I contracted Fardale Construction of Ramsey NJ (536 State Rt 17 N Ramsey, NJ (201) 825-4731) to rip up and resurface my entire driveway. The contract was for significant amount of money and included a 3 years warranty on the new driveway.in speaking with the owner (Giulio Funicello) he appeared very genuine and took the time to point out things he considered flawed with my existing driveway. He also went on to criticize the previous contractor (driveway had been done about 5 years prior) and the poor workmanship he provided. All throughout the conversation he kept repeating how he would never do such poor work and how reputable and honest he was, and that he always and quickly resolves any issues.
He proceeded to rip out the old driveway and prepared the surface for paving. Unfortunately the day he was going to pave we had a lot of rain which sat on top of the exposed driveway. He seemed to be in a rush (another job lined up) so he and his crew started sweeping away the water (or attempted to sweep the water). He began paving (ground still wet) and worked past sundown to complete. On the surface and in the dark it looked fine. Come first rain after paving however, it was another story.
After raining, our driveway was left with many deep pools of standing water which are so deep that they often remain for days.in addition, there was continued oozing of tar from within the driveway itself which is an issue for our young children who like to play in the driveway but now return inside with tar on their shoes and toys. Finally, the drain in our driveway was not properly pitched with the repaving so water in the proximity of the drain does not even reach the drain on all sides. Giulio raised the drain from its previous pitch indicating it was too low.
We immediately called Giulio who quickly returned our call. He even stopped by within 2 days indicating it was something he could fix, no problem. The day he was to come and correct the issue, it rained and he did not show up. This was the last contact we had with this Giulio since (except for a brief accidental run in out Mahwahs town hall, which I will quickly touch on later).
Several calls (in excess of 10) were left on his cell phone voice mail and office answering machine. Not one message was ever returned. With it turning colder, we assumed he was done paving and that he may have been taking some time off during the off season. But we quickly found that not to be the case. Just for piece of mind, we called pretending to be a different customer looking for an estimate (just to see if he really was away). Well within the hour he called back and left a message on our cell phone anxious to get the job and meet us (so much for being away). He was clearly just ignoring the issue and not responding back since there was no incremental revenue with repairing defective work.
The cold winter months were now in full force and this significantly worsened the situation as I had to contend with a poorly drained driveway which turned into months of ice. This was a complete nightmare for us over the entire winter. Simple things like getting in and out of our cars, getting the mail, and taking out the trash all became treacherous and all as a result of the poor workmanship done by Fardale Construction.
So avoid all the headaches and aggravation I encountered (and still do) and do not waste your time and money with Fardale Construction.
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