JC Miller & Sons Inc

Bidding, scheduling and installation went very smoothly. We've used JC Miller before, for a sidewalk project, were satisfied then, and are satisfied this time, too. They had helpful ideas on approaching/designing the project, their pricing was competitive, and customer service is top notch.

We replaced our 100-year-old basement floor with a new slab. John was professional from the very moment we met him. He and his guys did a terrific job – first, prepping the space, then performing a slightly complicated pour. Winter's not the easiest time of year to find someone to do concrete work for you, so we appreciate Miller's ability to get this job done when we needed it completed. We'd use them again in a heartbeat.

John and Kelly with Miller and Sons were very responsive to estimate request and any/all other technical inquiries. We originally asked to include a walk way in rear yard, which we asked they estimate separately. We've decided against that project for now, mostly due to consideration of other projects being considered. This may include demo of an existing cedar deck, that we're likely to replace with concrete pad to tie into walkway. Will definitely consider J.C.Miller and Sons for these projects.

Their price was effective. They did really good work. They were very prompt for the estimate and then to complete the work. Where the sidewalk and driveway met, that didn't get that done but were very responsive about coming back and fixing that. I would recommend them to friends and family.

They were very responsive and friendly for the bid and the work. They did a great job of repairing my steps and pouring a new concrete pad for the garbage cans. The only thing that I didn't like was that the young man poured the concrete water on my lawn and now grass can't grow there.

They removed the garage floor in an hour and a half with a jackhammer and skid loader. They prepped the floor and calculated the slope lines. A little after noon they were pouring the concrete. They worked quickly and did a good job. One of the workers help me level a post hole, which was nice. The garage floor turned out well (smooth, sealed, and level). They do a good job and take pride in their work.

tear out and replace sidewalk in back of house.

It went very well. They showed up when they said they would, returned calls in a reasonable timeframe. The workers were friendly, courteous and willing to work with the home owner. The foundation to the house was pulled out d/t the old steps sinking, and John was able to get someone to fix them in just a couple of days (we were not even able to get a quote that fast). John is coming back out to fix a portion of the sidewalk that was flat when there should be a curve. We would use John again.

The owner, Jim, came to my house and surveyed my concrete deck and gave me an estimate for my new stairs and patio. The estimate was the best of four and I liked that they are a neighborhood business and have been around for a long time. They have done a lot of work in my neighborhood. I had some small special details I wanted to include into my project that Jim was open to and assured me could be done very easily and gave me his thoughts on how it would look and tie together. He also had a book of lots of pictures of his work to get ideas from. We signed out contract while there was still snow on the ground and waited for the spring melt. We obviously picked the wrong year to be able to get a patio in early, however, we received a call to schedule our demo and patio installation as soon as the frost was done and it was safe to begin the work. Then the rain came which made the project a little more difficult. We understood that the rain was causing issues for our project to get going along with complications once it started. Our concrete deck which should have been hollow and easy to break down and get out delayed our project for 4 days. This was not their fault at all but it was a process. Since the deck was SOLID concrete the work that went into demoing it was astonishing and to Jim's credit he did not charge us above his estimated demo cost. That meant a lot to me because I was on a tight budget with the project. The deck got demoed, the patio and stair got framed in and the night before the patio was going to be poured I frantically called Jim and the office because I realized after I saw it after I came home from work that it was not what I wanted, instead it was much smaller than I imagined in my mind's eye. Through no fault of Jim's, I just didn't realize once my beautiful tiered steps were in how little patio I would be with the measurements I gave Jim. The office called me back, assured me it would be fine and had Jim call me. I explained to Jim the problem told him how much bigger I wanted the patio and he told me no worries. He gave me a reasonable cost for the additional concrete that didn't break the bank and had it re-framed and poured to my liking the next day. I only had two minor issues with this project. One, the crew or foreman were not good about letting us know what was going on, as in, what the plan was if the next day was sunny or what we could expect if it was raining or when they would be there. So for me communication with the crew was a problem. However, I was alway able to call the office and they were great about filling me in. My second issue was that the crew did a couple of things to make up time that actually costed them more time because they had to fix it. For instance, they did tear up my yard with the the machinery to get the old deck out and they chipped off a part of my new patio trying to quickly get the framing out. Even with that I would still give Jim and "A" and here is why. Jim was incredibly responsible and reasonable. His crew tore my yard up (not optimal) --- JIm graded the yard and seeded it for me PERSONALLY. They chipped a piece of my new patio out --- Jim fixed it the next day PERSONALLY and no you cannot even tell it happened. Part of what made a potentially bad experience a good experience was that the owner is so involved and really believes in great customer service. I would definately use them again.

JC Miller and Sons came out and met with us to determine what we needed: new front stoop with steps, new front sidewalk and new rear sidewalk. The plan with estimate was drawn up and sent to us. We scheduled a date. They arrived when they said they would be there and completed the project within two days. The price was better than the other two estimates. The concrete looks great. The new stoop and steps are absolutely perfect. We are 100% pleased with the result and we will use them again when we need a new driveway. Highly recommended!

