Van Croshier Concrete

We contacted Van Croshier for an estimate for our pool patio. Vicki and Van were very responsive and pleasant. We ended up going with another contractor for a variety of reasons. However, I would recommend them to be contacted about their services.

Vickie and Van were great to deal with from beginning to end. They took time to visit me at the job site to answer all my questions. As I grew up with a dad in the construction business, I was particular about how they would do the work to make sure it would hold up over time. it was obvious from their answers that the Croshier's took pride in doing the job right ... just like my dad always used to preach. They answered all my questions and when I asked for a few extras like to beef up the stone base, they didn't even blink an eye as some of the other concrete companies di in their bids. Perhaps the most impressive part of their work was that Van took it upon himself to cut out a small angular section of the driveway so that the repair would have straight lines to look just like it had originally been poured as a 3 car driveway. While they were not the cheapest bid they were definitely worth the price when it comes to quality, professionalism, punctuality and pride in their work.

I am very happy with the work and dealing with this company

The crew of 6 were courteous, friendly, prompt, and professional.

Van, Vicki and his crew were fantastic. We collected a total of 4 estimates, and while they admittedly weren't the lowest, their professionalism in conduct, promptness in corresponding, and patience in answering all of our questions was second to none, which made it easy to choose them over the others (i.e., another company tried to tell me we'd need to stay off a new driveway for 4 weeks UNLESS we upgraded to their higher grade concrete for several hundred dollars more. I e-mailed Vicki, who assured me she wasn't aware of such a need, as all of their clients can park on their driveways in 3-5 days). They even came out twice before starting to be sure we had our new walk way curved exactly how we wanted it, and their estimate was extremely detailed, enabling me to see the breakdown of all charges, which allowed adjustments if we approved or declined different features. The others were not like that. Additionally, their crew was great. When my wife realized she hadn't pulled up and collected all the daffodil bulbs from a section they had cleared, their guys assured her they would collect them for her, and they filled an entire bucket! They also removed several bushes without additional charge, they left the site clean each day, and Van always stopped by to be sure we were satisfied with the progress of their work. We are nothing short of ecstatic with the new driveway, walkway and porch. I'll attach photos so you can see for yourself. I am thankful to have had a contractor I can trust. We picked Van because we perceived we wouldn't have to worry about delays, both in the work and in correspondence. I get aggravated by poor customer service, and Van, Vicki and their crew came through for us with flying colors. I promise you will not regret hiring this company.

