M & S Masonary

We hired Jerry Roark who owns M & S Masonary to repair it. He decided the concrete should be re-surfaced rather than replaced. He removed loose chunks, acid etched the top and applied a new surface with a hand trowel to the top of the existing concrete. He said that the material he used for resurfacing was something he custom mixed, that it contained glue and that it would outlast us. The result was a sloppy, uneven job especially at the edges. We called him and asked him to return and continue to work on it. He came back and said it was easy to remove the lumps. He just picked up a small rock out of the yard and rubbed off the lumps with just a few strokes. I asked him how anything could be durable if it rubbed off that easily, and he denied there was any problem. We asked him to come back again and discuss the problems. He said he would and then never showed up. The surface is so fragile that I can take a whisk broom and start sweeping away the new surface. See photo. I saved large chunks of the new surface material that had fallen on the ground while he worked. Once dry, I can use my fingers and easily snap them in half even on larger pieces. We have filed a complaint with TN Department of Consumer Affairs even though the total cost could have been much worse. When I dealt with him directly, I found him to be a very assertive, smooth talker who left me wondering most of the time if he was lying or telling the truth. I found it extremely hard to tell and I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Looking back, I would say it was the former. Update as of February 2018. The “concrete” layer that Mr. Roark applied is starting to crack into sections and fall off, only 5 months after it was applied. See photo.