Artistic Concrete LLC

He was very responsive and came to our home very quickly to give us an estimate. He was very polite, responsive and professional. We decided to go with pavers instead of concrete. But we recommend him based on his service and professionalism.

Job took about four work days.really nice work. I can't imagine anyone using any other company!!

unknown

It took close to a month for all work to be completed, which was excessive for a 350 square foot patio. There seemed to be no timeline or schedule and the crew came out whenever they felt like it. Everyday for weeks, I would come home from work and expect something to be done, but it took several repeated phone calls and emails before they finally came out and finished the job. Just FYI: I paid $12 per square foot before a 20% discount and an additional $3 per sf to remove the old patio. The concrete pad looked OK at first, except for where the crew had messed up the stamping process and the lines did not match up. This was strictly an aesthetic issue, so we let it slide, but within 4 months, there were cracks running across the entire pad both along the width and length of the patio. It looks horrible with all the cracks and I am concerned how it will hold up after a few years, considering it only took four months for cracks to form. The owner of the company, Steve Smith, does not answer my calls and will not return a call or email. He has made zero effort to resolve this problem. I would steer clear of this company. There are other options in the area that can provide a higher quality product and better customer service. Photos of the cracks here: http://imgur.com/a/3vIbn

They were very good. We met them at the home show. The owner came out and helped us plan the project. He gave us some ideas. His son was here with the crews and they did a beautiful job.

From start to finish Steve guaranteed the job would go smoothly and it was exactly as planned. The main reason at first of why I went with Steve was because of his pricing when compared to the contractors. I know the saying is to never just settle for the lowest bid but honestly Steve was the lowest priced bid and has the years of experience I was looking for. The job turned out fantastic and my neighbors are now even considering doing their driveway. I wouldn't have been able to afford stamped concrete using the other overpriced contractors but Steve was able to offer an affordable price in a slower economy, he really didn't cut any corners either. The driveway, porch, and walkway were poured, laid, stamped, and sealed to industry standards and the results are fantastic, especially for the savings of going with Steve Smith and his Artistic Concrete crew.

The contractor did not show up for his appointment to provide an estimate. Both my husband and I had left work early to meet with him. When he was an hour late and hadn't called, I called him. He told me he was cleaning snow and ice from his heat pump and "should have called" us. He called back about a week later and wanted to set up a new appointment for an estimate. We signed a contract and put down a 10% deposit on February 24, 2010, and the work was estimated to start in 2-3 weeks. We didn't hear anything further from the contractor and he did not return repeated calls. I checked the BBB and there were no reports. Finally, I checked the Maryland license bureau and found that the company was not even in his name! I called in early April and left another message, saying that I wanted my deposit back and some explanation as to why he was not listed as the owner of the company, as that was how he represented himself. He called back the same day and told me the company was listed in his daughter's name. Despite all the warning bells, we went ahead with the job. On April 14, they did MOST of the work, and collected an additional $5,000. They came back the following week and finished the bottom corner of the driveway - and it did not and does not match the rest of the driveway. It was nearly a month later before they came back to seal it - and still were not returning calls or doing anything about the mismatch. It was raining while they were sealing the driveway. We called and spoke with the son, who asked to talk to the foreman. He told the foreman to continue sealing in the rain. A lot of the seal ran off, of course. In the middle of all this, they had not pulled the county or city permits required, and I had to take off several hours from work to do what they specifically indicated on the contract was part of their job. The one conversation I had with the owner about the quality resulted in his telling me that the job cost more than he thought it would (he cited the permits as an example), and he was "not inclined" to come back to look at the work done by his crew. We paid the final balance of $646 against our better judgment. In re-checking the BBB after encountering all these difficulties, I found claims against the company - none responded to by the company. They continue to have a booth at the Arundel Mills Mall and I stop by every couple of months. I have talked with the son, who professes his shock and dismay and promises to make it better. He never calls and no one ever comes. I have given up, and am living with a driveway that has many, many imperfections. In addition, the drainage pipe they ran under the driveway was not to specification (it had holes in it) and caused a leak in our basement which we had to pay someone else to come and fix and reroute the pipe. All in all, this was a very unsatisfactory experience. I would love to put my photographs up at the Mall so people could see the kind of sloppy work they really do, as opposed to the pictures in the album they bring with them. I have photographs taken the day the driveway was started, the day it was completed, and the day it was sealed. It is easy to see the shoddiness of the product.