Dan Lovelace Masonry Concrete

Mr. Lovelace presented plans that were approved by our condo association.  He was to remove the wooden patio, install 4-6" gravel (4 yds), and 4" concrete (2.75 yds). The concrete was to be stamped, colored, and sealed.  A 48" sidewalk was to be added to join  the patio to the stairs from the upper deck.  There was to be no change to the deck footprint or the support of the upper deck.  Total cost:$2,500.  Work began on 9/20/2011.  Removal of the existing patio uncovered a serious drainage problem with standing water under the wood.  Mr. Lovelace suggested the solution was to run a drain from the front of our property to a pond at the back of our yard, 300 feet away.  Two eave troughs would be tied into the drain and a catch basin would be installed about a third of the way down the hill. The catch basin would be 2-3 inches below ground level. This would get rid of run-off from our roof and our yard and and divert the water from under the patio.  The cost would be $650.    To complete the total project on schedule, there would not be time to present the water problem to the condo board for help. so we paid for the drain to be installed by Mr. Lovelace's workers..  A yard of topsoil was brought in and spread in drain area to be covered with grass seed..   On October 4 half of the needed concrete was poured for the stamped patio.  Mr. Lovelace and the concrete company disagreed as to who erred in assuring the necessary amount of cement would arrive.  This concrete was colored, stamped, and sealed.   On October 8 the other half of the concrete was poured,and stamped.  The color did not match the first half.  We were told it was because  the second half was not yet sealed.  Mr. Lovelace said he would return in the spring and seal the complete patio to give the best look.   Soon after, we left as planned for our winter home, returning on May 15, 2011.  We found that where the patio edge  met the house edge chunks of cement, dollar-bill size, 1/2 inch thick, had popped from frost.  The dirt had washed away from the catch basin and the drain was now 3 inches above ground level.   We called Mr. Lovelace and made four different appointments to have him inspect the drain and patio. He finally came near the end of May.  He said he would repair the drain with more dirt and he would glue the pieces back into the cement.  However, he did not have any money and wanted us to pay his workers for labor and to pay for the material.  By this time we did not trust Mr. Lovelace to solve the issues nor did we want to pay his workers to try.   We asked another contractor to look at the project.  He found mistakes in the way the patio was prepared in order to withstand freezing and thawing.  We paid this man $1000 to redo some of the drainage work and to do what he could to improve the patio. This was completed between 6/5/2011 - 6/27/2011. We had asked Mr. Lovelace to at least bring us 5 gallons of sealer, and we would apply it.  He has made several promises to do that, but as yet it hasn't arrived.  He no longer answers our phone calls.   We learned later that he did not obtain any permits for this work.   We no longer expect any restitution from Mr. Lovelace.  We do hope to warn other people that he is definitely not a reliable, qualified contractor.