Freije Paving

They couldn't have paved it better! At a good price too

Freiji was the most competitively priced asphalt company when taking into account that I was going to tear up and remove my own driveway. The initial contact was good, but the problems started when they came out to do the job. They rushed through the job and did not lay the proper base under an area that was an addition to where the old driveway used to be. They also laid the asphalt over a portion of the garage apron. These two things have led to waffling where the base was not built up properly and cracking where they laid over the top of the garage apron. The problem got worse when they told me they would be out in late spring (2014) to repair/remedy these issues but did not happen. They continued to push the date out until June when they began to tell me they could not find my file and would have to call me back. After going through this a while they told me they would come and do the work towards the end of Summer. Still no call back to schedule at this point I contacted them once again as the weather began to cool off. They assured me they would be out by the end of September even giving me dates but then not coming to do the work. Knowing that I needed the work completed before it got cold again, I contacted another company who gave me recommendations on what I could do myself to try and prevent damage this winter until more permanent work could be completed in the Spring. The drive way is now patched and sealed. After dozens of phone calls I have given up entirely on Freiji to make this issue right. I would not want them back to make repairs anyway for the fear of them doing something else incorrect.

I am taking the highly unusual step of submitting this review at this late date in an effort to protect other people from the horrible experience I had with this company. Freije installed a one and one half inch asphalt cap over my damaged cement driveway in October of 2012. They informed me that in order to maintain their "one year warranty" (which is provided in writing) I would have to have the new pavement sealcoated the following spring. By the end of winter (March of 2013), the new surface already showed signs of cracking and excessive wear. When I contacted the company, they assured me that they take care of it and that the sealcoat application would address my concerns. The following summer, after a great deal of haggling and phone tag, the company rep came out to schedule my sealcoat. He made an observation about the poor condition of the pavement and asked me who did the initial work (obviously poor internal communication) and when I informed him that HIS company did the work, he became uncomfortable and quickly changed the topic. He told me I would need TWO coats to smooth the surface (at 550.00 apiece) and I foolishly agreed to this suggestion. They applied an initial coat that was adulterated with some type of oil (I had this observation confirmed by a competitor whom I contacted to try and figure out what was wrong.) The seal coat remained wet for weeks in certain areas of the driveway and WOULD NOT set up or dry. The crew broke the hinges on my heavy driveway gates trying to push them back out of their way, and they splashed seal coat down the west side of my white foundation stone and splashed droplets as high as 4 feet up the side of my white aluminum siding .After another extremely aggravating series of phone calls and promises, another coat was applied that was supposed to take care of the issue. I was also promised that the seal coat would be "power washed" off of the side of my house. The second application only worsened the problem. After another extremely frustrating round of phone tag, one of which included an unpleasant shouting match with owner Chuck Freije, he scheduled a personal appointment to see for himself what my problems were. He eventually came (claimed to be in the hospital for a while) and visually inspected my driveway. He acknowledged that "something is wrong" and that he was going to contact his seal coat supplier. He also promised to "reheat and recompact" my driveway to compress over 100 feet of pavement cracking that has occurred.(I have never heard of reheating asphalt that has already been installed). He looked at the seal coat splashed on the side of the house and covertly suggested that his crew would not be that sloppy, and that "rain splashing off the roof" probably caused the damage to my siding and foundation. (Are you serious?) He left, I haven't heard a word since, have retained an attorney, and am currently involved in a rather ugly legal battle in an effort to recover at least some of my costs. DO NOT use this company.

The driveway asphalt was breaking up. They laid 2" on our hilly driveway and it looks great.

Prior to providing me a quote, a sales person visited my home to inspect the driveway. He assured me that this was a simple paving job. I pointed out problem areas in the driveway, such as low points, crumbling, and uneven surface for the garage door to seal. He again assured me these problems would be easily resolved by his company. Further, he explained that they would ensure a good garage door seal by milling the garage door to driveway transition to achieve a level surface. The company was punctual and applied enough manpower to complete the job. Upon finishing the job, the foreman ask for the remainder of the money. While I provided him with a check, I did ask him to confirm that the transitions (garage door, street, and sidewalk) were done. He indicated that they did not mill those surfaces. I told him about the uneven garage door surface and after closing the garage door, sunlight was coming through both ends of the garage door for 2 feet on either side. He acknowledged the issue and said they would not be able to fix this right then, but if we would choose them to apply a seal coat next spring, he was sure they could handle that problem. He was on his way to another job and could/would not stay any longer to address this concern. Since that time, I have been in contact with the salesman, by phone, and the office staff through emails and phone calls. On six occasions, I was assured they would correct the situation and was given general dates that the repair crew would arrive. So now after two months, several promises of return phone calls, and six instances of setting dates that were broken or ignored the company is unwilling to address what should be a very fixable issues. In addition to the garage door area there are spots with poor adhesion. It was clearly a mistake that I did not demand my check back unless the issues were addressed to my satisfaction.

