Allen Lee Concrete Construction, LLC

I contracted with Allen Lee Concrete for a patio (replacement) in July 2011. Jimmy is a nice guy and he and his crew were very hard workers. Sadly, more than a few things went wrong with the job. One of his workers damaged my new steel replacement door, when the jackhammer slipped and fell against the door. Not all the problems were the contractors fault (sometimes things just happen). The weather worked against the project and there was a very heavy rain storm, just as they had completed the concrete pour. The project was to have stamping and because the concrete was already poured, they tried covering the wet concrete with plastic sheeting and did the stamping through the plastic. The end result was that when they removed the plastic covering, the stamping was not the best quality and the plastic had picked the concrete causing low spots (resulting in puddles forming on the patio) and high spots (possible tripping hazards). Because of the different profiles and surface areas of the concrete, the sealing and staining was not uniform or satisfactory. Jimmy said that he would return and reseal and correct the finish. Winter, by that time was approaching, so I said to return in the spring for the corrections. I called Jimmy during the month of March to schedule his return visit. Then rains came again. I explained that I had an upcoming family picnic taking place in May and needed the project completed by mid-May (2012). He said no problem he would take care of it. I called him again towards the end of April. He assured me that it would be completed. It is now late August 2012. The patio remains the way he left it in the winter of 2011 and I have not seen or heard from Jimmy. I acknowledge that many of the problems were not caused by Jimmy; he cannot control a sudden rain storm. I also acknowledge that this project was probably not as profitable as he would have liked or expected it to be. That too was beyond his control. I can and did overlook the puddles etc., but he could have controlled returning as promised to complete the sealing repair. I am disappointed that he did not follow through as promised and has abandoned me and the project.

We contacted at least 6 different contractors for estimates. Jimmy was the ONLY one that was not in a rush to give us a number and run. He spent time with us going over options, drawing out possible designs, and giving us the estimate. We felt like he actually listened to what we wanted instead of having some pre-conceived notion of what the patio should be. He came back another time once we decided to hire him, just to draw out the shape and confirm exactly the size and shape we were looking for and to settle on the exact colors/finish we wanted to use. He and his crew showed up as scheduled and did an excellent. Our neighbor even commented that every time she looked out her window, she saw them working away. It took a few days to complete the project, including inspections, etc. Jimmy called us every night to let us know where we stood and what he'd be doing the next day and what time to expect him. After we thought the project was finished, he even came back to add another coat of sealant because he felt it needed more after the initial application. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience with no surprises. In removing the thick concrete landing that the builder had had the base of the sliding door, the threshold had cracked. He removed the old threshold and made us a new one. We were charged exactly what our estimate was.