Lake Family Inc

unknown

Mr. Lake was courteous and professional. Came out to discuss the job. Contacted within 24 hours with a quote. Although some miscommunication, Mr. Lake was true to his word that "the job isn't done until the customer is satisfied" and apologized straight away, which for me, well, it was a big thing. His crew was very friendly and hard working and even took a few minutes to play with the dog. Overall it was a great experience.

Lake Family, Inc. was hired to complete three projects: 1) Install two drain pipes to extend existing downspouts away from the house; 2) rebuild a small retaining wall; 3) move an existing slate walkway about one additional foot away from the house. First drain pipe installation: It probably should have been buried a bit deeper than it was, but when the area was back filled, the pipe is below the ground level. During clean up of this area, some larger stones and sod clumps were removed. A majority of the smaller rocks (those that can be picked up by a mower and thrown) were left with no attempts to rake the area more smooth or add any topsoil to cover the area. There were no attempts made to remove or better cover the existing downspout extensions ? instead leaving it visible and connecting to the new pipe crudely. We later discovered that much of the removed sod and rocks had been dumped in an existing shrub area, used as backfill behind the retaining wall and rock/sod material left in a pile in a ditch beside the street. (See FirstDrain pictures.) Second drain pipe installation: During the initial digging of the trench to run the line from the three back downspouts, the crew was going to run the pipe within about one foot of a newly installed generator. They had to be directed to move the pipe further away from that area due to concerns the soil would become water soaked and cause the generator to shift. Initially they installed perforated pipe (which we did agree to). After they left for the day, we looked over the area and tried running water through the pipe to see if the water would flow sufficiently. We discovered that by using perforated pipe the water was soaking into the ground before it reached the end and caused two concerns: 1) the water we were trying to move away from the house in the back was draining from the pipe and soaking the ground exactly as it had; 2) the area where the third downspout connected was allowing water to drain very close to the house and created a very wet area which was soaking under the window well and would fill the well with water. Mr. Lake did address and correct this issue by replacing the perforated pipe with solid wall pipe. Mr. Lake asked if I thought it was fair that I pay for the replacement pipe since it had been cut and could not be returned ? I agreed. However, when the job was completed, the original perforated pipe was loaded on his truck without asking if I wanted it since I had paid for it ? I ended up paying for the pipe twice. (I?m sure that pipe can be used on another job.) After the crew reset the drain pipe, changing the pipe route, and back filled, they did not rake or clean up the sod, instead leaving it in a mess. I had to point the issue out to Mr. Lake and his crew before it was cleaned up. Even after this, they raked to remove the large stones and sod, but left the smaller rocks. We also noticed that at the end of the pipe, instead of trying to locate some soil, they took sod and rock and covered the end of the pipe. Also, the pipe which runs around the deck has been crushed in order to make a turn. Had they taken the time, the pipe could have been neatly working around the deck instead of forced. (See SecondDrain pictures.) Retaining Wall Rebuild: Mr. Lake and crew used existing wall blocks to rebuild. They also made a suggestion to dig back into the hill and install pressure treated lumber and reinforcing bar (rebar) to help hold the earth back ? with an additional cost. The extra lumber and reinforcement we later discovered border on useless. The rebar in two areas was not touching the wood for the extra support and one rebar was only drove into the ground to the level of an existing wall block that was not removed. The area where the wall was rebuilt was not dug down to create a proper footing (several blocks are sitting half on the driveway blacktop and half on soil). At no time was a level used to ensure that the wall was level ? even after we offered the use of one. In places the wall had large gaps and was poorly constructed. In areas where a block should have been cut with a chisel (or other means), the crew used a sledge hammer to smash the blocks making irregular joints and gaps. They also took some of the dirt from behind the old retaining wall and threw it into the existing shrub area. (See RetainingWall picture.) It is interesting to note at the start of this, we even had to tell the crew member how the blocks went together. I wish I had known prior to our taking this wall down and rebuilding it that pictures could be attached to this review ? unfortunately, we have disassembled the wall and rebuilt it as good as we could to fix the mess. Back Sidewalk Move: The crew came up with an idea to use existing retaining wall material to make a small wall between the sidewalk and the house. During the initial clean up of the area, one crew member noticed that two of the slate pieces were not level and rocked. Instead of trying to correct the situation, he tried to place small pebbles under the pieces to stabilize them ? that didn?t work. We were then told that they would ?settle? and would stop rocking. When asked what to do with the soil we said they could deposit it in the area between the house and the new wall. Unknown to us they buried the garden hose under the cleaned up soil/rock. Also, while cleaning up, the crew was throwing the soil and rocks directly at the house and siding. Mr. Lake was present and never directed his crew to be more careful. It should be noted that on the second day when the retaining wall and back sidewalk move were completed, approximately two hours after arriving, Mr. Lake informed us that he and his crew had to leave to work on another project. I was told ??he has other customers?? and he had other jobs to complete and will be back in just a few hours. When he returned almost 3 hours later, he and his crew were rushing to complete the wall and the sidewalk move. We did not dictate that this job had to be completed in two days. Mr. Lake scheduled the job. Each of the jobs he completed, with the exception of replacing the perforated pipe with the non-perforated, were known in advance. I will give Mr. Lake the benefit of a doubt that if we called and complained, he may return to correct these problems. But, because of the low quality work, his and his crews lack of respect for our property, we have chosen to not contact him or even consider allowing him onto our property again. We payed him for the work simply to get him off our property. We hope this review will help someone in the future that is looking for this type work.