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The porch project took 2 days, with an extra day for follow-up. The porch had been covered by outdoor carpet which we had removed the previous week. Covertech's first steps were to grind away old carpet glue, wash away the debris and with a patching compound, fill in miscellaneous divots in the porch surface and walls. After the patches were dry, Covertech troweled on an underlayer which had to dry as well.

Originally we had chosen a dark grey color from a color sample and were told the color would be highlighted later with a black spray. The underlayment dried with such a light tone that one of the techs recommended a different dark grey color and a different technique for covering the porch. That involved 'staining' the concrete cover rather than 'spraying' it. We could see the potential better appearance and we agreed. A second underlayment with the new grey color was troweled on and allowed to dry. When we commented that the new color was still too light, we were told that the staining step in the new process would solve the lightness.

 Next came using narrow tapes to build a design of our choice on the porch top and steps. An over-layer with a color of our choice (we chose the same proposed darker tone) was troweled on. Special effort was made to create hand-troweled 'swishes' on the surface to create a more natural look. When that dried, the tapes were pulled away to reveal the design and each portion of the design was hand-stained with a sponge or small brush. The 3-D effect of the stain on the hand-trowelling on the porch top was beautiful and justified the mid-stream decision to go with 'staining' over 'spraying'.

The techs stained individual bricks in the border design to try to achieve the dark slate grey tone we were after. When we gave feedback that even with staining, the top surface of the porch was still too light, we were told that when a sealer was applied, the color would 'pop out', so we moved on to that step.

The sealer dried to reveal the same lighter tone instead of the hoped-for darker tone and the project was done.

Three days later we did ask for a follow-up. The sincere attempt by the 2 techs to stain border bricks more darkly created a big range of tone from lightly-toned bricks to adjacent darker bricks. We revisited the project with Covertech's owner and asked to reduce the 'mottling' that we saw. He immediately scheduled the 2 techs to return. They ground away the darker tones on the individual bricks and re-layered all of them with the original overlay color to create a more consistent tone for the border.

Our take-away is that at each step everyone tried to create the best results possible. Yet, the proposed results didn't match what the material actually manifested. I think if we had to do it over again we would stop mid-stream and look at finished projects to confirm actual color results. Different concrete overlay materials and different sealers may dry differently. We would still choose Covertech because of their care in their handiwork at each step. We rated Quality an 'A' to reflect that pride, but chose a 'B' for Overall as a reflection of not achieving the results that were proposed (and we expected).

Added note: In the attached photos, you can see how dark the sealer looks when it is wet. When it dried, it was closer to the not-sealed-yet portions of the porch.

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"Great job. Would definitely use again and highly recommend this business!"

"Nick and his crew worked with us to help create our new back yard. They worked hard completing each phase of the project in a timely manner. They were polite and considerate and easy to work with."

"Job well done! Very professional and kept me informed and punctual. Thanks Ethan"

"Jaramillo was excellent! He did an excellent job. I would hire him again and would recommend him to anyone. Out of three recommened, he got back to me immediately and didn't stop untill all sprinklers were fixed and there were a lot of them. Jaramello Thank you"

"Gilberto called me right away, gave me a quote, and was able to get started quickly. There were additional costs due to a change in depth, but he was honest and kept me informed the whole time. I love my new patio extension and swim spa slab"

"Pave Hawk was hired to do an addition to an existing cement patio, with a sitting wall, and cap. The patio was stamped concrete and colored. They have accomplished the desired outcome. We did need some flexibility about timing, as they have gotten very busy, during the project. All in all, they have done a great job, The people, especially Leon, were great to work with. Terry, while out of state, still kept in touch to stay on top of the project and keep me informed as needed. Jared was also helpful in the process, and communication was frequent, and dependable. I would recommend them. We are happy with the results!"

"Forest Landscaping was great to work with. Erika was very helpful and knowledgeable. What I really appreciate was the fact that they started the job when promised, they cleaned the job site each day, they showed up each day at the scheduled time and finished when promised. They are very professional. We are happy with the landscape and jobs they completed in our back yard."

"AOTC did a great job putting in a 'fairy garden' on the north side of my house. From my first meeting with Kam to the final product (finished up very late - thank you Camden!) I am highly pleased and got exactly what I wanted. Kam saw my vision immediately, and he, Kai and Camden put in stepping stones, a flagstone patio, and beautiful plants to create a rustic retreat from the urban heat. I can highly recommend this company, and will definitely call them again for my next landscaping project. Communication once the job started was excellent, the team worked very hard, were pleasant and professional, high attention to detail and a very fair price."

"They did a great job. The job was completed faster than expected. They had the locates done. They covered the fence with plastic to prevent concrete splatter on it. The sheilded the air condition compressors with plywood during the concrete pour. Overall I am really happy with them and will be hiring them to do the concrete work for my deck. Thank you Cora Construction!"