SARMENTO AND SONS

A little bit of a delay from deposit until the job was done but i understand the weather constraints. However the stamped concrete finish was not good, it looked to me like either the stamps were worn out or they did not tamp them evenly. The outlines of the "bricks" were not consistent in depth and when they added the color to the outlines before sealing there were areas that it was left on the "bricks" and sealed in. Overall the look of the finished job is disappointing.

unknown

unknown

We were very happy with the results in every way.

Three and one-half (3 1/2) months after the completion of the work (approx. early July, at this time) I stepped off the new front porch steps onto the porch when I noticed that I was about to step onto a crack had that developed in the concrete!! The crack ran from the corner of the steps to the outer edge of the porch. My reaction was: Can't be! I got down on my knees and sure enough, it was a crack. After sharing what found with family, all agreed that this was not right. We called the contractor, Luigi Sarmento. He came out and looked at the crack. He said that "nothing could be done" to correct the problem. He said, "concrete cracks, not guaranteed". He then said, "the concrete has relaxed now and you should have no more problem". I asked him why he didn't put a spacer between the stairs and the porch as an ease, to prevent a crack from developing at that point.. He said. "why didn't you suggest it?" He again stated that nothing could be done. At that same time, I pointed out that the 1 coat of sealer that had been applied to the concrete was not holding up. He said that he would put 2 coats of sealer on. As time went by and no sealer was applied, we called. He promised he would be out when the weather was OK to seal. I reminded him that he promised to apply 2 coats of sealer and as time had gone by and dirt and debris was covering the walk, I asked him to power wash the concrete before applying the sealer. He said, "you already got one coat, you only get one more coat and no power wash". The months went by, and by November we called and informed him that now many leaves had fallen, along with small sticks and debris and asked him to wait til Spring to do the sealing. In the very early Spring, Mr. Sarmento called to say "you are on the list, when the temperature rises for several nights in a row, we can seal the walk." I asked him again, to power wash prior to application. He agreed he would do that. A couple months went by and finally it is very late in April. We called him to say that we were going to have landscaping done and asked him to come before May 1 or after May 4th so he wouldn't be hampered with other workers in the yard. He said we were on the list but that "they were not sealing now and he would get to us". As I write this report, it is June 19, 2012, over a year after the work was completed and almost a year since we called Mr. Sarmento to report the problem. In view of the issue of the crack in our new concrete, we feel that we have been treated poorly. We have not been validated or responded to in an appropriate manner.

We met with him and reviewed some of the photos he had of previous clients. He worked up a bid and then it was time to decide on the colors we wanted. He was nice enough to have us meet him at his house were he had actually poured a bunch of different projects so we could see them up close and personal. He then came to our house and drew the outlines of the walkway and reviewed it with us. He and his team then began the work and completed it. He even put in conduit so we could run electric under the sidewalk later. The sidewalk looks great and there were no surprises. He sends post cards in the mail each sidewalk reminding us it's time to re-seal it.