ComplaintsforPavers of Florida, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  04/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  October 2021, I was in search of a company that could install thin pavers on our pool deck. Frank w/Pavers of Florida answered our call. He inspected our property & provided us with a quote. I reached out to several other companies too. Throughout, Frank kept in contact with us until our decision was made. He seemed kind, knowledgeable & honest. Although his quote came in higher than the others, we ultimately went with him. We hoped to have pavers installed before Christmas, but were told they were on back order & would not arrive until Feb. I texted Frank in Feb & was told he anticipated the paver installation would happen in March; they had not yet arrived. Finally, I heard from him in April & we set a date for installation. I was told it would take about 5 days. My husband was home all 3 days that the installers were here, except for an hour when he ran to the post office and got gas. Frank was not on the job site & we were not kept apprised of what or how the procedure to repave the deck would work. His men left debris on our grass, threw a retaining wall brick in the middle of the lawn, broke a brand new patio heater that we received for Christmas. left cigarette butts everywhere & our pool was filled with rock, debris & sediment. Frank insisted on picking up payment even though there were areas of the deck that needed to be filled with sand & we had loose pavers on the steps. I told him I would pay him when all of the work was finished. The following week, he came by personally to fill sand in certain areas with a small bucket & caulked the loose pavers. He also took care of the debris his men left. We deducted the cost of the patio heater & I gave him his check. Pavers need to be attached w/mortar, not caulk. They did not hold 24hrs later. I called him immediately and he was going out of town. Then he avoided me altogether. We have 4 completely loose pavers on one side of the deck and one that is loose on the other. I would like these secured. $12,900 job!

