We hired Nortown paving and construction approximately two years ago to replace a walkway we had around our house for over ten years. We were lifting it up to do some work in the basement and flood protection. The original was in fairly good repair. They came reasonably quickly, were in the upper middle of the pack in pricing and completed the work in an acceptable amount of time.
When they arrived to remove the old walkway they commented on the solid and strong workmanship of the previous walkway calling it old school. We had a few small issues after it was completed and with a few calls the person who did our quote came out to do the repairs and assure us that it was solid. Last summer we noticed a number of cracks and were surprised as the work had just be done but unfort. I didn't call thinking we can live with it, now chunks are coming out of the side walk were they slanted it ( I had originally asked about the corner and rear area when it was done and was told it would be fine(It looked uneven)). It looks more of a mess than the over ten year old concrete we had and now we are going to have to pay someone to fix it. The sales guy said small hairline cracks are expected after a number of years, but otherwise concrete is a good solid way to go. The man who came to look at the cracks and chunks missing gave me a quote sheet with the guarantee on the back to prove they would only guarantee their work for a year, and was extremely impatient with me, only blaming the frost and this type of damage can be expected and its normal. I was annoyed and asked about all the bad weather over the past ten years that left our old walkway in better shape? He said concrete will crack and chunks will come out, its the weather and they will not be doing anything about it.
He was still impatiently talking and muttering as he walked to his car. I mentioned this online review and he didn't seem too concerned. We are a small project - I expect as they normally work on larger projects and schools, but for us this was an a project that we budgeted and we hoped would enhance our home; not look like garbage after a few years. I would not recommend this company there are others with higher standards of customer service, stand by their work, or at very least make have a conversation/ make recommendations on how it might be repaired.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $5,500.00
- Company Response
It is most unfortunate that you can accommodate this costumer
After two years nortown received a complain on the concrete sidewalk
Industry standard Warranty work is for 0ne year.
As customer service call and warranty expired Nortown paving went to do an inspection
On inspection of concrete sidewalk we notice two cracks at the corner of the house. Our warranty does not cover this, the owner is well aware of this since is part of contract see information below.
WARRANTYNortown paving offers a ONE YEAR GUARANTEE on all materials and workmanship.
Nortown Paving & Construction Inc. does not guarantee cracks on concrete
surface & scaling of concrete due to excess usage of salt.INFORMATION ON CONCRETE WORK
Yes- concrete does crack. We do not like it either but in most cases, it is bound to happen. This is why we install crack control joints where the concrete is most likely to crack. If the concrete cracks in these control joints, this is exactly what we had hoped for.
We do everything we can to control cracking, but there is NO GUARANTEE that concrete will not crack in other places. Cracks that are 3/16” of one inch or less (in height or gap) are considered normal and are within industry standards.Colour shown on chart can vary slightly. Conditions that will cause variation are inconsistent slumb ( water ratio Content ), Finishing and curing methods, weather conditions, concrete raw materials & colour.
Above guidelines are based on recommendations listed in
"A Guide to Residential Driveway Paving", published by the
Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations.