Kent Blades Excavating

Unfortunately, I did not get the job done at all. Actually, not only did he abandon the work but did not even finish what he had started, and that cost me an extra $2,900. Like one of the reviewer's comments, I was fooled into engaging him because he appeared honest and sincere for a man of his age and stated 56 years of experience. That's a complete opposite is what this man is. I would not touch him with a pole the length of a mile. I would rate him a star only because I have to rate him.

Very well. Kent was very quick to respond, very professional, knowledgeable, and offered insight when requested.

Great. It was a complicated job since my water line went under a concrete patio, through my neighbor's yard, and connected to a valve that was under a tree. Kent removed the tree stump, dug the trench and was able to pull the water line under the patio. With his assistant they were able to complete the job before 5pm the same day. Kent is a true expert and I'd hire him again for sure.

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Job was more complex than the typical.  Older home, no good records of existing water pipe location.  Not clearly located by Dig Safe.  An undocumented sewer manhole was discovered when digging where water main was supposed to be.  Kent and his crew were very professional.  They were able to solve unexpected problems when they arose.  Left the site in as good condition as possible.

Ten days before Christmas we learned we had to replace the water line from our home to the street.  The Framingham DPW provided a list of approved contractors.  We called seven and heard back from four.  One said they were booking five weeks out; one said he would get back to us in a few days (we never heard back from him); one said he would be out the next day to look at the job (he called the day after the job was finished to say he could squeeze us in).  Kent said he would stop by on his way home and have a look at things.

Kent showed up as promised on Monday.  He looked at the job and said, I can be here Thursday morning at 7:30 with my helper and be out of your way by 2pm.  It will cost $1,600, plus $400 if we need a detail policeman.

He explained he would try to pull the new plastic water line through the old line, which would minimize the amount of digging needed across the front lawn.  He assured us the price was the same regardless of how much digging he had to do.

7:30 Thursday morning Kent and Manny arrived and immediately got to work.  It was pouring rain, mud was everywhere, water was collecting in the trench, but they kept working.  The first try the line broke and they had to start over; the second try worked.

Working with water lines is bound to make a mess of your lawn and basement, with or without rain.  We assumed we'd have a dirty basement to contend with when they left.  But Manny was cleaning and drying the floor as he went along.  Kent maneuvered his backhoe to put all the dirt and mud back in the trench.  We were impressed with their abilities and, more importantly, their work habits: they took care of their equipment, they treated our property with respect, and they had what we think of as the old work ethic of pride in performance, production and results.

Kent did an excellent job at a very reasonable price; we were lucky to have gotten him and would not hesitate to recommend him.