Wizards of Concrete

I am the neighbor of someone who hired Wizards of Concrete to replace their driveway. We are considering a lawsuit with the neighbors, who would then have to sue the Wizards. We have suffered a great deal of water damage due to Wizards' work. We hired an engineering firm to study the problem and they recommend the neighbors tear out and rebuild the driveway. The neighbors are also very unhappy with the design and its consequences on their own property. This video provides details of the issue, using footage during and after heavy rains. [*** Link removed ***] This additional video is from later in the summer (September). [*** Link removed ***] Our neighbor's property is adjacent to ours and uphill. John and William were dismissive of my concerns about the pitch, proximity, and elevation included in the design for the new drive. I could visually see there could be potential problems. I shared my concerns and was told, "If we get this wrong, we will make it right." Since the work was performed, every time we get a heavy rain, we now get water in our basement (see video). In addition, they back-pitched the back portion of the drive, causing water drainage from every neighbor at a higher elevation to flow through our neighbors' backyard and into our backyard. We end up with a stream running directly over our patio after a heavy rain (see video). Interestingly, the neighbor has also seen unexpected problems. First, the back-pitch causes water to back up into their garage, so there is a pool of standing water (see video). Secondly, because of the left-right pitch of the drive, the neighbors have to walk up a sharp slope to their side door. They've indicated walking to the door in icy conditions is difficult and someone has already fallen. When I alerted John to the water problems, he was not willing to take responsibility for the source of the problems. He found an alternative explanation for each issue, putting the blame on the owners of both properties. He largely blamed our gutters for presumably failing in heavy rains. I had to literally stand outside in a heavy downpour on the new driveway and call John to describe how our gutters were performing well, even as water was pooling by our foundation. I wanted to suggest he watch a live video feed. It happened to be July 4 and John angrily scolded me for calling him on a holiday. To his credit, he surprisingly drove over after the rain had stopped. He still blamed me for misdiagnosing the issues. It was patronizing. He then suggested a "fix" that would do nothing to address the underlying issue and barely serve as a band-aid. Four individuals have given their expert opinion of the driveway work. See below. Consensus: It needs to be torn out and replaced. So far, John has refused to do this. We've offered to participate in a cost-share, too, but he has failed to respond. No apology to the neighbors or us. No offer to replace the driveway. No interest in helping to pay for a new one, even if we all pool our money. 1. We hired an independent engineer who gave his opinion on the driveway construction and the effects on our property, on our attorney’s recommendation. The engineer recommends the driveway be removed and a new driveway be installed and properly sloped to carry the water out to the street. 2. Two contractors looked at the driveway, Bravo Concrete and JBS. Both came to the same conclusion: The driveway should be taken out and re-poured properly at the contractor’s expense. JBS said everyone has a bad job once in a while and if they are concerned about their reputation, they should fix it. It’s the cost of doing business. 3. A foundation inspector said foundation repairs for our house as a result of the driveway could cost as much as $20,000 if nothing is done to the driveway. He also noted water seeping in from the east side of our foundation, which is a totally new problem. When the inspector was on site, he looked at the driveway and mentioned the driveway made him “sick.” In my experience, John and his father fail to take responsibility for problems, behave unprofessionally, and possess limited knowledge and skill. Buyer beware.

We are extremely happy with the work that they provided. Our patio isnt like anyone elses patio. It is unique, clean, and looks great with our house. The work that they provided was pure quality. Bill and his son were very respectful and polite, and we had no issues at all. I would recommend them to lay anyones patio.

Cracks, discoloration, uneven, when asked about it was unprofessional, rude, used ridiculous arguing tactics to minimize poor quality of work ("I know more about concrete than you do" "your wife is nicer than you")

Day after concrete was poured there was a 12 foot crack and also an 8 foot crack in another area. It is uneven as well. It was a horrible job to put it mildly. Since then they have also done a printing work on our patio and that has about a10 foot crack as well. Neighbors used him as well and are having issues.