So bloody pissed right now!

Sorry to hear about the mess they made. Someone above mentioned if the steps were to code. Unable to tell about height, but most places require a handrail to be in code. Insurance company may bug you about it as well.

 

If you haven’t paid them for shit tell them to come remove that off your property! Hire some one else.

 

Looks like you need an extra half step. I'm guessing they didnt want to cut the third step or can't and that was their result.

Dont pay them. It's a safety hazard as is.

 

Where you at? Im gonna be in Mass this wknd at my husband’s house.. i’ll come by and go full militarized German mode on em for you

 

So an update:

The owner called me last night and instead of saying "I am sorry you are not happy, how about if I stop in tomorrow and take a look" he berated and yelled at me stating I got what I paid for and that pavement would fix that first step. FYI there is about a 3 inch gap between the pavement and the first step because the pervious stairs were a bit longer. Measuring at pavement level the first stair with cement pad measures 13.5 inches, and in my opinion that would be way too high for simple pavement grading to fix. Anyway after the berating we came to the conclusion that I would put in writing that they could come take their materials back and I would move on to a new company!

Thanks everyone for advice and for the willingness to beat them up ( @FlyingWolfe ) LOL.

-T

 

Make sure to be home when they arrive to insure there is no further property damage.

 

The guy never read "How to win Friends and Influence People" has he?

 

Clearly he hasn't, and I feel like he isn't at all listening to what I am saying. It's like he has a height stuck in his head and cannot hear that it is wrong! Anyway I sent some additional photos with a measuring tape and maybe he will get it.

Imagine if he was calm and agreed to come look at it and talk it over...

-T

 

I would do what @Tundra234 did to the concrete guys that did his neighbor's driveway. People like those you are dealing with need to be throat punched! Let the city do it... It'll have more of an impact! And if you have already paid them, tell them you want your money back and they can come get their materials back or you'll take them to court and sue them. Then hire someone else to do the job correctly.

 

Someone installed a deck on a house I was renting with a 12” rise to it. Builder insisted it was the best he could do (probably didn’t want to spend anymore time or money on it). I was there and kept saying it was unacceptable (of course he was a fit guy took a step and said something to the effect of how easy it was). Landlord didn’t really care, so later that summer my mom really struggled to get in the house and I repeatedly tripped up and down especially when hands were full.
Sorry you had this happen, but some people have to be “right“ even when they’re clearly wrong. I feel your pain, and you are definitely right here. Good luck getting this worked out.

 

Not even close. code is roughly 7" of rise with a 10"(?) step. it varies slightly from state to state.

 

WOW!!! Hate when they try to take advantage of people!! Can you imagine how many times he has done this and done this to the elderly and gotten away with it!!!!

 

Jesus that is a pitiful job and I’m guessing it wasn’t cheap.

 

Don’t forget the power of social media and Yelp and google reviews. I would blast his ass all over. Good reviews are what we look for now in days and this wouldn’t look good at all. Take pictures with a tape measure so people can see how bad of a job he did

 

Wow - gladly give his steps back and all those rocks to...lol
Good luck my friend

 

Yup.. a happy customer will tell ten friends, a pissed customer will tell a hundred. I don't think this guy has heard that saying before.

 

And his concrete blocks and cigarette butts. Buncha animals

 

If i left a job site like that i wouldn't be employed through the rest of yhe day. Completely incompetent and should be

Moving forward OP make sure you get everything in writing

 

Wow that is certainly a mess and for someone to walk away from that job thinking they're finished is crazy. I think 3 steps would have been too much and potentially created a low point at the steps causing drainage issues as the contractor said. Although it Looks to me like 2 steps wasn't quite enough so they had to build it up with stone and the pad. I think some cleanup and topsoil would solve your issues to me, something a so called landscaping company should be doing without having to be asked.

 

@trucksareforgirls2

please keep us updated on this. I remember a post you made a few months back asking if you should have a deck built or steps.

you do have a very nice looking place

 

It may be my area but 2 steps don't require a railing but 3 steps would require a railing. Obviously there's more work for the additional step and railing, which is probably why they said "you got what you paid for". If he said you couldn't do three steps because of draining, then he should have also said you will have a steep first step and you will need added material to bring up the grade. Good luck. The granite does look fantastic, just everything around it is shite.

 

TRUTH!

 

He didn’t even try to make it look good

 

Had two people come out this evening, one who is a foreman for a paving company and one who is a foreman for a granite install company and both agreed that this was a shit job and that it will not last because of the cement pad is floating. Sent the following email to the company:

**** *****
* ******* Drive
****, ** *****

July 23, 2020

Dear ***** Group,

I have gotten two separate opinions, one from an experienced paving company and one from an experienced granite install company, and both have stated the the stairs are against code, and improperly installed. The pavement company stated there is no way they could grade up that high without me redoing the entire front yard and garden area.

I am writing to request that **** Group remove all of the granite and the cement pad, as well as as much of the stone as possible that you installed at 1 **** * Drive in *****, ** on July 22, 2020, as soon possible ,and by Friday July 31, 2020. and while I am home. I am home Friday July 23 after 1330, Tuesday July 28 after 9am, and Thursday July 30th and Friday July 31 all day. I would also like any cigarette butts around the stairs also to be removed.

In conclusion I am completely dissatisfied with the improper installation of the granite steps and slab, as they were clearly improperly installed, unsafe, and the area was left completely disheveled. Material from the old decking was left in a pile, including two large cement blocks left fairly close to a planted shrub. Cigarette butts were also left around the stair area, carelessly disposed of. After speaking with ****** ****, who only yelled and berated me rather than expressing initial willingness to examine the project, as well as speaking with the experts in the area of paving and granite installs I have come to the conclusion that this is the best solution. I request that I be notified ahead of time with regards to what date and approximate time **** Group will arrive to my house to remove materials as requested.


Sincerely,


*******
*******

 

Good job! screw them! and id report them to the BBB....make sure they dont take advantage of anyone else.

 

+1000 for reporting them. Did you pay them yet? Hopefully not. Be careful though pissed contractors can put a lien on your house for unpaid work. Even if they did a shitty job. Get them to put it in writing they will remove there materials and that you owe them nothing else. Don’t leave it open ended.

A friend years ago hired a concrete contractor to put in a concrete patio. His local codes required an inspection prior to the concrete pour and the contractor didn’t get the inspection and poured anyways. The building dept. then forced him to rip out the concrete and the contractor refused so my friend withheld the rest of the payment and hired a new contractor to rip out and redo the patio (With an inspection this time!). The first contractor put a lien on his house for non-payment. Ended up wrangling in court for a while and cost my friend a fortune to get everything fixed.