T. Burkes Asphalt & Concrete
About us
At T. Burke's Asphalt and Concrete Paving Inc., we are dedicated to providing our customers with the highest level of service that we would expect at our own homes and businesses. Our focus is on your satisfaction. In fact, we believe in our skill and ability so much that we do not accept any payment until we deliver on what we promise.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Asphalt, Concrete, Paving, Sealcoating
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Free Estimates
Yes
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
82% | ||
0% | ||
0% | ||
14% | ||
5% |
"Thanks so much for your kind review. We really appreciate it."
"Thank you [Member Name Removed]. I’m happy that the driveway is now draining properly. The drive really adds to the overall look of your property. Thanks for taking the time to review my company."
"I’m sorry that you weren’t happy. We installed a very very large gravel driveway for you and went back countless time to try and make you happy, perhaps 10 times, at some point I guess one has to ask if this person can be made happy. We then went back again and added much more base material than originally contracted for and compacted everything again and you said you were happy and then I read that you’re not."
"Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review of my company. The guys really care about our customers and I’m so happy you are pleased."
Tom called the morning they wanted to start the job and that afternoon 2/3 of the old driveway had been removed. The next day the remainder was removed and the area was graded. There were a couple days of waiting for the area to dry after the old asphalt had been removed (necessary due to the area being a low spot and heavy rains had occurred prior in the week). As soon as the area was dry enough, Tom called again and the crew was there. Compacting, grading, and paving two layers took 2 days and the new driveway looks great! Tom supervised the crew on the job to make sure the slope directed the water where it needed to go. The crew was very professional and left the area spotless. They even cleaned the court in front of the house. The drain project was more difficult than expected and took extra time due to the heavy clay and depth, but Tom honored his original estimate which made me very happy and I am very pleased with the results. He did not ask for payment until all work had been completed.
Overall, I was very happy with the project and highly recommend T. Burke. His bid matched his final price and was lower than the other estimates I received. My new driveway looks great!
It took a little while to get on the schedule, which was a good sign, because it meant there was a demand for their work. Finally , the landscaper subcontractor came in and replaced the retaining wall last fall. Because of an unexpected expense fixing another problem with our house, we asked T. Burke's if they could defer the actual re-paving until this spring, and they agreed.
When we re-contacted T. Burke a month ago, they were waiting for their asphalt supplier to restart operations after their winter break. They promised to contact us at the beginning of May to schedule the work. Early Monday morning May 2nd, T. Burke's coordinator called us to see if we would be ready to have them start work that day. We said yes, and they showed up about an hour later to start work. By afternoon they had removed the old asphalt, excavated the poor clay soil under it, and laid a solid-looking foundation of rock and gravel.
Tuesday morning May 3rd, they showed up early, but they had to wait a while for their asphalt supplier to start bringing loads of asphalt. Finally mid-morning that started, and the crew went to work. By early afternoon they had finished. We were extremely pleased with the result.
As instructed, we did not drive on it for 48 hours. But it was well worth the wait, and we really appreciated the great improvement in driving. The old driveway had been developing potholes (like many Michigan roads), so it was a real pleasure not to lurch up our own driveway. We are also looking forward to making use of the extra parking space on the side of the driveway. That space will make it much more convenient for our children when they come to visit. And we especially appreciated being able to drive straight into the driveway, without having to jump over the 3 inch lip at the entrance to the garage caused by the old asphalt's sinking.
We rated T. Burke's as 'excellent' in everything except price, for which we rated them as 'good'. The only reason we did not give them 'excellent' for that is that we did not do any comparison shopping, and so we do not know how their price compares to other contractors. It is possible that there are others who are cheaper. But we were not looking for cheapest, but for value, and we are confident we got that.
Despite the unexpected challenges, and inclement weather, the work was finished efficiently and professionally. The contractor consistently met schedules and kept us informed as to progress.
The final result exceeded our expectations. We will definitely use them for future projects.
"Thank you [Member Name Removed] for the kind review. I appreciate the business you gave us and look forward to working with you and your association in the future."
