in the morning when they arrived it would be poured at the end of the day.

Bobby Andreas and his crew were great to work with, the work performed was first class, and his crew cleaned up in a professional manner. Could not have asked for more.

No work done.

My wife and I are retired Westchester residents since 2004. We are having a situation with Andreas Concrete company who is registered with the Village. They claim in all there ads to have been in business for decades, approx 50-60 years. Claims in their web site advertising like: ?Our knowledgeable sales force can assist you with your project from start to finish by applying specific knowledge and expertise garnered from a wide range of projects successfully completed over 60 years of business.? In their Yellow pages ads they state: Your concrete is our science Concrete specialists Experience and skills to get the job done right the first time. Reputation and loyalty created over 60 years 3 generations of service and expert performance Knowledgeable sales force On or about April 24, 2013 we contracted with them to completely remove and replace our complete driveway at our 1814 Kensington home for $10,000. The appropriate permits were procured by me which was No. CON 13-000017 ON 4/24/2013. I dealt with Byron Andreas regards the job review, the estimate, and the creation of the contract. Additionally I dealt with Bobby Andreas (the job supervisor) who was involved in the on site aspects of the layout, the crews, and the installing of the concrete. Bobby Andreas was on site most of the time for the installation. The concrete was poured sometime during the first part of June. All contractual payments were promptly paid as per our agreement. Too bad I didn?t hold back some money but I don?t like treating people like that. I abide by my end of the bargain!!! SO, HERE?S THE FIRST PROBLEM: After 5-7 days of drying, the area from the back of the the house and out to the front walk had the usual satisfactory whitish appearance. HOWEVER, on the curved walk coming from the front of the house to the drive had an VERY UNSIGHTLY AND EMBARRISING grayish dark appearance. Additionally all the concrete from the back corner of the house to the garage apron and all across the drive had the same UNSIGHTLY grayish dark appearance. Bobby Andreas inspected these unsightly areas. His EXPERT AND SCIENTIFIC response: ? it needs to dry a few more days. It?s a drying issue.? Several more days morphed into 1-2 weeks. Appearance the same. His next response: ? I don?t know what?s causing this. I?ve never seen this before?. I have checked with others in the concrete business like_____________________________. So here I?ve spent $10,000 dollars, with a company making all kinds of claims as experts, as indicated above, only to hear ----? I don?t know what?s causing this!!!!!! They should remove all such claims from any advertising as they are shallow, meaningless, misleading, without substance, and seem to me to be completely false. With 60 years of experience they should absolutely know what might cause this! In the last month or so, I consulted with a Mr. Patrik Patel from an IDOT certified company (Construction and Geotechnical Material Testing Inc in Elk Grove ), regarding an issue of expansion joints and in the course of conversation he said the discoloration was due either to a poor finishing job or the mix. More on this later. Wanting to resolve this color issue, and being the nice guy that I am, and thinking that the discolored c/crete in the back part of the drive is not really that visible and not that embarrassing and tolerable, I accepted his suggestion that he redo the curved front walk which was VERY UNSIGHTLY AND EMBARRASING to us. He suggested I pay $170.00. for the concrete. Wanting to get on with our lives I agreed to the $170.00 They redid the curved walk and all is fine. KEEP IN MIND THERE WAS NO WRITTEN GUARANTEE ------- YET THEY CORRECTED THIS PROBLEM. THIS SEEMS TO IMPLY THAT THEY DO STAND BEHIND THEIR WORK AND WANT TO KEEP A CUSTOMER HAPPY AS LONG AS IT IS NOT TOO INCOVENIENT AND EXPENSIVE FOR THEM. So we both agreed on a resolution for the ?discoloration? issue on the curved front walk. More importantly though is his claim that ?I don?t know what is causing the darkening?, was the FIRST LAME EXCUSE to avoid accepting responsibility for a shoddy job. They are a 60 year old company and don?t know what causes this !!!! NOW THE SECOND PROBLEM ? AND SECOND LAME EXCUSE : Concerns: Work done in non-conformity of city code.!!!!!!!!! Sometime around mid to late March I noticed multiple cracks in 6 slabs on the north side of the house. These slabs butt up against the concrete house foundation. Keep in mind the job is only 9 months old. I also noticed THERE WAS NO EXPANSION JOINT ( an east west direction ) INSTALLED NEXT TO THE HOUSE AND AN