RICH CLIFFORD CONCRETE & EXCVT

Rich Clifford has done this cement work for many years working with his father. One would think he, therefore, is an expert due to his living in and knowledge of the area and his experience. Rich & company never recommended a footing. We were told, after the fact, a footing should have been installed! He poured a 6” thick slab, and not the 8” thick slab that was contracted and paid for. The slab is slanting toward the back corner of the garage instead of out of the garage...causing water and/or ice to pool in the garage throughout the year. We paid 1/2 up-front before work was started upon request from Rich. He grabbed another payment, upon his insistence, when slab was poured and boards were removed. He never returned to finish walls. We measured the slab to discover it was only 6” deep, and therefore, not above driveway grade which also contributes to the water flooding the building. This is first year of the slab and it has cracked in several places leading to structural integrity. Business practices are questionable.

We're now in July 2012, and the job is still not done, months beyond the expected finish date, and more than a half year past the due date for the cement pouring. The plan had been to complete the excavation and cement work before the ground froze in late 2011, then come back in the spring to finish the grading and restore the lawn. He started late and put one of the cement footings in the wrong place, which still has not been fixed to this day. Part of the barn cannot be built until the footing is fixed, so this has had massive repercussions for us and really screwed up our barn project. The quality of the work done appears to be good in most places. The late start meant that the surface of the concrete froze and didn't harden properly. It crumbles to the touch, so in many places the concrete looks terrible. Because the surface crumbles, walking over this tracks harsh concrete dust everywhere, which has done a number on our hardwood floors. We have been promised this will be fixed with a skim coat when everything else is done. We have heard a lot of other promises from Rich about coming to finish on a certain date, only for no-one to show up on the promised date. There is still a pile of dirt blocking half our driveway, instead of being spread out over the dig area in the back yard. There is still gravel in the yard, instead of in the driveway where it belongs. There are still boulders strewn about our back yard. We had been convinced to prepay most of the project, so we have virtually no leverage at this point. If nothing else, if you work with Rich Clifford, don't pay for the work until it's done, or they may never come back to finish. I continue to hold out hope that Rich will come back and finish and that ultimately, the job will be done to our satisfaction. But at best, Rich is many months behind schedule and these problems have led to substantial cost overruns on other parts of the project.