  Business response

  06/24/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/11) */ This is concerning the customer's complaint case, opened on 4/28/2022, about my company, Pavers of Florida. The homeowners signed the contract to have Pavers of Florida, install their pavers, coping, and water drains. At the time, the homeowners were told that it would take 6 to 8 weeks for the pavers to be made. Shortly after, the manufacturer informed all of the contractors that the pavers would take up to three months to be manufactured due to the lack of white cement being shipped from Turkey. The supply chain crisis affected the pavers and coping production delaying all of the schedule jobs. I immediately conveyed this information to the homeowners and at the time, they said they would wait for the pavers to be made wherever long it took. I kept in touch with the homeowners always updating them on the progress of the events and also to set up a time to have the pavers delivered, once they were made. Once the pavers were manufactured and delivered, we commenced the installation. I was at the job site to show my crew what needed to be done. At that time, the husband came outside, and asked many questions about the pavers and how they would be installed, and I answered all of his questions and concerns regarding the job. After our interaction he returned to the inside of the house appearing to be satisfied with the answers given. Once my crew started the job, I left the premises but as always, I left my supervisor in charge of the project. My crew has been with me for 16 years and are very aware of how to proceed and if needed, I'm always on call. Normally, I will visit all my job sites daily or every two days, depending on the need. Once the job was complete, I went there to do a final checkup to make sure all was well, to add more sand where it was needed, and finally seal the pavers. During that time the husband came out to talk to me and he told me, that although I had told him that after the pavers had been thin set, no one should walk on them for at least 24 hours, he was sorry, but his wife walked on the pavers that the crew had thin set, and now they were broken and loose, and they came apart. The area in question is a cement pad outside the screen door, measuring three feet wide by three feet wide, where pavers had been installed and then the border pavers had been thin set on the border edge. After he told me of the situation, I told him I would repair the pavers for free. Then he went back in the house, and at that time it was after 5:00pm and his wife was there, and she also came out and pointed out areas where she wanted more sand and I told her I would put more sand where she asked. I returned to repair and to seal the pavers on a date that the wife requested because she wanted to be present for this. When I arrived at the homeowner's house to seal and repair the broken area caused by the wife, the husband came outside again and said to me that my crew had broken his heater fan and that I had to pay for it. To give you some perspective on this situation, my crew did not remove the furniture from the pool deck and from the Lanai prior to installing the pavers. The heater lamp was removed by the homeowner and placed on the grass outside about 12 to 15 feet away from the screen pool deck where the crew walked in and out. My crew did not even go near this heater lamp. This was done by the homeowner before we started the paver project. They had been instructed to remove all furniture prior to installation otherwise we would have to charge them. When I arrived, I saw the heater laying down on the ground. The homeowner laid the heater on the ground, instead of standing the heater up on its heavy base, causing the aluminum cone at the top of the heater to bend. I spoke with my crew, and they said they did not go near the heater or touch it. I was deducted $145.00 dollars from the total price contracted because they claimed we broke their heater. Furthermore, for every Paver Job I have, I always buy extra Pavers and Extra Coping for the job, to make sure we always have enough. If we don't have enough, then we cannot finish the job and it will take 6 - 8 weeks to get more. I paid for the extra Pavers and Coping, and I always take them to my office to use for another job. The homeowners received all the Pavers and Coping for their job and while I was not there, the husband forcefully told my crew that the extra Pavers and Coping were his and he told them not to touch them and he took them and put them in his Garage. The cost for the extra Pavers and Coping was: $550.00 for the Pavers and $250.00 for the extra coping. Now they took $945.00 from me and didn't even ask me. In addition, the homeowners have a block retaining wall in the back are of the pool deck and the wall had some loose blocks and it was evident that it was old. I saw one block about two or three feet from the wall and the homeowners claim that my crew put the block there, but my crew didn't even go near the wall. It was far from the screen door. At the end of every project, I personally check the cleanup and if there is anything else to clean up that my guys missed, I take care of it. There were no cigarette buts on the ground anywhere. The small number of debris that I found, I removed. I take care of the final touch ups because, once the installation is complete, I send my crews to other jobs. I received many texts from the wife asking why there were debris in the pool, and other questions which I always replied back. I always reassured her that the paver project was not finished yet and when it was finished, then we would clean up professionally. I always contract a professional pool company that comes and cleans out, vacuums and makes the pool water look just like when we started In addition, after I had reinstalled the loose pavers and thin set them on the cement and pavers, I proceeded to add more sand, removed all debris and seal the pavers. After all was completed, I received my check. The wife claims that I avoided her altogether, when she tried to contact me for the second time to return to repair the pavers that someone broke for the second time. When this was repaired the first time, it was done with standard materials that are used for this purpose and was not set on sand as stated by the wife. It was thin set on the cement and on the pavers as it is costumery. Furthermore, I contacted the wife when I returned from New York after attending my mother's funeral, which she was aware of because I informed her via text. Finally, I pride myself in pleasing my customers and doing an outstanding job in all my paver projects. I do not intend to return and repair these pavers for free since I have incurred a substantial financial loss with these homeowners, and I do not feel I am at fault since I have returned for free once and repaired their mistake and lack of following directions. The wife has texted me saying she will defame my company on google, ****, and on your site. In my point of view, this speaks for itself. I have had nothing but satisfied customers for 19 years and I intend to continue delivering quality and affordable services. Best Regards, Frank. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/05/12) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) It is so disheartening to have a company outwardly fabricate a response to suit its needs. The response provided by this company is completely false. The owner simply was not onsite, that is why so many of these issue came to light. I was the one keeping in contact with the company asking about the timeframe. My husband had one encounter with the owner and that was the day he fixed the loose pavers with caulk and placed them on top of the sand. Instructions on how to proceed were never provided. In fact, on April 6 when the job was supposedly finished, the owner wanted to pick up his check the very next day. That is when I told him that there were loose pavers on the cement pad that had not adhered and many areas on the deck that needed additional sand as the pavers were shifting. In addition the pool was still filled with debris. To be honest, I did not trust this company to follow through on the contract as there were so many things that needed to be completed. I told Frank I would pay him as soon as the job was complete. He said he would come out and fix the loose pavers on the cement pad, add sand in the areas that needed it and seal the pavers the following week. He did not come out several times. His crew completed the work, the pavers were still loose, sand needed to be put in many areas, pool was a mess and pavers needed to be sealed. When the owner came out the following week, that is when he supposedly finished those items and I paid him. The following day, after the check was cashed - I contacted him because his "caulk" never repaired the initial loose pavers. By the way, there were no broken pavers - ever. As for the pool heater, we removed everything from the deck. The pool heater was outside of the lanai and it was upright. on its heavy base. His crew used the hose that was under a retaining wall brick on the side of the house. In using that hose, they pulled the brick loose. As for the pool heater, it was near the retaining wall and hose, laying on the ground. The entire top was completely bent as was the structure. What the owner didn't tell you is that we gave it to him to take with him. He said it was an easy fix, you just needed to bend the cone back. As for the extra coping and pavers - this was a complete fabrication on his end. My husband never spoke to his crew - even while they were peeking in our windows when they thought no one was home. We live in a subdivision and the extra coping and pavers sat on our driveway for almost a week AFTER the job had been completed. No one notified us as to what to do with them. My husband moved them to the backyard where they currently sit on pallets. If he wants to pick them up - he can contact me. The loose pavers in question were part of the original paver installation, but they were not laid accurately - the thin set had dried and the pavers were placed on top. When the owner came out to "repair" them...he was repairing the original installation - which still isn't fixed. The owner was avoiding me and I have the texts to prove it. He said he was going to his mother's funeral in New York,but when he came to repair the pavers - he told me he never made it because his flight was canceled. Then when I texted him about his shotty repair job, he told me he was out of town. i waited a week and he still was out of town. As for defaming his company, I tried to work with the BBB and seek a solution to this problem. I did not post any reviews on other sites, because I honestly wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and make it right. In fact, the owner stated that he would come out and properly repair,the pavers but I would need to provide him with a letter that stated that I would not contact the BBB nor write any negative reviews prior to him doing the work. I do not take lightly to threats. Our exchange is included as well. It is obvious that he has chosen to fabricate a story to suit his needs. He may have been around for 19 years, but I assure you if you do your homework, like I should have done - you will choose a reputable company that stands behind its work. By the way, since reaching out to BBB, I have found several shotty areas around the coping of my pool that were never filled in, the tops of the screen doors are now bowing and I found the old skimmer cover thrown behind a bush. I've attached pictures of that as well. So disappointed in this company and the lack of customer service. Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2022/06/10) */ I stand firm upon my Original Response! Pavers of Florida, Inc.

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