Dun Rite Construction and Paving LLC

Gary was very communicative and professional and our new retaining walls look great. He was very helpful when it came to working through any complications and considering all options.

Best seal coat job I’ve ever had will definitely call them next time!

Gary was communicative and excellent at listening to the project I had in mind. His crew was professional and friendly. They came on time, got the job done in the projected time, and it cost what the estimate said. I couldn't be more pleased with this experience.

I contacted several asphalt paving companies, but Dun Rite responded quickly, while others did not return calls. We quickly scheduled a visit and determined the existing driveway was in bad shape with many cracks and thin spots. Replacing the driveway was the better option vs. any attempts to repair. It was also suggested we divert some runoff from the hill side of our property into a drain away from the driveway and into an existing french drain. This immediately corrected a bad standing water situation and will prevent water collecting under the driveway. Dun Rite was able to complete the work in about three days with a slight delay due to weather. This included paving the driveway and a parking pad, putting in a slight curb to channel storm water to a drain and not into flower beds, and the work to divert the natural springs. They also put fresh topsoil along the driveway and reseeded where needed. The driveway looks great and the improved drainage will be a big help as well. They were upfront in saying they were not the cheapest, but the quality of the work is excellent.

Gary and his team are complete professionals and very personable, but most importantly complete the job with such pride in the quality of the work they know they performed for you. I seriously don't know who was more pleased with the final product, them or my wife and I. Their estimate was not the cheapest, nor the most expensive, but I knew I could trust Gary with making the cost worth it in the end as he doesn't cut corners and takes the time to assure you know what you are paying for and are getting exactly what you want. You get what you pay for, and it is always cheaper to do it once and know it was done right and to your expectations.

After we contacted Gary, he came to the house and provided a quote within a few days. Once we signed the contract, the entire job was within two days! His team worked all day long. We couldn’t be happier with the finish product. It looks great. Gary was quick to fit into our schedule and eager to explain exactly what he was doing and why so we knew what we were paying for. Our retired neighbor (former contractor) asked a lot of questions and was present during the entire project and came to us to say how great of a job they did. Dun Rite is a bit pricier than others, but it is because they provide a much better quality of work. I will most certainly use them again in the future.

Very professional. Kept us informed. I was surprised how quietly the gentleman went about his work. Our driveway looks great We had our asphalt sealed. We have a really long driveway. It’s about 50 yards long or so.

Job went very well. Gary, the owner, took the time to explain the job in detail - both before and after completion. Very knowledgeable and professional. The job was complicated and required some follow up work, but Gary was always available. Dunn Rite was not the least expensive (nor the most expensive), but I believe we got our moneys worth. We would definitely recommend them, especially for large and complex jobs.

It was good.  They did a really nice job.  Everything looks really good.  They guy was really nice.  My only complaint was that he wasn't great at communicating, like if there was a problem and they weren't going to be there that day.  There was a big delay in actually starting the job.  They were going to start it in July, I think, and they didn't end up starting until much later than that, but that wasn't his fault.  It was more the weather.  They did a really good job.  Punctuality was good when they did actually come.

Job went very well only had to do minor cosmetic touches. Very happy with results would hire Gary again.

Gary the owner was great. Not only was he responsive to all our calls but he took the time to explain how and why things needed to be done. We had several other bids for the job and his price wasn't the lowest however we felt we were getting our moneys worth . He looked at the other bids and explained why they were cheaper. This is something we don't want to not have to do again. Gary was on the job site everyday and not only did he supervised but did much of the work. We are very pleased with the work he did and would and have recommended him to others. If you hire Dun Rite you won't be disappointed. He is an honest guy in a field of dishonest contractors. Proof of this is he accidentally damaged our porch roof and true to his word fixed it before taking our final payment. Thank You Dun Rite.

Background:
We had a gravel driveway, half of which was on a 150 foot long hill that was drained poorly and was untenable during the Pennsylvania winters. The gravel could not be properly shoveled, salt was ineffective, snow blowers would have shotgunned rocks and plowing wasn't an option without pushing all of the gravel into the road. All of this was made worse by bad drainage which not only created an ice-sheet on the hill, but even pooled on the level top portion: creating a 10 inch thick sheet of ice winter. (The sheet of ice was so bad, that two years ago we had a vehicle get stuck on the level part of the driveway for four days.)

We had at least a dozen different contractor estimates to improve the drive ranging from just grading, to cement and pavement.

Our first attempt to remedy the driveway involved hiring another contractor (before Dun Rite). That initial try was to just grade the drive and put a new layer of rock in place. That worked for about one season before it was useless again.
We tried having that same contractor pave the driveway, but he put us off for an entire year in spite of numerous calls to him and promises that he'd get to it 'next month'. 
It was at the end of that frustrating fall (2015) that we found Dun Rite's excellent reviews here on Angie's List and called Gary for an estimate. After reviewing the drive and discussing our particulars, he emailed us an estimate about a week later. Unfortunately, at that time, new expenses had arisen that required us to put the job off until the spring of 2016.

