On 5/27 we contracted with Chico and Sons Concrete to rebuild part of a cracked cinderblock fence, re-grout and fix cracks in the rest of the fence, including foundation, re-grout and fix cracks in the mortar between all bricks on the house, re-plaster a round raised planter in our back yard, re-grout some tiles beneath stairs in our back yard. Tear out and re-pour some of the sidewalks, tear out concrete around a tree in the back yard and pour a curb around it to create a planter. Also to tear out and re-build a small section of fence that has a gate hanging on it. There were some other odds and ends, but this is the main part of the job.
We paid half down with the other half to be due upon completion. Fred Rubio, the business owner, told us that he would be on-site during all of the time that they were working here unless he was gone getting supplies.
When they rebuilt the corner of the fence they put pilasters in that were leaning an inch or two off vertical, used cracked blocks and smeared them with mortar to cover the cracks, and had cinder blocks in the fence either sticking out or recessed a half inch or more scattered all over the fence. When we told them how unhappy we were with the fence the owner and his brother blamed their workers and said that they hadn't been on site while the work was done. They tore out and rebuilt the corner. It's better, but still much rougher and sloppier than the rest of the fence (original fence).
On 6/3 Fred and his brother Ysa and we went around the house looking at what still needed to be done. There was still a lot of work to do. Fred asked us to write up a list of things we had talked about and when they came back from a trip to Austin they would be back and finish up. Fred also asked if we could go ahead and pay the balance we owed with the understanding that they would complete the job. He said that he needed it to pay his employees. We made sure that he understood that the job wasn't finished and he agreed and said again that the job would be finished. We made a huge mistake and went ahead and paid the entire balance on their assurance that they would finish the job.
They showed back up on Tuesday the 8th and I gave them the list and they said they would get started on it. After work that day we found that they had ground off the texture on some of our bricks trying to remove grout from them after re-grouting between some of the bricks. They had gotten mortar on the bricks and allowed it to set up and harden instead of cleaning it while it was still wet. I'm assuming they ground off the texture while trying to remove the grout.
I called Fred and asked him not to do anything else until we had a chance to talk with him about this. No one answered the phone but I left a message.
I came by our house several times the next day to try to catch them before they ruined any more bricks. I saw no cars or trucks at the house at any time I came by but when I got home from work I noticed that there were more bricks on the house and planter, that we hadn't noticed the day before, that were ground down slick so it looked like they had been back.
I wasn't able to get hold of Fred until the 10th when he said he would be by the next day (Friday) to look at the house.
We went around with the list and they were surprised about the bricks and didn't know why they had been done that way or what they could do to fix them. We spent the next 30 minutes or so going around the house with our list and they agreed to get started the next day (Saturday).
We haven't seen them since. I'm calling every day and leaving messages to remind Fred that they haven't finished the job and they need to make good on their word and finish it. On Wednesday, June 16 Fred answered the phone and said that they needed to come by and discuss the plan they had come up with. He said that they would be at the house at 5:30. They never showed up. It's my belief that he answered the phone by mistake, not noticing who it was that was calling.
They have taken all of their tools and appear to have abandoned the job and left us with a mess.
If you would like to see some of what they have done there are some pictures, with explanations, at: (link redacted)
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