Ewing Home Improvement Co

The crew from Ewing responded to my request for a quote for the replacement of my driveway and construction of a carport with a very fair quote and set a date to begin work. They began work for the carport on the morning that was agreed upon. The crew worked every day until it was completed, even coming early on a Sunday morning to complete the painting. Shortly afterward, the concrete crew came and began work on work to prepare for pouring my driveway. They worked steadily until the driveway was finished. Both crews worked hard, were punctual every day, cleaned up after the work was completed and did absolutely beautiful work. They listened to me regarding what I wanted done and gave me suggestions about the best way to obtain the outcome I was looking for.  They finished everything in the manner we agreed upon and went above and beyond to complete both the carport and the driveway perfectly.

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Mon, May 13 - Ewing was scheduled to have the old concrete removed at approx. 2pm. No one showed and we did not receive a phone call to update us on the status.
Tues, May 14 - We called Ewing office first thing in the morning to inform them that no one had shown up to remove the old pad the day before and asked for an update. Our project manager from Ewing called and left a message on the phone at approx. 12:30pm to let us know that the concrete plant had broken down that morning and they were running approx.. 8 hours behind but that they would be there later in the evening to remove the old pad. No one showed and we did not receive a phone call to update us on the status.
Wed, May 15 - We called Ewing office first thing in the morning to inform them that no one had shown up to remove the old pad the day before and asked for an update. Our project manager from Ewing called and said the concrete sub-contractor was working another project and was running behind but would be out later in the afternoon to remove the old pad. At approx. 7pm, the concrete sub-contractor called to let us know they were late finishing up their previous project but they would be out first thing on the 16th to remove/replace the pad.
Thurs, May 16 - Concrete crew showed by 8am. Old pad was removed and new pad poured by noon. All concrete work was complete by 4pm. Concrete needed to cure until Mon, May 20th before they could start on the deck.
Sun, May 19 - We had severe storms in the area with lots of hail damage in some areas of the city.
Mon, May 20 - At approx. 9am, all of the wood for our deck was delivered to our driveway. At approx. 12:30pm, our project manager from Ewing called and said they were running behind because of the emergency repairs from the storms the day before but they would still be there at approx. 3:30pm to frame the deck. At approx. 7pm, when I hadn't heard anything from anyone, I called the project manager's cell phone to get an update and to let him know I wasn't happy with the lack of communication on our project. I left a message and my call was not returned.
Tues, May 21 - Decking crew showed at approx. 7:30am and spent the day framing the deck. They showed no real sense of urgency and took several long breaks throughout the day but completed the framing and the basic flooring of the deck by 5pm.
Wed, May 22 – Decking crew arrived again at around 7:30am and started the remaining work. They were complete by approx. 12pm. Crew cleaned up their mess when they left but left a bunch of left-over lumber in the yard and said the project manager would be by later to pick it up. Project manager showed up early in the afternoon and took an inventory of the left-over lumber and said someone would be by later in the afternoon to pick it up.
Thurs, May 23 – All of the left-over lumber was still laying in my yard. Called project manager at 5pm to ask why it hadn’t been picked up and to let him know in needed it picked up ASAP so I could put my backyard back together. Project manager didn’t realize it hadn’t been picked up yet. Said he would have them there first thing in the morning to pick it up.
Fri, May 24 – Left-over lumber was picked up. Project considered complete.
Notes:

• - As we were cleaning up the new deck, we noticed that the treads on the new steps were made of treated pine and we were thinking that they were supposed to be cedar, like the rest of the deck. We reviewed the quote and it specified that the treads would be 5/4 cedar. We brought the discrepancy up to the project manager and he insisted that was a “typo” on his part and that they ALWAYS used treated pine on their treads because 5/4 pine wasn’t strong enough for stair treads and they didn’t make cedar boards thick enough to be used as treads (2”x8” or 2”x10”). We agreed about the strength, but also expected the treads would match the rest of the deck. No offer was made to replace the treads.

- Quote mentioned the balusters would be square and the one’s they installed were round (which we are fine with, and actually really like).
- We had a hot tub sitting on the pad below our old deck and there wasn't enough clearance to open the hot tub lid without hitting the floor joists of the old deck. I informed the person that completed the quote on the project for me that having enough clearance to open the hot tub lid under the new deck without hitting the floor joists was of utmost concern to me and if it couldn't be done, I didn't want to spend the money to replace the pad and deck. Upon moving the hot tub back to the new pad, the lid opened perfectly, without hitting the bottom of the new deck. We are VERY happy with how the hot tub fits under the deck and that the lid opens without any problems.
Overall, we are VERY happy with the quality of the work that was completed. The deck is very solid and the craftsmanship is top notch. ALL of our frustration with this project came from the delays and the blatant lack of communication about the delays. I explained to the project manager that I completely understand how things happen that push projects behind schedule and that all I asked for as a homeowner was to be kept in the loop about the delays and that I needed him to be open and honest about the progress (or lack thereof).

They were excellent, they did a great job.