INCOMPLETE EXPANSION JOINT (running north/south) which should have run about another 6-8?beyond the front corner of the house. The corner brick is breaking off now in this area, causing defacement to our home, in addition to a 6th slab cracking. B. Andreas?s response to me for the missing expansion joint along the house was that : ? I told him not to put it in?!!!!!!!!!!! When queried by me on two different occasions, with my wife and son hearing the conversation he said that he didn?t recall who brought up the subject of not putting in the joint --- didn?t recall why it was brought up and didn?t recall why I objected to putting in the expansion joint.? Additionally he said he stated AND CLEARLY RECALLS that he told me: ?If it was my drive Don, I wouldn?t put one in. They cause problems? He then said that I told him: ?Well, that?s good enough for me - don?t put it in?. It?s strange but he does not have any recollection several key features of this alleged conversation BUT he has a very clear recollection of the ?if it was my house Don, I wouldn?t put it in?. So in view of the fact that he cannot recall 95% of the essential details of this alleged conversation it seems to me , as I hope it does to you, that his story is a COMPLETE FABRICATION AND HAS FOUND FROM REPEATED EXPERIENCE THAT THIS ?STORY? IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY OF SIDE STEPPING HIS RESPONSIBILITIES AND DOUPING PEOPLE. It would also seem that a responsible contractor with long term experience WOULD NOT WANT TO INFLUENCE a customer to make a decision which would potentially lead to a code violation and installation problems. If such a conversation took place, which it did not, he made no effort to dissuade me from not putting in the expansion joint. If I had decided not to put in the joint along the house, which I didn?t, and it was based on what he claims to have told me regards it causing problems (which he did not identify), then I would have objected (which I did not) to 5-6 other expansion joints he installed. TWO of which abutted an existing structures. Namely where the new concrete abuts the existing concrete front stairs and secondly where the new concrete abuts the garage floor. Another reason I would have objected to not putting it in was that it is a CITY CODE. The third reason that I know such conversation never occurred is that he did not have me sign any type of specific waiver, giving him written permission not to install the joint and releasing him from any responsibility or liability from anyone, for violating a city code. It would seem to me that the first thing a company, that claims to be as old and experienced as Andreas, would do is to have a customer sign such a waiver for the company?s protection. Additionally, with all the work Andreas seems to do in Westchester it would have seemed to be a wise thing for Andreas to have such a waiver signed so as to not risk having problems with the village and risking its reputation in the town. Again, no such waiver. The installation of expansion joints next to an existing foundation is apparently a CRITICAL thing. The code department requires it. Also, IDOT certified company mentioned above, The Construction and Geotechnical Material Testing Inc in Elk Grove, AFTER VISITING our home, also site the necessity of installing joints like this. So with both the Village and an IDOT certified company knowing the importance of this you wonder why a established contractor with 60 years experience and with all the accolades it heaps upon themselves, one would wonder why : he would not put an expansion joint on his own drive; why he would offer information that would potentially steer a customer in the wrong direction causing potential problems with a village and potential customer complaints and why he would not have a waiver signed on such a critical subject that apparently is common knowledge among professionals and lastly why he would put expansion joints in several other areas (two of which butt up against an existing concrete structure as the house does) if a customer had told him, in an alleged conversation, that he, for whatever reason, did not want them installed in a particular area. The building commissioner suggested I try ?settling up? this matter with the contractor. To that end and after talking with the contractor, Andreas?s solution was to grind out the cracks and fill them with caulk. Not acceptable!!! I feel that this company thinks it can treat a customer like a buffoon by offering such lame excuses to shirk it?s responsibility. I can?t say strongly enough to STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY AND TO ADVISE YOUR FRIENDS OF THEIR POOR BUSINESS PRACTICES!!!!!!!!!! Donald B. Eck 1814 Kensington Ave. Westchester, Il 60154 ? Donald_eck@sbcglobal.net

Wonderful. This is the first time I've ever used them.

