Allied Construction

Without a hitch-a great job.

Really well.

Allied was very professional and did excellent work. We did have to show flexibility to fit in between their larger jobs

Allied's estimator/engineer, Carl, came to our home on 4/7/16 to provide an estimate for tear out and replacement of existing asphalt driveways.  We discussed when the work could be done and he assured me it could be done in May and that the asphalt plants weren't opening until around 4/21.  We signed the contract and sent in the deposit on 4/22/16.  As of 5/4/16 I had heard nothing about scheduling the job (Carl and I had talked about a target date of 5/5/16 or so as some garage construction that was going on at my house was projected to finish around that date) so on 5/4/16 I called their main office to see when they'd be out.  I received no call back, thus on 5/5/16 I called Carl directly.  He gave me a song and dance about how residential jobs were not a priority with their company and that they had many commercial and governmental jobs which took precedence.  Well imagine my surprise that I wasn't told that during the estimate!  He said they'd get to me whenever they could and that I'd get a call the night before a crew would come out. I advised I needed some idea of when the job would be scheduled as I was trying to coordinate landscaping work, our schedules, access to parking, etc.  Carl suggested I call the scheduler, Rick.

 I called and left a message for Rick on 5/5/16 and he called back later in the day and advised that my job wouldn't be scheduled until June and he couldn't give any estimate of when in June.

I had an e-mail from Andrew the VP of the company so I wrote him and advised that I felt misled by Carl in telling me that the job could be done in May and now I was getting a non-firm date sometime in June.  Andrew wrote back and told me I had not been misled, the jobs were 1st come-1st served, that rain had slowed them down and I could just go and find another contractor (of course he well knows that I'll be at the "back of the line" with any new contractor hired now and won't get the job done until July or later - so his glib attitude is clearly punitive).

So I was never told by the estimator/engineer that the company favored "big" jobs over residential jobs when I signed up (just when I inquired as to why I hadn't been contacted/scheduled).  I wasn't told time was of the essence to get the contract signed and deposit in as it was 1st come, 1st served (it was discussed the asphalt plants weren't even open yet and we specifically discussed starting around 5/5) thus I selected this contractor over others who fairly advised me they couldn't get to me until June.  I then waited without any notice of being scheduled, or response to my call to find out when I'd be scheduled, which was time wasted when I could have "gotten in line" with another contractor.  The administration then showed they care nothing about residential jobs by their dismissive attitude towards me and my "little" job.

If you have a commercial job, you may want these guys.  If you have a residential job, I don't think you want them at all.  I don't even know why they take residential jobs with attitudes like theirs toward the "little" consumer (as a monetary fall back if their big jobs don't go?).

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I went with them because they had a good rating and they backed that up. They did a great job. Their quality and everything they did was professional. We were really happy with them. They did good work. I would absolutely use them in the future.

I called the 800 number to recieve an estimate for my residential driveway to be replaced.  I was told that someone would call me back to schedule that same day.  I recieved a call 1 week later from Allied Construction.  He said looking at my home on Google Maps is looked like I had Xsqft and it would cost approximately $5000 to replace, however they have a "minimum" for mobilization of $7500 because they have state of the art equipment and it wouldn't be work their time to do a small residential driveway.  He recommended that I contact one of the "small time" operations for my project.  Don't call Allied if you have a residential driveway.  It's a waste of time.

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Complicated job but Allied is a professional outfit with the resources and knowledge to deal with the various complexities that my property required.  Was ALWAYS able to speak directly with the owner who ensured my satisfaction.

Wisely advised delaying driveway rebuild.

Excellent / professional company.  You get what  you pay for with these guys.  They are more pricey than their competitors, but they do the job right and you can be sure you are getting work that will last. Several of our neighbors had used them previously and told us to just pick Allied if we want it done correctly and stop wasting your time (i.e. we only had to look at their completed jobs and how they were aging to know what we were getting for our dollar).

 

We had a grading issue and were VERY VERY CONCERNED and specific as to how we wanted the water to flow.  Ken the Allied Engineer / Sales Rep was extremely helpful and we consulted him multiple times before agreeing on the work to be completed.  He went above and beyond in trying to help us with our problem and offering his advice / support.  He spent a lot of time with us to understand the specific problem and to be certain their work would help or correct the situation.  The driveway was completed quickly and everything looks great!  Best of all our concerning grading / water flow issue has now been entirely solved!! 

 

Great work Ken and the Allied crew who completed our job.  Thank you!

 

 

Never had the work done.
But beware of your measurements.

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Allied did the job in 2 days.  The first day they removed the old driveway and sidewalk and replaced with crushed concrete.  We were able to use the driveway until the following week when they did the paving.  It took one day for the paving.  Allied ended up using more materials then what was in the estimate,  but they didn't charge additional.  They made sure that the asphalt was leveled so that water would run off away from the house and garage.  During the removal process they  found a sewer clean out that was buried under the old driveway.  They extended the pipe so that it was level with the new driveway.  The estimator had good ideas when planning for the new driveway.  He had the driveway in front of the porch widened so you could enter/exit the car and not have to step on the grass.  He also suggested that the driveway taper from the wide middle to the smaller 10 ft entrances to enable more room on the 2 curves of the driveway.  All the workers were polite and professional.  I would definitely use them again.