The biggest issue was the laziness of the workers in their clean up throughout the project. There was a lot of asphalt, concrete, and work scraps littering our yard. The metal stakes remained on our property for 6 days following the completion of their work. Only after calling to discuss the mess with the manager were they picked up.
They even left the wood molds inside the "finished" driveway along with many loose nails. Additionally, they helped themselves to our hose and proceeded to wash their tools off on our lawn (and themselves) in several different places, never going back to clean up the concrete pieces that remained following it.
It really just felt unprofessional for what we were paying.
In our estimate we were told that there would be rebar placed under the whole driveway, it only went into 1/4 of the driveway. We weren't credited for the unused rebar.
At the end of the first day our cable line was cut during their demo stage and Comcast could not come out to fix it until 2 days later so we lost 2 days of work.
We were told the job would take a day, maybe two, it took 3. All the while the workmen sat in their trucks waiting for concrete trucks to arrive (for 2 days!). It did not appear that they were in control of the overall schedule.
We were not given any direction about the completed driveway's care and maintenance. The manager came out after we complained and only then did he tell us that we should keep the surface clean as staining can occur with leaves, etc. We had no idea.
Everyone we were in touch with was very nice and friendly, however their attention to respecting our property and minimally leaving it as they found, was greatly lacking. We have small kids and pieces of concrete, nails, etc. laying around made our house unsafe for them outside until we picked up most of it. I don't think that should be our responsibility.
We discussed our issues with a Manager, he agreed that the site was left very sloppy and came out to pick up a few pieces of concrete. He also offered us free sealing (or two). He would not however knock anything else off of the price we paid. In the end, no credit would fix the sick feeling in our stomach considering what we did see of the work seemed sloppy, who knows how good the quality is where we can't see.
I am sure there are other contractors out there who are more professional overall. Use them. It seems like T Burke once ran a professional, good business but it appears that he has gotten too large and has started to lean on other partners who do not share his same values and approach to doing business.
Just disappointed. Update as of 9/08/2016: This review is meant to serve as an update to a review posted last October (I don't see of a way to update an old post on this site). In response to the review we posted in October of last year the provider gave us back $300 of the $12,500 that we paid for the service. They had also promised to seal our driveway for us for free. Since then, they have yet to seal the driveway and instead have only asked us to remove the previous post we made here on Angie's List because it made them look bad and they don't feel our experience was representative of their company. Unfortunately, their arguments in their response were not convincing and I stand by my first appraisal of this company. In my first review I noted several issues I had with the service provided. One was that the company provided us an estimate that included the use of rebar in several spots within the driveway to assure its integrity over time. As it turns out, they did not include this rebar in the project (that is why they credited us the $300) Also thought, as a result of not including this rebar in the project during this past year, the driveway has already started to crack. Unfortunately, given their lack of responsiveness (again) this year with regard to the sealing offer, and the cracks now present in the driveway stemming from their negligence I felt obligated to post and reiterate my disappointment with their original work and ensuing customer service.