Working with these people was a complete nightmare. Not only did they do shoddy work, they were unprofessional and vengeful putting a lien on my house, taking me to court and to AAA arbitration. It begins with the pour of the driveway. There are several problems with the pour: 1.) The sidewalk does not meet the front steps evenly, so it drains parallel to the street and pools on one side. 2.) There are places where the driveway is back-pitched which creates dips and pooling. 3.) The limestone sills to the basement windows were cemented into the driveway with no room for expansion-contraction. 4.) The biggest problem is that the driveway is severely pitched parallel to the street so it drains directly onto my neighbor's property. As a result my neighbors were getting water in their basement. As a result of these problems, the Village of Riverside would not give final inspection approval. I requested Andreas and Sons to re-pour the sections in question which they refused to do. In fact, they refused to admit that there were any problems with the pour and instead threatened to put a mechanics lien on my property. They followed through on their threat and followed it with a suit in chancery court. They then spent more than $1500 dollars (which I had to match) to go through the arbitration process. As a result of the sloppy job, I have a driveway that violates village code, detracts from the value of my property, and has costs thousands of dollars to fight. Avoid this company at all cost and pick one that stands behind their work rather than one that resorts to intimidation.

Finally, after many phone calls and e-mails with Jean, Bryon and Frank of Robert Andreas and Sons there was a meeting at my house on March 31, 2010 with Ozinga the cement supplier, David Skurkis, North Riverside Code Inspector as well as Byron and Frank. Mr. Skuris wanted Ozinga to do a Swiss hammer test with a gauge. The Ozinga Rep said the cement was up to strength. At some point prior to this meeting Dave Skurkis mentioned to me that the cement had probably been over-troughed after pouring and too much water removed. In one of the first e-mails to Robert Andreas, Jean remarks that the photos I sent her ?are ridiculous? in reference to the overall erosion that is present. There have been so many different things said to me over the last 19 months but not one of them has been met. Byron and Frank point blank told me that they wouldn?t use our driveway as a reference to a potential. Everyone who was at this meeting agreed the driveway looked horrible and wouldn?t? be acceptable if it were theirs. At this meeting, Byron and Frank said they would resurface it with some type of skim coat that they saw at a trade show at no cost to me. Bryon shook my hand and said he would take care of this. The North Riverside Village Inspector for North Riverside was satisfied. I was concerned because to me it only sounded like they would be cover up of sorts. They also mentioned a company called SunDeck would come out to give an estimate to resurfacing to see if they could do it better. After not hearing from them for many weeks, I emailed Andreas to see what was going on with my driveway. I was told they would call me. I then contacted Mr. Skurkis, the Village Inspector and he said to keep me updated and to call him because he, too, was unsatisfied as to how Andreas was handling my complaint. Another two weeks passed and I called the North Riverside Village Inspector, Mr. Skurkis and he contacted them for me and said that a different guy was going to resurface the driveway and Bryon would contact me for payment. I was shocked! I contacted Frank who said it would cost $2400 to do the resurfacing and they wanted $1200 from me. I told him I would think about it. At this point I felt I should not have to pay for anything since the driveway was never completed satisfactorily in the first place but to keep the lines of communications open I told Frank that I would pay $200.00. He countered with $700.00. I told him there was no way I would pay $700 for resurfacing when I don?t even know if that would solve the underlying problem and involving another party just shifts Andreas? obligations to someone else . I still believe that resurfacing is nothing more than a mere ?band-aid? and the cancer below would remain. After telling Frank there was no way I could pay that amount he said ?Byron is not going to help you. I explained that I would file complaints and consider a lawsuit he said to me ?you do what you have to do.? That was my final contact with Robert Andreas and Sons. We decided to pursue a complaint via Angie?s list, BBB as well as the Attorney General if necessary and when I joined Angie?s list we happened to find a ?resolved? complaint against Robert Andreas and Sons which we found very interesting in which the customer complained because stairs she had resurfaced became to flake and peel. Below is the response from Bryon Andreas: From Angie?s List Magazine, November 2009, Archive DESIRED RESOLUTION: "I want to hear from the company and have them repair the front steps." RESPONSE: Bryon G. Andreas, president, Robert R. Andreas & Sons Inc. "We did complete the concrete work, including resurfacing in a timely and efficient manner. When the member wanted the steps resurfaced, we told her resurfacing is just a quick fix. However, she wanted them resurfaced because she couldn?t afford to have them replaced. "In less than one year, the resurfacing was coming off the steps due to the winter weather. She called my office the first time in March to tell us the resurfacing was coming off and we told her when our part-time repairman starts repairs in spring, we?d look at her steps. "In this case, I indicated I?d go back and resurface the member?s steps at no charge. The repairman did go there and resurface her steps." This is very important because Mr. Andreas notes a few things here. 1) First, he clearly states that resurfacing is a ?quick fix? for someone?s stairs but it would be more than adequate to do for a 100 + foot driveway?? 2) Next, he says it was due to winter weather ? while ours erodes regardless of season. 3) Finally, Mr. Andreas remedied the job for the customer at no cost to the customer. He did the right thing. In this case?for that customer. He flatly contradicted what he had told us all along in regards to resurfacing. For a a company whose website boasts about "reputation and loyalty" they have not lived up to that claim at 2353 South 4th Avenue, N.R.

