AMERICAN DECK BUILDERS INC

"There's 2 sides to every story.........We initially installed a new concrete patio for the (removed member name) in May of 2006 for $8,400. This patio was every bit of 500 sq. ft. and was 12" thick in some areas due to 'ground slope'. They contacted me in 2009 (3 years later) to point out a crack that had appeared. Every concrete contractor I know only gives a 1 year warranty against cracking on any kind of concrete work in our climate. I give 2!..Although this was past the warranty period, I made an exception for the (removed member name) because my salesman at the time should have realized that the area under A/C unit needed to be included in the concrete coverage or the new concrete patio placed all around it would create a water trap whenever it rained or snowed. It was easy to see that this caused the crack. I took it upon myself to saw-cut and jackhammer out the cracked area adjacent to the A/C area. I also handed (removed member name) $200 in cash to help pay the $400 it was going to cost to temporarily move the A/C unit out of the way. We then poured new concrete in the A/C area and the area we had removed (6x5 and 8x8). The areas perimeter were lined in heavy expansion joint material to allow enough room so that the surrounding areas would not crack as the new areas cured and expanded...The new area did wind up being 1/8" higher than the surrounding area...Not a trip hazard by any means. Once cured, we cut out the visible felt and replaced it with an expensive Sitka self leveling adhesive. They weren't happy that the new concrete didn't match the 3-year old concrete. At that point I should have walked away. In the interest of trying to make them happy, I applied a top coat to the entire patio (new and old) The product used was "Spray-deck" by Increte systems. A very expensive product and time consuming process compounded by the fact that we had weekly rainstorms constantly delaying the work. Once installed, I explained that this type of product would eventually wear off to the point that all of the concrete would then match. I wasn't promising a refresher coat every year. Although, I did go back about 9 months later to patch up some areas that had started to flake off (probably due to moisture on the surface when we were finally able to perform the application).....My original labor and material cost was about $7,200 and I spent another $5,000 3 years later. All in all a very frustrating experience where I had to say "stop". In hindsight, I just should have said "Sorry, lady, but it's past the warranty period" like everyone else would have. I'd be willing to bet that, even though this is now 8 years old, there are probably no structural cracks on the patio. I'm still in business. Not planning to go bankrupt and will offer the (removed member name) a cleaning and sealing this year at "no charge" if they want it. An unfortunate situation that had "Murphy's Law" written all over it."