First off, this is a large and somewhat messy project with a lot of details. If you are thinking about having a similar project done, I'd suggest learning as much about concrete as possible so you are informed about the work. There are so many factors that come into play with this type of job, so patience and knowledge is key. I had a fairly large residential driveway poured (about 100 feet long with a 32' x 40' turnaround section in front of the side facing garage). I had specifically picked late September to have Van do this job because the temperatures are ideal for curing concrete at this time. I also had received a bid from another "A-rated" Angie's list concrete driveway company whose price was roughly the same as Van's. I picked Van because of the details they went through with me, the added extras, and the fact many of their crew had worked for them for up to 10 years. Van and Vicki were also very nice to work with and took their time to answer all my questions. Several of the extras included running 2 downspouts under the new walkways so they drained out in the yard away from the house, cutting 4 inches of my garage floor back (which removed a crumbling edge), so that I had a proper slopped edge (or lip) for the garage door to sit on, detailing out the look of the sideways - flared ends, curvy look, etc), applying for a city permit, and marking the utilities. Also, I liked the fact that they machine cut all of their lines in 6'x6' pattern - good for bikes, basketball, scooters, and skateboards since the machine cut lines offer a smooth transition). Yet they hand grooved the walkways which made them look pleasing to the eye. So the job started 2 days late due to weather. I was actually on site for most of the job and interacted with the crew often, who I found to be friendly. The first day the asphalt driveway was ripped out using a backhoe and a large dump truck. This was a one man job that took about 5 hours. A small crew, including Van's son (whose name is also Van and the crew called him little Van although he is a big guy) came out to start leveling and forming the walkways and driveway and cutting back the garage floor. They temporarily removed 5 panels of my wooden privacy fence as agreed upon so that they could fit their forms under it and have a smooth look at the far side of the driveway. Little Van was the crew chief and was great to work with. He was very professional and passionate about his work. From what I understand, little Van will be taking over the family business in the future. He was on site for about half of the job and did all the line cuts. When he was away, he had several guys that had been with on his crew for 10 years plus that helped run things. The crew (8-10 workers) were able to pour, form, and smooth the back walkway and the first slab (next to the garage) on the morning of the 2nd day. They used Blue Star concrete. I had checked the thickness of the pour and it was 5 inches as agreed upon. I went with 5 inches (code is 4 inches), because that 1 extra inch can provide up to 50% more strength. They were also able to do a 2nd pour that afternoon that covered half of the turnaround. The 3rd day 2 more pours were made. These pours were the part of the driveway that was widened 4 feet. They also moved my mailbox over and had to move some plants. The impressive thing about the last pour was that they used every bit of concrete out of the last truck as possible, which resulted in 8-9 inches of thick of concrete for the last 2 feet where the driveway met the road. That part of the driveway was also nicely flared. Acrylic sealer was applied to the driveway as well. The concrete also had Nytec fiber added to it for reinforcement (in place of rebar). On the 4th day (Saturday), the crew cleaned up and filled the dirt around the driveway and walkways. Grading and leveling did churn up a lot of dirt, clay, and rock. They came in with a tiller and smoothed out the yard. They also added grass seed. From all the movement of dirt, there were a lot of rocks that popped up to the surface. I felt this was expected and I did spend some time picking out rocks from the newly seeded areas. My walkway goes through the front of my yard, so as expected there was considerably more yard dug up than for just a driveway. Little Van then came back on Monday (the 5th day), and finished cutting the lines in the driveway with a large concrete saw. He did an awesome job as the lines were patterned in a very professional manner and they were about 6' x 6' as promised (6' wide lines will greatly reduce the risk of cracks in the driveway). He showed me that the lines were the proper depth as well. Little Van also had the fence panels installed back, however the new driveway underneath caused several of the panel to not meet up properly. These panels had the scalloped pattern and they did not line up. When Van and Vicki came out that evening for the final inspection and payment, I made note of this. They said they would have it addressed the next day. I paid them and then the next day little Van came out and made it right. That weekend (Saturday 10/5/13), we had major rainstorms come through. I wanted to see how the water came off the driveway. From the garage it ran back away from the house toward the backyard, which was nice. The part of the driveway that went out toward the street, the rain did run off, but it collected where the new walk and driveway met. I did not have a lot of slope back toward the street so the water ran to the side and the slowly down toward the street. Anyway, it caused the rain to puddle along the edge of the driveway, which did eventually drain after the rain stopped, but it took a while. So the impressive part was that I called Van and told him my concern. He had a couple of guys come out a few days later and they laid about 30' of drain tile (w/weeping holes covered I a sock) along the edge of the driveway and around the sidewalk. This would allow the water to have a place to go and then drain so it would not puddle. I tested it out with my hose and it appears to work. It was nice to know that Van will follow-up with any issues. I will keep an eye out during the next heavy downpour. So in conclusion, I found that Van Croshier Concrete was a great company to work with. Many of my neighbors have commented on how nice the driveway looks. It actually makes the house look and feel newer. Little Van is very professional and he is primed to take over his family's business. Van and Vickie addressed all my concerns and were a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend this company.

Their estimate was clear, precise and they were very professional.

Van and Vicki's team did an outstanding job. The work was started early and the quality of the work was outstanding. We now have the best looking driveway in our neighborhood! I would definitely recommend Van Croshier to anyone.

They did a wonderful job. They had to delay it a few times due to the bad weather in spring. But I told them early on this would be ok with me since we didn't have to meet a specific date. Once they started they finished the job very well. They took all the old concrete and wooden blanks with them and cleaned up nicely after them. The concrete floor looks very nice and we love it.

I was very impressed with the entire team, from the quote to cleanup. They helped us keep our costs down by offering great options and were able to customize our design. We love our new back yard and spend as much time as we can enjoying the great outdoors just outside our back door. We plan to have them replace a sidewalk and resurface our front porch in the near future.

Professional estimate provided. Updates on date provided. Crew worked as a team.

I was told the job was too small and they were too busy....

My husband had called the week of June 9 and talked with Vicki about having a touch up repair completed on our front porch that Croshiere Concrete had done for us a two years ago. She told him that she would get call us back to see when they could come out. When we called a week later to follow up, after not hearing from them, Vicki said that they were completely booked up with other Angie List customers and would not be able to send anyone out to do the job. We were really surprised and disappointed with the poor follow up of customer service. They did an excellent job on our patio and back porch three years ago, which is why we had called them back to repair our front porch. They did not even suggest a date to try to come out to repair it when things slowed down for them. As a former customer, we felt very dismissed.