THe best experience I have ever had with a contractor. I love the results. They were very nice to work with and very responsive. A+

I was very impressed with how well John both listened and addressed my concerns. The entire team was very professional, treated myself, my property and the project with respect. Great attention to detail was evident. I have no complaints and am very pleased with the finished result.

The company founder came out and spec'ed the job. The estimate for their work was higher than the other estimate we received, but the specifications called for higher quality materials (JC Miller specsvs other company below). I called to ask whether my residential job needed the extra strength. Jim said it was the difference between buying a Cadillac and an econcomy car. Pounds per square inch (PSI): 4500 PSI vs 4000 is industry standard. Increasing thickness from 4 to 5" adds almost 50% to load-carrying capacity. 5", 8" on alley side of driveway, 4" sidewalk (vs 4") Aggregate base: Class 5, tamped (vs None listed in bid) Reinforcing materials: Steel rods 28" on center, with fiber mesh Two rods length of sidewalk (vs Steel rods on 3' grid No reinforcement in sidewalk) Control/expansion joints: One in center of garage (vs Spacing no larger than 10') Pitch. Sloping for water runoof: Garage floor 2" pitch back to front (vs None listed in bid) Curing: After pour completed, again in fall (vs None listed in bid) Sidewalk width: 2.5" (vs 2") The day they were to start the work I asked to discuss last details with the foreman so I knew what to expect. The sidewak was getting 0.5 foot wider so I wanted to know how this was going to impact my gardens. He said he would put in the ropes showing where the forms would go so I could dig up any plants that night that would be impacted. When I got home that evening the contractor had misunderstood our discussion and put an angled curve in the walk to miss my gardens. I called to clarify. I debated about leaving our sidewalk as 2 feet wide to prevent harm to the gardens. Contractor said OK to 2 feet wide. But, I looked up why 2.5 feet was standard. You need that width for a wheelchair or walker. I wish the contractor would have educated me on why back walks are spec'ed to 2.5 feet wide. They needed to cut into my patio paver to extend the sidewalk and made an interesting angle at the end. It looks nice, but I think they should have described or chalked out what that was going to look like in advance. They did a great job of cleaning up.

Miller presented the lower of two bids and was very responsive. The work was done as bid and challenges during the job were solved. The concrete and sidewalk are very nice. The new sidewalk is level, but our yard is not, so there are places where the sidewalk sits above the yard. We did not bring up the topic of post-installation landscaping during the bid process, and neither did the company. They did some rudimentary placement of dirt and sod dug during the job along the borders of the new sidewalk. We will need to complete filling and seeding along the edges to smooth the edges where the walk meets the yard. This was the only unexpected part of the project, but that may be because we had not done a project like this before.

Jim and his son were truly a pleasure to work with - from the initial estimate (which was MUCH more reasonable than the big name concrete companies) through the job's timely completion. There was some drama with the local inspector, who failed to show up in time before the concrete was to be delivered - JC ordered the work to begin on time, and when the inspector finally showed up too late (and irked that work had begun without her), he went downtown to deal with her supervisor. The crew was very fast and professional, and the work they did looked beautiful when new - and still does now after going through the winter.

The job went very smoothly. The crew arrived on time in the morning and were finished by 3 pm. Subsequent visits were to finish the floor and seal. The floor held up perfectly through the winter -- no cracks, chips or breaks in the surface. The price was fair but not the lowest bid. Three other bids were in the same range, one was considerably higher, one was considerably lower.

Clayton was the person who gave us the estimate and oversaw the project. He is excellent. We've done many remodeling projects and he is the best - prompt, responsive, answers questions, extremely knowledgeable, careful, well educated in his field, an excellent communicator. Of the bids we received, his was the most detailed and included what we wanted. He had listened to us, read our papers, and understood our drawing. He and John Miller provided advice to us which was helpful. Because we had our first appointment in September, we were concerned about it getting to be too late in the season. Even though we had a strange fall for weather, Clayton and others at J.C. Miller watched the weather reports and predictions. They worked around snow, rain, and somehow found the good days and worked long hours to get it done in time. They did the prep and frames and then we got an early snow and rain. After pouring, we needed to wait a month for sealing, which is the date I listed for the last sealing. John and Jim (the Millers), Clayton, and their other hired employees are hard workers. It seems like they have been together for some years. They respect one another (I believe that influences how well a project can go) and they respect the homeowners. Their price was 2nd highest out of five. But they were in the range. Concrete seems to be expensive.

The project went very smoothly and professionally.

We had a problem with water in our alleyway. Not every company can do what they did and their work has stood up to the elements. I really appreciated him.

After getting four estimates they were very competitively priced. From the initial meeting to discuss the project to completion of the job they were outstanding to work with. Everyone I dealt with was very professional. The quality of their work was also excellent. I would not hesitate to use them again.

