Earth Creations Inc
About us
Decorative, stamped concrete is a rapidly growing market. Stamped concrete is becoming ever more popular and has quickly become the finish of choice for many residential and commercial projects. We, at Earth Creations, are confident you will be satisfied with our products, service and most of all...our customer support. Since our inception, decorative/stamped concrete has always been the focus of Earth Creations. Through years of field work, research and testing we have developed what we believe is the most complete, functional, better engineered and creative line of Stamped Concrete Products for the architectural concrete market. Our goal is to satisfy our customers thirst for new and innovative products, and provide top quality materials and service. Additional DBA - Earth Creations. Additional email - [email protected].
Business highlights
Services we offer
Decorative Trim, Driveways, Edging, Floors & Barriers., Hard Scape, Patios, Pool Access, Poured Decks, Residential & Commercial Walkways
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 73% | ||
| 10% | ||
| 3% | ||
| 3% | ||
| 11% |
"You signed a contract that states that ALL deposits are non refundable. In order to receive a discounted price on your driveway extension, we must do a few jobs together. Otherwise, a minimum load fee is charged for materials, we have no say in this matter. That fee is charged to our company from the ready mix supplier if we do not order enough material. This is why we need a few neighbors to go in together in order to offer a discount. It is even stated in your contract that a couple of neighbors would have to go in together to get that discounted pricing. Also, we did nothing wrong to another customers lawn like how it's being implied here. You stated that you simply didn't like the way the edging stood out in the yard. You didn't like the height of the edging. We offered to show you a lower profile look at another job and you declined."
"Most all of the statements being made here are false, even the cost of the job? This patio was poured completely up to code. We did replace some water damaged wood, per your request. You then used that as an excuse not to pay us. There was never any engineer hired to inspect. The only neighbor we spoke to was the neighbor you hired to supervise the job. We have never came to your door afterwards either. We simply filed suit against you. When we went to court, you didn't even argue your case because you felt that you could not win. We now have a judgment against you for $6100.00. After the completion of your job, you laughed at us and stated that you never intended to pay, and that this was something that you did often to contractors. As a matter of fact, our attorney found another contractor who had a lien against you for the same exact patio! We went to court and testified on his behalf, and he now has a judgment against you as well for over $30,000.00. We do not appreciate the false accusations being made here."
After the outstanding job the company did last year on the new and enlarged patio in the back of our house we could hardly wait for the front to be completed. The company was able to do a design which adds to the curb appeal for our home. We threw them a rough idea and they went with it, checking to see if it met our expectations. They completed the project within two days and each day as they left, clean-up was meticulous. Everyone was courteous and well-mannered as they performed their work. The original patio they poured last fall survived the winter without any cracking. We will use them again for any work in the future.
We went ahead and selected EC to move forward. They were very busy and was able to get us on their schedule about 6 weeks out. About four weeks out I reached out to Bill to ask if they could fit us in before we were going to host a huge family event. Bill was able to work us into his schedule to accommodate our request.
The only bad experience we had was on the day of the work was supposed to begin Bill called to let us know the pattern we had selected was not available as it was a relatively new pattern. Of course this made us panic just a bit, but Bill was able to offer another pattern that was very similar and gave us a discount due to this issue.
The crew showed up on time and was very pleasant to work with. They spent ample time with us marking the patio to make sure we were happy with the placement. Job was completed within the day and they returned the next day to cut and seal.
Their work was good, I wish they would have cleaned up a bit better, but we are happy with the finished product.
We hired Earth Creations on August 2, 2013 to remove an existing 12x12 patio and install a 900 sq ft textured, stained patio. The initial experience was fine.
On March 8, 2014 we found a 24' crack/separation in an arch formation just outside where the previous patio had been. In addition, it was also where there was a slight drop off in the yard. We also found a piece of concrete had popped off. On May 27, 2014 we find another issue of cracking in the same location.
Bill stopped by and said he could patch the missing concrete and caulk the 24' crack/separation. He said that he was not responsible for shifting and that if he replaced every patio that cracked he would not be in business. At this point I declined further work to allow time for research as to why this patio did not hold up.
I contacted several concrete companies as well as two ready mix companies. This research led me to hire a structural engineer (with 50 years experience) to inspect the installation photos and the finish product. His concluded that the base was not properly prepared according to industry standard.