Excellent job. I would use them again.

Went fine with the cement and we are still happy with the work. Only problem was the quality of the fill dirt - it has taken several years to get the grass to look decent.

Demolition was done in two stages to allow for home access. Front entry walk was removed and old concrete hauled away. Cleanup was very good with minimal damage to existing plantings. New sidewalk was formed on first day and poured and sealed on the next day. Stonework was relayed to original look. Demolition of side patio, adjacent to house involved heavier equipment and was completed on second day. Form work was prepared on this day as well and forms were marked to assure slope away from house and consistent with previous patio surface. Concrete was poured on 3rd day and a "Georgia buggy" was used to move concrete from street to patio to avoid damage to asphalt driveway. Sealer applied. Saw cuts were made on Saturday as was replacing stonework to match original which had to be temporarily removed to accommodate work. Though concrete work is inherently messy, a very good job of clean up was done. Crew was easy to work with and Van, Vicki, and their son (the foreman) made the job easy to monitor and had helpful suggestions.

Great job. Would use them again for my next concrete job.

Not good at all. My new driveway has low spots that collect water and create icy areas in the winter. Van and I had several conversations about the poor quality of the drainage on the concrete. He insisted that puddling is normal. I just didn't buy this answer, so after several complaints to Van, he hired an engineer to inspect the slope in my driveway. I called the engineer to ask for the finished report, and he stated, "Van asked me not to give you the report." After more conversations with Van in late 2012, he said he would fix the problems in the spring of 2013. I haven't heard from Van, and it is now the end of June 2013. Don't let Van talk you into pop-ups for drains. Mine gets full of leaves and whirlybirds from a silver maple tree, and the water in the drain backs up into the driveway. During the first rain after the pop-up was installed, my drain backed up and I had 2 inches of standing water in front of my garage. Because I don't want to clean out the pop-up every week, I had Van remove it. Now, I'm left with a hole in the ground at the end of the drainage pipe, which fills with dirt even though I put rocks in the hole. Just a bad, bad situation all around! What I'd like is to get my money back and have someone else come and install a new driveway for me with great attention given to engineering the project so the water drains correctly.

This company is wonderful. Van and Vicki are the absolute best at what they do. Our stoop and sidewalk are so beautiful that I can't stop admiring them. I look out my front door all the time, and breathe a sigh of relief. Our neighbors have also complimented this work many times. Vicki and Van are so reliable and trustworthy. They did exactly what they promised, and in fact, exceeded our expectations. Would call them again in a heartbeat. They came out promptly for a quote, and charged us exactly what they promised. They worked hard and made sure we got what we wanted. Thank you!

Van tore out and replaced my driveway. I am very pleased with the result and the experience of working with Van and his wife Vicki and their son Van Jr. was excellent. I asked 7 vendors I selected from Angie?s List to bid the job. I choose Van because his bid was the most comprehensive and professional. Furthermore, I found that Van had the best ideas and was able to express his vision of the job better than anyone else. I was especially glad I had selected Van when unexpected situations arose and we needed to adjust some of the plans. Van was very accessible, listened to my wishes and responded promptly and with great results. The crew was friendly, answered all of my questions as the work progressed and did a great job of cleaning up when the job was done.

I asked if they would be interested in quoting the job or if it was too small. They replied it was too small and that they were booked until August anyway. I asked what the minimum size job they would consider doing was and they said they have a $2000 minimum ceiling.

Excellent service and quality work. We would definitely hire again.

I obtained five quotes.Van Croshier's was the most detailed and informative. The price was in the middle of the high and low quotes. Van Croshier obtained a Driveway Permit from the City of Indianapolis to have the driveway inspected by a city engineer. He also called to have the location of underground utilities marked prior to the start of the job. The crew finished the bulk of the job in one day and returned the next day to remove the forms, tamp down the grass sod, and clean up the work site. Van Croshier's crew were perfectionists at smoothing, cutting, and laying the broom finish. My yard wasn't messed up at all. They carefully dug up the grass along side my drive and layed it back down when they were finished. No seeding was necessary. They cleaned up behind themselves as they went along and at the end of the job. The crew was personable and pleasant to work with. My new driveway looks great and I couldn't be happier with the job done by the Van Croshier crew.

They set a time and date to give an estimate and never called or came out.

They were very professional and timely with the project. They cleaned up after. We now have a beautiful patio to enjoy!