Very well - JC and his son John like to get things right. They are great at customer service. If you walk our neighborhood, JC Miller are the sidewalks that are still level after 20 years. He is willing to do the right thing for the soil conditions to make sure you won't have problems in the future. We did a lot of curves in our forms and they are willing to let the customer make picky adjustments. We ended up with a color and stamp which is something they are just starting to do after many years of quality concrete work.

The whole process went very well. Originally I had called around to get estimates on just replacing the top step-both for removing the old cement and forming and pouring the new step and without the removal of the old step. The cheapest price was $325. Of the three contractors I called, only JC Miller was actually willing to personally examine the site to give an estimate. The appointment was made on a Friday with Mr. Miller arriving to give an estimate on the following Wednesday. He told my wife that he would not do the desired patch because, in his opinion, it probably wouldn't last more than the winter. He suggested that all the steps be replaced given their age and continuing deterioration. The price quoted seemed reasonable given that it was only slightly more than the cheapest quoted price-times four-for replacing one step. JC Miller also noted that his work came with a five year guarantee. Due to the lateness in the season, he suggested the work be done in the next couple of weeks. The work was done a week after the estimate was given. The company called ahead and warned us that they would be arriving about 8 a.m. and that, with cutting out the old concrete, the work would be noisy. A crew of four showed up promptly up 8 a.m. By 9 a.m. the old concrete was gone and hauled away. The only time they "bothered" us during their work was to ask the location of an outside electrical outlet. A crew of two actually formed and poured the steps. By 1:30 p.m. the process was done, and they were gone, leaving only some rebar rods and tape around the steps to keep people from walking on them until they cured. Two days later, Mr. Miller showed up to remove the rebar and tape and to get his payment. Later I took a level to the steps. They were level from side to side with a slight-and desired-downward tilt on the treads to drain water off. Approximately 4,500 pounds of concrete were used. The finishing was excellent with no air bubbles or rough spots. The joints between the new steps and existing concrete walks was well done. Besides the new steps, the only sign of the work being done was a bit of dried cement in the front yard and some slight excavation of the dirt around the steps. The slight amount of dirt taken away was put on a bald spot of the lawn.

We are very disappointed in the work and business practices of this company. Things began o.k., well enough that we asked for an additional quote on more work. (The price came back way too high compared to the work we were originally having done.) Along the way I needed to express some obvious concerns about the work being done. In one place the concrete was applied so thinly that it was already cracking after hours of drying. It also had considerable give when it was gently pushed on. There were large gaps between the bricks and concrete work - "oops, I guess I didn't get on my knees to look." The worst experience I had was actually with Jim, the owner, he explained the exposed metal lattice sheet that was put on to grip the concrete. I asked to schedule a time to meet so that he could tell me if the work was up to the level of his expectation, after all his sign and business cards say "perfection in concrete." I explained that I still had concerns and wasn't comfortable recommending his company till they were resolved. Two days later he showed up at my house before 7:30 am. I did not answer the door, I was getting myself and my family ready for the day and was not appropriately dressed to answer the door. He left a business card saying, "Please call, I want my pay." I tried the number he left twice, with no answer or messaging service. I looked in my notes and found another number. I left a message. Once we connected by phone, he agreed that we did not have an appointment to meet at 7:30 and that he had just showed up. We met in person later that day. (I was going to be late for our 4:45 appt so called 1 hr. before our scheduled time to let him know I would be there by 5:15 and I was.) During our discussion, he said he was very satisfied with the work. He said that he barely saw the metal but did see it. "My guys poured water on the wall and didn't see it and the small cracks that appear with the water really aren't cracks."??? He said that the wall won't rust because of the metal but that if I wanted the wall done over that he would do it, "You have my word." I accepted his offer to correct the work that was not done adequately. After all we were paying over $7400. The person doing the masonry work said he was going to return to powerwash the brick. I mentioned this because it had been almost 2 weeks and it still wasn't cleaned of the extra mortar. Jim explained that the delay was because the work needs to set before it is "acid washed." He couldn't explain to me how long that took. I then asked for him to get back to me with what his time frame would be. It has been 6 days and I have heard nothing from Jim or John, the owner's son whom we originally started the project with. We want to pay them their money. We intentionally picked a small local business to support our local community even though the bid was slightly higher that other bids. I'm not able to rate their punctuality, I never knew when they were going to come.

The job went very well. I was financing the work through a neighbor redevelopment program and J.C. Miller was very accommodating in working with the requirements of that program. The work was completed soon after I signed off on the contract, and the work was done very quickly. The quality was excellent; just what I had hoped for. J.C. Miller was prompt on the follow-up to complete the paperwork necessary to get payment through the loan program. I was extremely pleased overall with the experience of working with J.C. Miller and would recommend them.

They did a great job. I had originally received this bid 2 years earlier and they honored the bid with only a small increase. After signing the contract they were at my house within 2 weeks. They tore out the old steps and set the forms on one day, had the inspector there and poured them the next day. Two days total! They properly cured the cement and I now have a lovely looking set of new steps in from of my home. They also cleaned up well after themselves. I would definitely hire them again.