Bad job by my contractor (insurance, how much, attorney)

[zcoachjen]

I am having a huge patio built made of cement, my contractor gave me a great price of $3300, I had to give him 1500 up front and just gave them another $800. They have only framed and thru some filler in (broken up bricks) and they did pour two portions of paio. The problem is that the cement looks horrible..its not level, there are a lot of air bubbles underneath, its really really rough. They said that it was a bad load of cement and that they are going to break it up and pour new one..there is more then 60% filler so instead of really getting 4 inches of cement I will be getting like 2 inches. On top of this nightmare it has been 5 weeks since they framed. I have had three other contractors come out and look at whats out there and they all said "its the worse work they have ever seen". I now want to stop any further work and get at least 80% of my money back, i will take care of getting rid of the fill and the cement they poured. My question is do you guys think I will get my money back? Or do you think I will have to take them to court over this. Has anyone ever had an experience like this? Please I need feed back....and on top of everything the wife wont let my husband speak to her husband (the one doing the job)...when they say they are coming they dont show up and half the time dont even call..always with an excuse. they also brought a cement truck thru my neighbors yard and really made a mess of it they are suppose to fix it, but I doubt they will...ADVISE PLEASE.......
THANK YOU..

[Ms_Christina]

What does your contract say? Consult an attorney.

[Ms_Christina]

Also, we had these guys do our patio and they were done in 2 days.

[Ms_Christina]

oops the link would help
Stamped concrete NJ by Color Stamp Concrete, NJ's Artistic stamped concrete, colored concrete and patterned concrete contractor Deptford NJ

[timneh5]

I would consult with an attorney. You should be able to get all of your money returned and the amount it costs to remove the damage that was done. 5 weeks sounds excessive. This is holding up your life and I'm sure is stressful.

[zcoachjen]

I had two more contractors come out and they said the job is horrible (what little they did) they also stated it was unsafe. We called them Saturday and all the wife did was yell stating "it was a bad batch of cement", she would not let us speak to the husband. On top of this, they were suppose to come today (monday) with the concrete people to look at the cement that was poured so they can get a refund, well they never showed nor did they call. We have called and text them all day long, my husband even cancelled a dr.s appt today so he can be here when they got here. Now they will probably come tomorrow when we are not home to pick up what little equipment they have in the back yard but my son-in-law will be here and he is going to tell them nicely that we want our money back if not I am taking them to court. This has been a nightmare, my yard is a mess. My dogs have difficulty coming in and out of our home due to the yard being torn up. Any more advise? I do hope I can get my money back.. Should I just put a small claims at the court house?

[NJGOAT]

Originally Posted by zcoachjen

I had two more contractors come out and they said the job is horrible (what little they did) they also stated it was unsafe. We called them Saturday and all the wife did was yell stating "it was a bad batch of cement", she would not let us speak to the husband. On top of this, they were suppose to come today (monday) with the concrete people to look at the cement that was poured so they can get a refund, well they never showed nor did they call. We have called and text them all day long, my husband even cancelled a dr.s appt today so he can be here when they got here. Now they will probably come tomorrow when we are not home to pick up what little equipment they have in the back yard but my son-in-law will be here and he is going to tell them nicely that we want our money back if not I am taking them to court. This has been a nightmare, my yard is a mess. My dogs have difficulty coming in and out of our home due to the yard being torn up. Any more advise? I do hope I can get my money back.. Should I just put a small claims at the court house?

Given the dollar amount involved I don't think you can go through small claims court. I think the max for small claims in NJ is $3,000 unless under special circumstances. Given the dollar amount invovled, this will be a regular civil court case and you will need to get an attorney. Most times, just getting an attorney involved at all may be enough to get them to issue the refund.

[True about HI]

You probably got 2000 estimates decided to go with the guy from the corner because he was cheap a good contractor will charge you $15 sq ft for concrete , so now you want to blame only them yes they are to blame but you are to blame as well DO NOT HIRE CHEAP WORKERS IF YOU CANT AFFORD DO NOT DO IT OR DO YOURSELF

[bigh110]

Just to be wondering did they pull a permit? are they licensed/registered to work in your town? Did you ask for his liability insurance to give your neighbor so they can get the yard fixed? if you are not sure call the township and ask I am fairly sure technically you are responsible to get the permit so you might catch some flack from the township but at least the company is now on record. by chance, if a permit was given for the job then the code enforcement officer can and will get involved. code enforcement may have some pull to get them to fix the damage. you can also threaten to call the township code enforcement and report the contractor. this may get him to respond if he ever wants to legally work in your town again. Send them a certified letter also stating the facts and ask for specific demands (like how much money you want returned, to remove bad concrete, fix the neighbors yard) to be met in case it goes to court you have proof the contractor received your demands via certified letter this will be the first thing the court will require you to do anyway.
just wondering did you call the concrete company and see if it really is a bad batch or did they just wait too long to finish the concrete and it hardened up on them too soon. even a bad batch of concrete should be easily leveled with a screed and bullfloat as soon as it comes out the truck.
I know code by my house requires a minimum 2 inches of fill usually 3/4 stone. brick is softer then concrete and is not a very good base. on top of the 3/4 inch stone will be 4 inches of concrete.

[Jerseykids2011]

It's a shame. Do they have an office or work from some guy's garage? How did you choose the company? My fear would be that the owner would simply 'dissolve' as a company (an LLC?) and re-start under a new name...