K & R Concrete

Never responded to call for estimate

I first contacted Keith in October 2008 and hired him for the job in May 2009. He responded very quickly and brought his crew to break up and remove the existing patio and sidewalk as well as remove a koi pond (including tiles on the side of the house). We briefly reviewed what was discussed in October, and they got to work shortly after arriving. Once the site was cleared of the old concrete (the original patio foundation remained), they began marking off the outline for the new patio. I was distracted with our 2 children and was unable to monitor all their progress. His female employee attracted my attention to ask me if what Keith was marking off was correct or not (it seemed a little odd to her). In fact, he had neglected to mark off the boundary for a new sidewalk. Our deck steps led down to the old sidewalk, so there would've only been mud/grass present instead of a sidewalk. I clarified to him then that we wanted him to replace the sidewalk that was removed. I should've spent more time initially making sure he remembered exactly what was expected. He quickly had his crew re-do the demarcation and poured the new patio and sidewalk. I have little experience with concrete and am ignorant of how level one should expect a patio to be. It looked quite level until it rained later in the day revealing the contours. It's pretty level (with one spot that pools somewhat) and certainly slopes away from the house. Keith and another employee returned a couple of days later (after the concrete had dried & it wasn't raining) to put the concrete on the side of the house to match the style on that portion of the house (similar to a stucco look). All of the old concrete pieces and most of the koi pond pieces were removed by K & R. There were several bricks and other pieces left in the yard. I think there was a miscommunication regarding what remnants were to remain and what was to be removed. The workers also moved several plants out of the way while the work was being done. I had expected them to return them, but they did not. Again, I don't think we communicated well enough. Also, they had to remove several boards of our wooden fence for the concrete truck to pour the concrete. These boards were replaced. A couple of weeks after the job was completed (and following several hot and dry days), the patio still had some dark areas that looked as if those areas were wet (although we knew they couldn't still be). I called and left a message for Keith's input as to whether or not this was normal and what we could expect to happen. I never received a return call. The splotches eventually cleared up. Within 2 months, there were very small cracks that had formed at various places in the patio and along a corner. Again, I'm not sure if this is normal. I asked Keith before he left what we should do if cracks appeared, and he replied that there wouldn't be any. He said any cracks that occurred should appear in the grooves placed in the patio and sidewalk itself. I don't know what size cracks he was referring to. One other thing to mention is that most (if not all) of the crew smoked on the job, which is fine, except there were quite a few cigarette butts left in the yard and driveway (just the sort of thing my kids are likely to pick up and put in their mouths).

Keith and one of his men came late in the same day I initially called him to give me an estimate. Keith was very professional, measured the areas well and later gave us a price. He started the prep work, removal of old material and preparing the site for pouring within a day of my accepting his price. The following day he poured and finished the job with a fairly large crew of men who all seemed to know what they were doing. It was a long days work, but they did not rush the job, took their time and did what I consider an excellent job. I paid them 1/3 at the start and the balance upon completion of the job. I would highly recommend these folks, K & R Concrete, and would use them again if I had work requiring concrete framing, pouring and finishing.