And then, in 2016, with our money in hand, we called Gary and asked to come out and review the job again, which he did. Even though it was about 7 months later, he committed to honoring his earlier bid.

A number of reviewers say that Dun Rite isn't cheap, but I actually found them on par with the other bids I was getting and cheaper than many (even discounting the costlier cement estimates.) And now that the job is done, I can say this about the quality of their work: extraordinarily impressive, to say the least.

Scheduling:
In March of 2016, we asked Gary to schedule the work, which he set as the first week in June. (We noted that we could be flexible with timing.) The day of the job, Gary and team showed up on time, prepared to go to work. - In fact: they jumped right in and where underway before we even knew it.

The first day, a team of four (lead by Gary) excavated the driveway.

The second day, Gary and a team of 7 others paved the driveway. 

The third day, a team of three came to lay in topsoil, plant grass and fix our sidewalk's pave stones so that they lined up to our new driveway. (This time without Gary, but with a team leader who did a fine job representing.)

Every day the team was on time and Gary kept us apprised of the schedule.

Professionalism and Communication:
A few reviews here ding Dun Rite for not returning calls or emails, but we did not encounter that issue. The 'worst' we experienced was an occasional delay of a couple days in response to a call, email or text but certainly nothing to complain about.

Still, if that is a shortcoming others have experienced, we'd suggest: Gary is clearly busy, being personally involved in these projects, so we can only imagine that an occasional communication slips through the gaps. Our suggestion: follow-up. Dun Rite is worth working with, and if that means an occasional follow up call or email, it's an easy effort with great payoff.

In terms of professionalism, the team conducted themselves with great courtesy and manners. Everyone was friendly, hard working and helpful: happy to answer questions.

Gary is clearly the spirit of the team, and even when he wasn't around, his team members spoke highly of him.

We watched the team work for over three days, and even when we were not in their field of view, we never once saw anything but quality, committed hard work. 

Quality of Work:
We were blown away by the obvious dedication to rock solid, polished work. Without fail, the team went the extra mile.

Now, thanks to Dun Rite, the foundation of our driveway is at least 6 inches of compacted rock and gravel dust. In places, (in order to properly drain the driveway), they dug down 30 inches on what as previously the 'level' portion of the driveway!

At the end of the first day, before they'd even put down an ounce of blacktop, the graded and compacted driveway was already better than our old driveway and was almost cement hard.

It was after this foundation was done that the team then laid down 3 inches of binder and 2 inches of top coat (5 inches of pavement in total.) It was during the paving process that curbs were added around 90%+ of the drive. (There were two sections where the drive met two different sidewalks where it was not required and would have only been a tripping hazard.)

Throughout the process of leveling and paving, Gary and team made fastidious measurements with laser finders survey tools, levels and pavement depth measurement guides. The attention to detail was remarkable.

The work included laying down a crush resistant conduit pipe so that we might run electrical to the other side of the driveway in the future.

They had some extra blacktop leftover, and were generous enough to lay down a pad of pavement under our mailbox which has been sloppy and muddy ever since the township laid drains down our road.

Gary was intimately involved throughout the entire process. - It is easy to see what why is team respects him. He was hands on: driving back-loaders (like a master), taking measurements, raking out the hot pavement and providing guidance throughout.

The back of our driveway meets an 8 foot high steep embankment that was more cliff than hill. After consulting with us, Gary used the backloader to make the old cliff a greatly improved graded slope.

Our front sidewalk, which is comprised of paver bricks, was no longer level with our newly graded driveway, so Gary had team members take up about 6 feet of the sidewalk and regrade it to match the driveway: eliminating a potentially ugly tripping hazard.

Through the entirety of the project, watching the team work, one could see real craftsmanship on display. We only half joked with them that they were artist at work.

Cost and Value:
As noted above, we had a good number of onsite estimates done from a variety of well respected vendors. Dun Rite's costs came in the middle range of quotes.

Now, one can only afford what one can afford, and our wish list exceeded our budget. (Doesn't it always?) But Gary worked with us to find happy solutions that gave us maximum bang for our buck. We're confident that if we ever go to sell the house, we've increased its curb appeal and property value.

There is no doubt that we received top-notch value for our dollar.

Recommendations:
We whole heartily recommend Gary and his Dun Rite team!

We've learned that he does a lot more than paving and driving including retaining walls, garages, hardscaping and other construction. Based on the quality of his work, Dun Rite will be the first call that we'll make.

Closing Thoughts:
Gary has indicated that this driveway should last a good 30 years and after that, it might just need a new top-coat. After seeing how it was completed,we believe him.

