OK....for those of you who might be looking for a paving contractor, I'll post my recent experience FYI... I went with a highly recommended contractor
(been in business a long time with a good BBB record). Had my 1800 sq ft
concrete driveway asphalted. The concrete base was in good shape with no
missing chunks; in a couple of areas there was surface scaling and was getting unsightly (which is why we wanted it re-done with asphalt).
Driveway was laid in Mar 2007 and was sealcoated in May 2007. In Jul 2007,
some cracks started appearing. I called the contractor and they came out
to "fix" the cracks (they used a torch to heat the cracks and then rolled out
the areas to smooth and feather them in). In Oct 2007, the cracks started
re-appearing. I again called the company and they said they would have
my sales representative/estimator come by and take another look. I called them back in Nov 2007 and was told that the estimator did stop by; he knew
what the problem was; and would talk to the owner to determine what would
be the best course of action to address the problem. However, because bad
weather was upon us and that the asphalt plants would be shutting down, they probably would not be able to effect any fix until the Spring; to which
I said no problem. I just wanted to get this problem "down on record" and
they assured me that they wouldn't forget about me. On 12 Mar 2008, I
started calling the contractor back to see when they were going to come out
and fix the cracks in my driveway (which started within four months after the driveway was laid..). I was told that my sales representative/estimator had
my paperwork and should be contacting me soonest. Never did receive back
any calls/visits from my sales representative/estimator after many phone calls
to the company about fixing this problem. Finally, after many persistent
calls to the company, I finally received a phone call back from the manager
on 11 Apr 2008. He told me that my cracking driveway issue had been discussed with the owner; that the owner had been aware of my case; but,
there's nothing more they will do to fix the problem. He said they had already
attempted once to effect a fix by heating and rolling the cracks and there's
nothing more they can do; and that this can potentially happen when asphalt
is laid over concrete and that this should have been explained to me by the
sales representative/estimator. I told the manager that I had in fact discussed this with my sales representative/estimator during the estimate;
and we both acknowledged that I may not get ten or fifteen or twenty years
out of this asphalted driveway. I told him I was only looking for three to five
years (because we intend on moving) to which he told me I shouldn't have any problems. The manager reiterated some of the potential issues when
laying asphalt over concrete, however, he also acknowledged that the cracking problems appearing in only four months was highly unusal...
ASPHALT CONTRACTOR: Joseph Marini Asphalt (Clinton, MD)
ESTIMATOR: David Norwood
So, for those of you...this is MY story...
vr,
"Disappointed Homeowner"
So, for those of you out there, this is my story
(been in business a long time with a good BBB record). Had my 1800 sq ft
concrete driveway asphalted. The concrete base was in good shape with no
missing chunks; in a couple of areas there was surface scaling and was getting unsightly (which is why we wanted it re-done with asphalt).
Driveway was laid in Mar 2007 and was sealcoated in May 2007. In Jul 2007,
some cracks started appearing. I called the contractor and they came out
to "fix" the cracks (they used a torch to heat the cracks and then rolled out
the areas to smooth and feather them in). In Oct 2007, the cracks started
re-appearing. I again called the company and they said they would have
my sales representative/estimator come by and take another look. I called them back in Nov 2007 and was told that the estimator did stop by; he knew
what the problem was; and would talk to the owner to determine what would
be the best course of action to address the problem. However, because bad
weather was upon us and that the asphalt plants would be shutting down, they probably would not be able to effect any fix until the Spring; to which
I said no problem. I just wanted to get this problem "down on record" and
they assured me that they wouldn't forget about me. On 12 Mar 2008, I
started calling the contractor back to see when they were going to come out
and fix the cracks in my driveway (which started within four months after the driveway was laid..). I was told that my sales representative/estimator had
my paperwork and should be contacting me soonest. Never did receive back
any calls/visits from my sales representative/estimator after many phone calls
to the company about fixing this problem. Finally, after many persistent
calls to the company, I finally received a phone call back from the manager
on 11 Apr 2008. He told me that my cracking driveway issue had been discussed with the owner; that the owner had been aware of my case; but,
there's nothing more they will do to fix the problem. He said they had already
attempted once to effect a fix by heating and rolling the cracks and there's
nothing more they can do; and that this can potentially happen when asphalt
is laid over concrete and that this should have been explained to me by the
sales representative/estimator. I told the manager that I had in fact discussed this with my sales representative/estimator during the estimate;
and we both acknowledged that I may not get ten or fifteen or twenty years
out of this asphalted driveway. I told him I was only looking for three to five
years (because we intend on moving) to which he told me I shouldn't have any problems. The manager reiterated some of the potential issues when
laying asphalt over concrete, however, he also acknowledged that the cracking problems appearing in only four months was highly unusal...
ASPHALT CONTRACTOR: Joseph Marini Asphalt (Clinton, MD)
ESTIMATOR: David Norwood
So, for those of you...this is MY story...
vr,
"Disappointed Homeowner"
So, for those of you out there, this is my story