paid half up front when contract was signed, man said that they were running behind schedule and it would be about 2 weeks before the job would be done. 2 weeks went by and no phone call, so i called them. the company stated that i was scheduled for 3 more weeks out. they didn't even call me to see if that was a good day or not. i spoke with the scheduling manager he stated that he would call me back with another day. the next call i received was from them stating that they would be at my home in less than 2 hours. communication isn't the best with the company. sad. Update 9/16/13-I have cracks all over my drive way and I've called them 8 times to get them to come out to correct the issues but they haven't came back out. Its under warranty for a year and they haven't followed up with their promises.

The overall experience was good; did well but left a low spot where water puddles after any heavy rain. I think they could have done better on this part. But, it was in a low spot.

: We had one problem with striping. They responded immediately and fixed the problem no questions asked. They were timely and have excellent customer service.

They were very helpful in helping us make decisions regarding type of surface to make the side walks. They came back to look at a particular area when I thought it was breaking down and they fixed it.

The overall experience was excellent.

They were as good as other bids we had. They were around the same ball park.

They repaired places and they did a very nice job and it looked really good. They even grated it a little bit so water would flow away from the house.

They were responsive and professional.

We were happy with them and they did a really good job! They were really nice and they did exactly what they said they were going to do.

They did fine and I liked them. I have no problem with them and they did what they were supposed to do and they did the job well.

I could give them a high rating on their snow removal. They are great about calling me up and letting me know when they’re coming.

It turned out great! They worked hard and later down the road when we noticed a crack they came out and fixed it right away.

The service turned out fine, and they did a good job.

They poured a front stoop, stairs and walkway. I found them at a home show and they were one of the only contractors to follow up with an estimate, and do the work and they were really reliable.

They were very professional and gave us an estimate that comparable with others, but we haven’t pursued the job just yet.

Dean, their estimator, first came out to check the driveway. He was very thorough. After we accepted the bid, the crew came out in the agreed upon timeframe, and did a masterful job of repaving the whole drive, which was badly broken up and had large cracks all over. We were already informed that the crew would return in a year and seal all the work that they had done. They returned in October and sealed the entire driveway as agreed upon originally. Once again the area where they worked was immacuately cleaned up. October 2012. I felt that Dean was very kind. I contacted them about my driveway cracking after the seal was laid in October 2013. He said he would come out and take a look, he said I did not to be home for this. I did not hear from him for a while, so I called him again to see what was going on and he said they would be out to take care of it. I did not see it done, so I called again and he said it had been to hot, but it would get done. Then the winter came so it could not be done again. I contacted him again in the spring of 2014, he said he would get it done, I asked when, he said after April 15, 2014. It has now been two more months, and nothing. I really need this to be fixed as there are many cracks in my driveway.

