Stark Concrete Co

Stark Concrete is an outstanding cement contractor.

A year ago I tried to get my driveway done with another contractor & after signing a contract, the contractor kept putting me off & wouldn't return my phone calls.  Finally, after several month I cancelled the contract.

This year, I received 3 new bids for the driveway.  Stark Concrete was one of the 3.  From our first meeting I liked the owner, Jim Stark.  He is honest, and he show up when he says he is coming.  The first time I met with him my wife wasn't able to be at the meeting so he came back a second time and went over everything with her a** well.  She had the same feeling about him that I did.  We looked at all the bids & also reviewed Angie's List and BBB reports.  Overall, everything looked good.  There were some minor complaints but I spoke to Jim about them & he responded to my satisfaction.  When all the bids were in and reviewed we chose Stark Concrete even though their bid was not the least expensive.  We just felt, all things being equal, it would be worth a few more dollars to do business with Jim.  And, we were right.

I explained to Jim what had happened the previous year and that I was a bit gun shy about being promised that a project would be done at a certain time & he reassured me that he would be at our home within 5 weeks of agreeing to the job unless weather impacted his projects that were currently in the queue.  So, we agreed to go forward with the project.

As it turned out, rain and weather did have some impact on when Jim could get to our job but, and this is important, he kept me informed by e-mail so I knew what was going on.  Also, I noticed that there was a $100 discount for Angie's List subscribers so I asked Jim about honoring that.  With no hesitation he deducted the $100 from my final bill.

Jim arrived in week 6 or so after we agreed to do business with him.  And in 3 days of hard work in very hot and humid conditions he and his excellent crew had the job done!  I was very impressed with the level of professionalism I noted in every one of his crew members.  They were professional, proficient, detail oriented, and worked well together.  And the product was outstanding.  They found several problems along the way that could not have been anticipated before the old concrete was removed but, they kept me informed all along the way, briefed me on the options available, and then I was able to make informed choices regarding what I wanted done.  They could not have been any more professional.

What can I say?  I found these guys in the yellow pages, but luckily, I followed my hunch and it turned out great.  If you want a concrete job done right, then for my money, there's no one else in the Springfield, IL area that I would want to work with other than Stark Concrete.

Jim came out and we told him what we wanted done. He showed us some sample stamp designs and color choices. We picked what we wanted and he gave us an estimate. They came back, dug out and framed the new sidewalk. The concrete was delivered and poured. It was leveled and then stamped. Then a few days later it was cut and sealed. We loved it. That was in May. In August I noticed a crack all the way across the sidewalk, plus some minor cracks throughout. I called Jim and he came out to look at it. At first he said that was just the nature of concrete - it cracks. I pointed out to him a section of new concrete in our driveway that was about 2 years old and still looked like the day it was poured - perfect. Then he said that the sidewalk was cut in the wrong direction and that was why it cracked. He said he would come out in a couple of weeks and patch the crack that ran all the way across the sidewalk. About a month after he came out, now remember he said he'd be back to repair the crack in about 2 weeks - the sealer started coming off. So now we have a cracked sidewalk with light colored blotches on it. It's now December and we haven't heard from him since August. Nope, don't think we'll be calling him for any more concrete work. Oh, by the way, he was recommend to me by Michel Concrete Inc. in Springfield, IL. I had called Michel Concrete from their reviews here on Angie's List. They were booked up so they referred me to Jim Stark. 

I'm very please with my new driveway, patio and front porch.

Fantastic make-over of entire yard. Very helpful with plan completion including a variety of odds/ends tasks for project prep that recent health issues prevented me from completing. Entire crew very respectful, helpful and attentive to detail. Surfaces finished to properly drain water. My highest recommendations.

The tear out was good. The color is good but the finish of the concrete is not so good. They fixed my downspout which was good. It's better than what was there but I would not have them do another job for me. I had another bid at the time for $1000.00 more but I thought that was too much. Maybe not.

Jim poured a 25 x 25 patio in our backyard. We asked for a 5 ft grid pattern and coloring. Jim came over for the initial visit to see what we wanted and explained all options, cost, how much time it would take and gave us his opinions on selection of color, size, etc. Once the actual day was scheduled, as he does contracting work for a local developer, he once again came by to go over all of the details of the contract and to see if there were any changes we wanted. This follow-up visit impressed us greatly. He and his crew then arrived timely as he promised and set the forms for the patio and a step in front of our porch. Additional fill dirt was needed so that was delivered and Jim expertly ran the Bobcat and not only filled around the forms but did some much needed landscaping for us. Jim is a master with the Bobcat. The following day they poured the concrete and Jim came up with the idea of brushing each square in alternating patterns, which looks great! They then sealed the patio and came back to take the forms off and rake dirt up around the patio. Jim and his crew are very hard-working individuals!!! and do a very impressive job. The entire experience was more than satisfactory and we would recommend them in a heartbeat. You can also visit his Facebook page.