We also asked him about driveway sealant. He educated us that the sealant serves two primary purposes: aesthetics (for that rich, black look) and to keep oils at bay. He also indicated that many people too often treat their driveway too frequently (which can result in build up and cracking.) Likely, we'll get an initial sealant in a year or so. Gary indicated that he puts the first application with a double treatment, with a light san

We called Gary on a Monday and he showed up Wednesday to look at the job. He was very confident and knowledgeable.  He answered all our questions and we felt very confident that he was the right guy for the job. After we accepted his bid he found a day the following week where he could fit us into his schedule. His crew came out and got to work right away, they did not stop until the job was done. Now we have a level surface and the kids are out there almost every day.

unknown

Very beautiful job.

Working with Gary and Dun Rite Construction was able as easy of a process as I could have hoped for. It can definitely be an uneasy and difficult decision hiring a contractor because it's a significant amount of money to spend without any guarantees of the final product. Contractors in general are notorious for delaying, not returning calls, not showing up once they've gotten their deposit and the list goes on. I can almost guarantee you will have very few problems working with Gary and his crew and you'll love the finished product. 
From start to finish, they were amazing. Gary and his crew replaced the roof and created an amazing walkway and front porch. We also had a major problem in the back yard with water buildup because of how the yard is sloped. They dug and installed a drainage system around the house, tied it into the gutters under the ground and now the water flows nicely onto the street rather than building up in the yard.
While they do specialize in areas like asphalt/concrete driveway and retaining walls, they are an overall great construction company. They likely won't be the cheapest option you have but the quality of work is outstanding. 
I forgot about posting this review last summer when the work was done but remembered today because I'm having Gary do additional work in a home that I just purchased. Thanks again for everything.

unknown

Once they got started, very efficient, finished job in anticipated time.
Somewhat expensive.

After trying to deal with a different company who strung us along for over a year about paving the driveway, I finally started calling new numbers. Even though it was already late in the season, Gary responded immediately and came out that night for an initial assessment. He was very forthcoming and knowledgable about several issues and willing to discuss things from every angle and option. This is how we got to also discussing a water intrusion issue in our basement and internal vs external french drains for solving the problem, and he was one of the few contractors who heard us out about prefering external.

When we agreed to the proposals he was able to fit us in and even came earlier than expected when a slot opened up. He and his team were also willing to work together with the contractors deconstructing the basement from the water intrusion when the days coincided. This is how we found out about the foundation weakness when the drywall came down, and Gary's team was able to assess, discuss with us, and begin fixing the issue the same day and then still continue with the rest of the work. They ended up grouting our foundation from the outside, which from the research I did upon the recomendation for this, matched that it is the best technique for our type of wall and also a relatively new one that is more effective than older ones, so he definitely is up to date and knows what he is talking about! Everything held up great during the last rain after we had the work done; we didn't see one drip of water come through.

For the driveway, rather than digging the whole thing up to fix the deep holes that were in it or just patching and coating, he was able to use what we already had as a base to build up from, and made everything nice and thick and solid. We also asked to have the slope/grade of it fixed to be less steep at the beginning and they did a great job of making it much smoother and made sure the surrounding land matched and still looked normal, even blending some asphalt to make a smooth transition down to the sidewalk again.

This company is great at understanding the issue/goal and the best way to address things, even if you don't know to ask for it. They were able to suggest or just fix things such as an extra downspout to help further with handling water, and they also relandscaped the slope of the yard and removed a tree for no extra charge while everything was dug up for installing the drain. They do cost more, but it is worth it for being able to trust the reliability and the work, and as far as I can tell, a lot of the difference is simply in product cost because they don't skimp where other companies might.

Highly recommended! Thank you Gary!

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First I must tell you, if you are looking for a quality job then call Gary at Dunrite Construction. Quality comes at a price but I have found out that is the price you pay for a quality job. If you are all about the price then call someone else most likely you will receive a cheap job. Gary works on your projects like it is own house. I can't express enough what a good job Gary and his men did. Even though he had a set back when one of his men was over come with a heart problem. Gary never missed a beat. I had some other work done a French drain. Gary worked with me and the project came out great. In my book Gary sets the pace of his trade Sincerely Ray

Gary is a great guy. He was very meticulous and was there all the time. The work was done perfectly. You wont be disappointed with his work. I feel he takes pride in the work he does. Did not cut any corners.Will positively hire again.

Excellent job, I am very satisfied with the work and Gary's professionalism.  I will definitely use him again!

They did a great job . They were there when they said and came back later in summer to seal seam at  the top of the driveway without us even calling to remind him. We are very happy with the  way it looks and its easer to shovel the snow off.

he graded the old driveway and lay new stone ,put in new drains , and then lay a new driveway. it looks very nice and the water runs off very well. we are very happy with him and his work