"When I read this review I was, at first, saddened to read the tone of the review especially knowing the whole story. We strive to make our customers happy by doing quality and long lasting work in the most efficient manner possible. First of all, both our asphalt and concrete crews work incredibly hard each day, often times in the most grueling conditions imaginable. To call them lazy is particularly offensive to me and shows a complete lack of understanding of why this crew was waiting and why the job was delayed. After hours of removing thick heavy failed asphalt and hauling it away to an approved dump site, perfecting the grade and compacting the base, setting the forms and checking the pitch we were delayed because the cut Comcast line. What this review doesn't say is that Comcast did not install the line to a proper depth by code that would have prevented it from being cut. This delay, due to Comcast's negligence, caused an unnecessary two-day delay that upset the customer but also prevented scheduled concrete from being delivered and installed as originally planned. Nevertheless, we adjusted our schedule to install the concrete in as timely a manner as possible given the intense demand for concrete at the concrete plant. We buy our concrete from a supplier and put our orders in in advance. At the time of the year that this driveway was installed, there was an intense demand for concrete because, with winter coming, contractors like ourselves were anxious to get their work in before the weather turned for the worst. In other words, we had to again wait in line with other many other contractors for delivery. I kept our workers at the customer's site, at greater expense to me, rather than pulling them off to do something else (as most contractors would do), because I wanted this customer to be inconvenienced as little as possible. As soon as concrete was available, I wanted them to have a beautiful driveway. When the concrete arrived it was installed immediately. We did "help ourselves to their hose" because having water at the site is necessary to putting in the driveway and cleaning up properly which was done during and after installation. We removed the stakes days after installation so as not to disturb the edges of the drive according to industry standards. My Manager then cleaned the property one last time. This review about our concrete crew hurt because I know the hundreds of jobs my workers do each year and the exceptional job they do for our customers. We have an A+ rating at the Better Business Bureau and have won numerous awards for our work, including the "Best of Ann Arbor Award" several years running and the "Talk Of The Town" award just this last year. We also have over 30 reviews at [hyperlink removed], much more than any other company and have 4/5 star rating there. This particular review, one of seven, is especially devastating because it skews our overall rating in such dramatic way. Prior to this review we had a B rating at angies list and now a D rating. Given how hard we worked for this customer this is especially troubling to me. I can promise you that we are an excellent company with the highest standards."
"Thanks [removed members name] for the kind review. I will let the crew know that you were happy with their work. They take pride in what they do and it's gratifying that people like you take time to let them know. Best regards, Tom"
Forward 8 months.
Today the concrete is spalling off and the apron looks bad. After some calls T.Burke came out with two men. They looked at the mess and agreed it looked bad, but said that I had put salt down or salt came off the bottom of our vehicles and caused the problem. Other experts who looked at the situation said that it was either due to bad/cheap concrete or poor installation. T.Burke says now that his men said that I had brushed the fresh concrete with a stiff broom which disturbed the surface. I did not.
So he refused to assist or stand behind his work
The work was just completed and we are extremely pleased. Both of the work crews (excavation and paving) were friendly and accommodating and clearly very experienced at their jobs. Every step in the process went smoothly. The work was done in an efficient and timely manner, as promised. We were impressed that they swept the area, including the street, to remove every bit of debris when the job was done.
"I am very happy that you are pleased. I am proud of the crew and their work ethic. I will let them know about your review. It means a lot to us. Thanks again, Tom"
"I am not sure what other neighbors had this problem, but I do recall this gentleman's complaint. I stopped out and looked at the issue and feel that the few minor depressions were a result of the asphalt being laid too thick in certain areas. I suggested that prior to the first Sealcoat those areas could easily be reheated and addressed. I also suggested that because I had no other complaints by the other neighbors that it would be prudent to let the drive weather longer before the first Sealcoat was applied. I reasoned that because of the extra thickness of the driveway it would required longer time for the driveway to cure. Generally, it takes a driveway at least a year to a year and a half to cure. That is why we don't Sealcoat a drive right away. In this instance, the drive required, in my opinion a longer time to cure before sealcoating would be warranted. The customer was also told that those minor depressions would be repaired prior to sealcoating. I also explained that once the driveway was Sealcoated in would be much more difficult to make these simple repairs that involved simply reheating these areas and reconstituting the asphalt and added a slight bit more prior to recompacting. I feel as though he did not believe me that the driveway was laid too thick and that was the reason for the issue. He explained that he was convinced otherwise and hired someone else to do the sealcoating. I noticed that prior to having the drive Sealcoated (I had often stopped by to make sure no more indentations presented themselves over time) no more indentations developed. However, I have since Sealcoated virtually every other neighbors' driveway and haven't had any other complaints contrary to this gentleman's comment. I know he told me that he is an engineer and didn't believe my explanation, but I can only go by what I have noticed in my experience. I was more than willing to address the problem but when he went to another service person I thought he didn't want my help, especially after he had it Sealcoated against my advice."
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