They were very good and the price was good. The quality of the work was excellent. When I was out of town they started the job, and I was happy about that because it was getting close to winter time. They were very particular about having everything cleaned up. The workmen were very polite.

I was very pleased with them all around. They were really good and I would definitely recommend them to others.

Byron Andreas came out and gave me a very reasonable estimate and was flexible as to my desired start date. The work crew and the concrete hauler were very professional and did a great job. The work area was nicely cleaned after the job was complete. Also, the office crew was very helpful and friendly. Andreas & Sons poured a large parking pad for my neighbor three years ago and it still looks like new with no cracks, flaking, etc. Quality work from a quality company.

The initial phone contact was brief and professional. Frank was able to size up and quote the job in ten minutes. The price was fair. Quote done on Saturday and the job started the following Monday. The original contractor was an idiot, and the chain-link fence that they laid down UNDER the pour, fouled and nearly broke Frank's saw. He sent his crew around two days later with wire cutters and big sledgehammers. Thirty minutes later they had cleared the wire, the old cement and cleaned up after themselves. Great job!

Byron Andreas, President of Andreas & Sons, called back when stated and responded the same day with an estimate. They showed up on time and 2-3 workers worked all day to remove and form the work to be ready for the concrete to come the next morning. When the concrete came the next day Andreas had more workers come to haul the concrete from the truck to the form work. During the concrete laying Andreas had 5-6 workers working to finish the concrete that day. We were pleased at the professionalism and work effort of everyone. Many times during the construction the president stopped by to see if everything was OK. In addition, the site supervisor was very professional and asked many times for us to confirm what they were doing was OK. We were so pleased with Andreas & Sons work that I made special time to take their final payment check to them personally to their office. My wife and I will call them the next time we need concrete or asphalt work done.

He is polite and he does great quality work. He answered all my questions. He is reliable, reasonable and his bid was the best. If I need him, I would definitely use him again. He is fantastic.