I had a very negative experience with Freije Paving. They removed the existing driveway & hauled everything away. They added #53 stone & compact to raise the level of the driveway. Unfortunately, they didn't level it in one spot, so there's a big dip which accumulates water when it rains, & all the debris ends up washing down there. It took me nearly an hour to hose out the debris (uphill), & then hosed it down to the grassy area. It still leaves a dark brown area, especially in colder weather after the hose is turned off if I don't go out there & sweep it away immediately. After all that time, there was still a large ugly brown area left. Last winter there was a day when the water froze, & I slid over the spot while holding onto my door handle. I didn't fall, but my feet slid under the car & twisted my back. Also, when it freezes, it can cause cracks in the asphalt, & then major problems which will damage the asphalt. This spring, I had to "wade" through the water which covered my foot. They also left a bumpy gravelly area around the edge of the brick "patio" so that it's difficlut to use a broom, & only a hose down will clean the area. I called numerous times about the dip problem, but no one ever came out , although someone at Freije told me that they had rectified the problem, & when I disputed the fact, she asked if I was calling her a liar! Another problem is when people visit & are not aware of the dip, they often have nearly fallen when they suddenly walked into it. I also have nearly fallen several times myself when I'm not thinking about the dip. The worst problem was at the end of the drive by the sidewalk. There were pitted areas which will collect water & then freeze, eventually damaging the asphalt & causing cracks & more damage. After numerous calls, 2 men finally came out & used a (blowtorch to soften the asphalt)?, then used a roller to smooth it out. Unfortunately, it didn't improve the appearance, & several people asked what had happened to my drive. One person said it looked like an old patched drive -after I'd spent nearly $12,000!! Since they had really messed up the end of the drive, I had to be satisfied until they seal coated after a year.I would have reported my problem last year, but was told numerous times that the seal coating would make it look like new. Two workmen came out several weeks before seal coating & pointed out all the areas which would be taken care of with sealcoating covering all the flaws. They even said that they would give it 2 coats of seal coating, as though they were doing me a special favor. Three men arrived for the job, & I asked if they'd take 2 days to apply the 2 seal coatings. The 3rd fellow asked if I was crazy! & did I realize how many gallons it would take, & they'd have to charge me an additional $515.00. I then commented that the other 2 men had said they'd do the 2 coats, but they looked at me like I really was crazy, but didn't deny that they'd said it. When they finally reached the end, the most important part of the entire drive, I checked to see how it looked, & the pock marks still were quite visible & large enough to cause a problem if water froze in the indentations. I let them know how unhappy I was with the botched look, so they angrily slopped on more seal coating & smeared it around in a swirly motion, instead of a smooth surface look. It looked awful & was a different shade of grey. I was so upset with my expensive patched drive, & didn't pay much attention to the envelope which they handed me. Later I realized that I was supposed to pay them $515.00 on completion. I called Freije & told them that I would not be paying for the botched job until Mr. Freije came out to look at it & tell me if he'd have prospective customes come ou to see their excellent work! & also do something about it. Again, I called numerous times about his coming out to inspect the work, & finally after five or more calls, they finally siad that he'd come out on a Friday afternoon, but he never showed up, nor did he call to say he couldn't make it. That's when I decided to complain to Angie's list. I had 2 other companies come out to give an estimate for sealcoating, & the one I'd really have liked to use told me that I should have them take out the first 12 feet & redo it. After the botched job, no one seemed to think my opinion mattered, so I told them what the other man had said, & they said, of course he just wanted the job for himself, but it's a highly respected business which only does sealcoating. Not only does my drive look bad, but there are numerous cracks which will cause major problems next year with freezing & more cracking. There have also been weeds coming through my year old + 2 weeks drive, & we never had any weeds coming up through our old drive which needed repairs when we moved here, but they finally showed up 9 years later! In the major botched job at the end of the drive, there are much larger cracks which seem to be enlarging every few days. The city was repaving my street, & were going to put in a new sidewalk & apron at the end of my drive. They cut away the sidewalk after the drive was finished, & a friend measured the asphalt combination which was supposed to be 3 inches, but it was a little over 2 inches. I think that's why I have weeds coming up through the asphalt, & why there are such rough gravelly surfaces around my back patio which are hardly covered by the asphalt. I also wonder why the last 4 or 5 feet of the drive was so botched looking, when the rest of the front looked so much better. It was a Friday afternoon, & they left early, & probably ran out of the seal coating, or were in a hurry to leave & didn't use enough. With the way it looks now, I imagine that I will have major problems in another year or so. I also thought that they'd pick up any of the broken asphalt which was thrown onto the grass when tearing out the old drive, but there were large chunks left all over the front & back yards which could have been thrown up & hit the fellow who mows my lawn. They also parked their heavy trucks on my lawn, & there were large ruts left behind, which could cause a fall if I'd not known they were there. The thing I can't repair are the 4 broken bricks in my walk up to the front door.

They did a really good job, were very professional, came when they said they would, and gave a fair price.

The work crew worked together perfectly. They did things I didn't even ask for. I was really happy. I would totally recommend them to any one. Very reliable.

They had removed old cement parking strips and railroad ties from my driveway and my neighbor's driveway (which they also paved). The strips were on my grass and were not removed when the job was completed. I took my neighbor's RR ties off her grass and put them with the cement strips on my grass, so they could come and pick it all up. I called at least once a week for 8 weeks to get them to remove them and was promised MANY times that someone would come out that day, or the next, and they never did. Finally they came and removed the cement strips but not the RR ties. I had to take them to the city dump in my car (I don't even have a truck!).