Bill's response to all of our conversations was that he (Earth Creations) "did you a good job.... I wouldn't do anything different on my patio than I did for yours". Not once has he referred to industry standard to support his installation practices. It makes no difference to me who he works for as a sub, "you would even recognize the names if I told you". What matters to me is the patio that I paid for has issues related to poor installation. The excuses that concrete "gets hard and cracks" is a standard response. After all my research, I am convinced that my patio would not be in the shape it is in had the proper installation procedures been used. Had I known then what I know now, I would have stopped installation that day and fired Earth Creations.
The following is known about our installation.
1. Large chunks of old patio debris were placed under the new patio.
2. No top soil was removed. Top soil is not compatible. No compactor was used on sub base. We have pictures of grass coming through the base before the concrete was poured.
3. Two different bases used. Pea gravel (self compacting) was used in the area with the large chunks of concrete debris. Over time, the gravel settles down around the debris causing void spaces. Crushed stone was used on the second half and no compaction was used on sub base or base.
At the end of the day, I hired Earth Creations because a neighbor referred me. When I signed the contract, I expected the work to be completed using industry standards. That did not happen. Simply caulking and patching our patio is like putting bondo on a rusted out car. When will the breakdown of our patio end?
I have given Bill numerous opportunities to make this right and he continues to tell me to "take me to court, I just walk out and won another one". Is this the type of company you want installing your patio?
Update 6/30/14:
The issues that have developed and that continue to develop are more than a "hairline crack" and it is not caused by "someone or something". Earth Creations continue to say they stand behind their work but we have not experienced that. Their solution to our problem is simply patch work. Through hiring a structural engineer to examine the job progress photos and the patio, and having several concrete contractors look at the patio, the only solution to our patio problem is to remove and replace it.
The contract that every customer signs only protects Earth Creations in the event of a law suite and does nothing for the home owner. In fact, nowhere does the contract say they will use industry standards. The contract simply blames most issues that could occur as the earth shifting. The concrete industry has set standards to minimize the potential for poor product quality and Earth Creations do not follow those standards. In their response to my complaint he states that the "patio was poured up to industry standards", yet they have no proof that they did so.
Using Angies' List resolution process, I offered a resolution. I offered to split the cost of a independent structural engineer to review the job progress photos and to inspect the patio. If they found that Earth Creations is not at fault then I would not continue to pursue them for faulty workmanship. However, if he did find they were responsible then Earth Creations would have to remove and replace our patio. Earth Creations declined to stand behind their work. This is a company that does not care about the customer. The cost for such engineer is under $300. Split two ways, $150 seems like a reasonable request to stand behind your work.
Furthermore, E. C. stated that our patio was "damaged by something or someone. There was a heavy metal chair setting right beside the area that was chipped..." Please look at the photo of my young nephew holding the "heavy metal chair". The chipped portion of the patio is by his foot. You can remove that piece because it is now just sitting on the patio. If its too dangerous to place patio furniture on our patio then why did we pay to have a patio installed?
Beware of this company. Our family simply wanted a patio that we could enjoy and would add sellable value when is was time to sell. Not only do we have a chipped off portion (spalling) and a 24' continuous separation, but now we have a crack starting at the house and moving east to the separated area. Earth Creations has left us with a problem. They do not stand behind their work. Its no wonder they would not agree to a professional inspecting what they did.
"We are sorry that this customer's patio ended up with a hairline crack, and also that it has been damaged by something or someone. There was a heavy metal chair setting right beside the area that was chipped in the patio when we went out to examine it? We did ask our customer to review our contract that he signed that states that we are not responsible for hairline cracks. We try to do our best to make an educated decision where to place the joints to prevent this. Cracks can still happen at no fault of our own. We stated that we would be happy to patch the damaged chip and to do a crack repair on the crack free of charge. If the crack had been over 1/4 inch thick we would've even re poured the patio to resolve the situation, even though it is not in our contract to do so. This was not the case. This patio was poured up to" industry standards". We did use some chunks of old concrete to fill a couple of voids. It will only make those ares stronger. We also used pea gravel to fill other voids. It is also common procedure not to disturb the sub base by removing dirt, if you are pouring 12" above the ground in those areas. We do patios everyday, and do know what we are doing. There was a letter written by a ready mix supplier that came out and tested the patio. The letter states that they found nothing wrong with the patio our company poured. There were no voids found in concrete, and it passed all expectations. Cracks can and will happen even if the patio was poured perfectly. Indiana has just had a record setting winter last year with much freezing and thawing of the ground. These conditions can be hazardous on any structure that sits on the ground. We did the best job that we possibly could for this customer as we do for all customers. We did tell him that if he wanted to file claim against our company that we did feel confident with our workmanship and the contract that was signed by both parties."
Licensing
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