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They eliminated a drainage problem we had with our original driveway. They were on time and very professional with all phases of the job.

Our driveway directly adjoins our neighbor's.  Allied Construction worked with the neighbor's contractor and was able to improve drainage for both properties, and even helped the other contractor with some of the trickier engineering aspects.
In terms of delivered product, ability to work in unusual conditions, and customer service above and beyond the call, I would recommend Allied Construction to anyone and everyone.

It went very well.

The driveway is 4,270 sq ft. Also remove 2,168 sq ft of old existing asphalt where driveway is partially paved. End result 87 tons of asphalt. Tom Tracy came out the same day we called. Because the cost is higher than we anticipated we have decided to wait until next year to have it done. Tom was very knowledgeable and we appreciated him taking the time to explain what had to be done.

Selecting Allied Construction was the culmination of a 1-month long 'research project' on driveway paving, online search of the technology and potential contractors, free quotes from 4 contractors, and job visits to work done recently and 5 to 15 years ago.  Also conversation with a home builder with extensive paving contractor experience. I wanted an asphalt driveway professionally installed with good appearance, quality, and by someone who has been in the business in the same community for at least 10 or more years.  My desire is for the drive to last 20+ years with minimal maintenance and degradation and one I would be pleased with every day I drove on it.
I learned that everyone's drive looks good when first installed, and the first year...unless they can't keep a straight line or level and quality of workmanship is lacking. I learned that 'base' preparation (excavation, soil type, compaction) are as important as the thickness and quality of installation of the asphalt. I had a 5"+ compacted 21AA limestone driveway base that had been driven on for 10 years, so that was considered excellent.  Looking at some older drives, with numerous cracks and small holes even at 5 years old indicated generally poor soil base preparation and perhaps too thin or wrong asphalt. I spoke with homeowners whenever possible to verify the age of the paving, how easy it was to work with the contractors, how well the contractors respected their property, cleaned-up afterwards, and fixed any problems.  Allied's drives I visited typically had no cracks at 5, 8, and one at 15 years old and were 2" - 4" thick. Customers had good experiences throughout the job spoke highly of their professionalism.  I learned the type of asphalt application equipment, weight of roller's, etc. is also important in a long lasting finished product.  Quality equipment assures you of an even application, uniform thickness, better finish. In general, heavier is better in rollers to achieve the desired 90+% compaction of the soil sub-base and asphalt. Allied specifies 95% compaction and uses MDoT approved 'highway road' type paving equipment. To keep things fair, the final tonnage of materials, thickness of application, and asphalt material specifications should be same or equivalent. In our area, MDoT 1100T 'hot mix' asphalt is typically used for residential. The contractor who claims to do the job with 15 tons less material is shortchanging you someplace.  All my final quotes were within 1 ton. Be sure to get the actual 'weight tickets' from the truck drivers to verify the type and amount of asphalt actually used vs. quoted.  Ease of working with the contractor, workmanship, long-term established in the community, and final quality and support are important to me.  I also like straight lines, gradual curves, even surfaces, etc. The drive has to look good every day.
Allied's crew started, as promised, at 7:30 AM.  First the bulldozer 'cut' the drive boundaries and established the grade. I was impressed with the operator's skills, accuracy, and reuse of my existing gravel. He, like all of the crew, was careful of our property, lawn sprinkler heads (which I had marked), etc. Additional crew members arrived and marked straight lines with bright string, curves and other lines 'to keep' with ground paint. The asphalt paver followed these and with a steady stream of asphalt trucks, loading raw asphalt into it's hopper, completed the task in a couple of hours. The rolling-compacting started as soon as a patch of asphalt had been laid down and after another few hours all was smooth and even...exactly as planned.  All pavement edges and joints to my existing concrete pad were hand-tamped.  When originally looking at previous Allied jobs, I thought they had a machine to make the even and smooth curves, including the slight curb to direct water runoff.  No, they are all hand-tamped with a careful eye to be sure they are even and smooth.  Job was done about 4:00PM.  Before leaving, the Foreman mentioned that should I see any problems or concerns to call him personally and he would see that they are fixed promptly.
In summary, given the significant money investment and long-life expectations, what sold me on Allied was how good their drives looked up to 15 years later, the visual quality of their work (old and new), and very favorable comments by their homeowner customers in addition to Angie's List comments.  No, they were not the 'cheapest' but they were very competitive and (I think) worth a little extra cost.

Perfectly. Very professional, the driveway is gorgeous. Came right over when I had a concern. They also have helped me find a business when I needed to have fill dirt and top soil delivered here last week. Highly recommend these people!!

The workers from Allied Construction were punctual, reasonable, and fair. They have a good reputation on Angie's List.