Not sure about the other reviews but the crew was quick, professional and it looks good. I'd use them again. read more

Carmen and Sons Concrete - Repaired front steps and walkway - Masonry/Concrete Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

UPDATE: I finally was called back by the company, but only after I entered this review. Two weeks later I was given a date to fix my sidewalk (only after I called again). On the morning of the work, they called and said that they would only come back if I removed my review. I told them that I would AFTER the repairs were done. They said that they were not coming then. Doesn't really sound like a company that backs up their work, does it? read more

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Please DO NOT use this Co. I cannot believe the crap job the did on a small section of concrete I needed. I regretted it the minute they arrived and asked if I had a wheel barrel. So you're going to send your so called workers to a job without the proper equipment? The lines between the concrete are crooked, some aren't even set all the way down so there's no dividing them and there's cracking already. The father must be spinning in his grave for what his son did to his business. I sent pics of the work and messaged with NO response so I wanted to update this review! I never leave reviews and hoping they read this. Adam you're a pushy salesman, overpriced for terrible work and maybe supply your workers with equipment! What a waste of money! read more

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They charged me $5,000 to seal coat my patio and driveway. I was naive and stupid. Beware of this overpriced company. Will never use them again. read more

Total crooks. Pending in court. BBB has 2 unfulfilled complaints against them. Pitch is wrong and cracks formed.

Wrote a review 10 months ago regarding this company. Now they are passing out flyers in DesPlaines. Beware of Carmen & Son's concrete, especially seniors , they tell you that they issue a a senior discount? Unfortunately they increase the price!!!. Its definitely a learning experience !!!! My husband at that time was 74 then had to rework and paint our patio after 2 times that they came out to fix the area. Not even any concern for others. They take the cash and run no resolution!!!! The patio was 1 big mess and we ended up reworking and painting it ourselves I feel bad for others that this is constantly happening too!!! No one cares or has any consideration, especially in this world today. Please be careful and read other reviews. That was my mistake, not investigating the company or reading reviews regarding this company. read more

I wish I would have seen the horrible reviews this company has before hiring them and paying a deposit. I hired them to pour some concrete along a fence since my property is on an alley and rats were digging along the dirt in the alley under the fence and getting into my yard. In the agreement they put that they would pour 6-18 inches of concrete. They finished the work quickly (put down 4 inches of concrete) and were demanding payment that day. I think they called and text 4 times. I told them there was still some dirt along the alley and no dirt could be along the alley otherwise the rats would dig through and that I needed to wait overnight to see if the problem was fixed. The very next morning I went out and there was a giant rat hole under the concrete. When I called Carmen and Son's, they told me that I needed to call the city. Why would I pay thousands of dollars for concrete work to not solve this problem when I clearly explained that this is why I was having this work done. They made an appt to come back but still asked me to pay the money in full. I kept telling them that once the work was completed, I would pay them. They asked several times that day. Then called me and threatened to not come out and fix their poor work unless I paid them immediately. They fixed the work while I was out of town and couldn't check that the job was complete and continued to demand money even calling me and texting me non-stop and coming into my work threatening to put a lien on my property and sue me. They clearly do not care about quality work or their customers. Do not use this company! read more

Carmen and Sons Concrete - 4 inches of concrete when they said they would put 6-18 inches and the rat hole dug right after the work was completed by them. - Masonry/Concrete Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

NO STARS! They are now sending out a mass mailing looking for business. They literally ruined my concrete driveway by attempting a resurfacing. $2800 lost. We ended up hiring a different company and got asphalt because of the $2800 loss . A friend in Mt Prospect experienced the same thing. Please don't hire them. They are a family scam operation. read more

Carmen and sons came and power washed my driveway and put seal coat on it. My driveway is now dark and dingy and his swirl marks all over it. I would never use this company again. They are overpriced for what they do. I paid $5,000 for them to power wash and seal coat my driveway and it was a terrible job. I was an idiot for hiring this company. Do not use them! read more

Worst experience with a contractor. Adam is the sales guy. Very slick. Promises you a lot. And what is delivered is garbage. Their warranty is just 1 year. I should've noticed that and rejected them immediately..! Look at the ugly work in the photos. No attempt to match the patch work to the concrete. Plus they stained my brick pavers when they rinsed out their mixing buckets. They also power sprayed some pavers and removed the sand between the pavers. A disaster..! read more

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They were hired to install a new concrete patio and did a good job. There were a few delays with scheduling the work, but that was caused by weather factors out of their control. The work was carried out a day after rain, so lawn damage occurred, but Daniel promised to fix this during the cleanup, and they followed through on that promise. I would have liked a walkthrough on their last day on-site, but there was nothing that required follow-up. A week after installation, the concrete patio looks great, and I would gladly recommend them to others. read more

Unfortunately, I can say with confidence that we will never hire this company again. We had several quotes to seal our stamped concrete driveway. Carmen and Sons did not come in at the cheapest (one of our highest, actually) but we were swayed by Adam and Daniel who came out to give the estimate. When they came, they also encouraged us to seal our front porch. They seemed to know what they were doing and have integrity. Neither one of those turned out to be the case. The job went really poorly on a lot of levels. The biggest issue is that the sealant should never have been used on a painted porch. (I think initially they thought it was stained, but they never checked and they also used the can of paint to touch up places where painted chipped off from the power washing - then sealed it, with the wet paint, within about half an hour.) Immediately the product began to pull up paint and wrinkle. After Daniel left, I also noticed sealant all over the bottom edges of our siding around the garage doors and around the front porch (I was later told on a call "sealant doesn't stick to siding"...?) and bubbles throughout the sealant on our stamped concrete driveway and walkways. Carmen and Sons' solution was to take $100 off our balance because that is the proportion that the front porch was to the entire job. This is laughable to me - that is what the quote should have been to start with! That doesn't take into account ANY of the damage. They ended up taking off more than that, but not enough for us to pay for the issues to be resolved. There was no apology or accountability - just annoyance that we wanted the job done right (and to have the balance adjusted for what it is going to cost us to remedy). In the end, we are left with sealant on all edges of our siding, bubbles throughout the stamped concrete sealant, and a really rough looking porch floor. We also have the headache in the spring (as it is now too cold) of hiring someone to remove the sealant from our siding, our front porch floor, and a painter to repaint our porch. read more

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do not hire this company they are unprofessional screwed my parents out of a ton of money they never poured the concrete. came back on the property we even had to call the police. They victimized my family. And ruined the grass that they told the village they would fix. read more

I wanted a new sidewalk in front of my home so I could have a railing installed, for elderly visitors. We stupidly hired this company to rip out a perfectly good sidewalk that could have just been 'raised 'by a professional company. 1st: A concrete truck broke the concrete apron of our driveway, broke cables leading to our neighbor's home and rolled them up and left them in our lawn. We discovered it, on our own. Carmen's owner blamed the concrete delivery company...that THEY hired. The sidewalk was ripped out and replaced but looked horrible. When I complained, they admitted the men did the job like 'industrial' not 'residential'. They came out to 'fix' it, by putting a top coat on. Over that winter, the concrete was crumbling. They came back five or more times to 'fix' my brand new sidewalk. They finally agreed to replace one square of the 'new' sidewalk, but would not give me the new sidewalk I paid for!!! It looked good this autumn...until this winter. It is now crumbling everywhere and there is no way we can install a railing!! I am now shopping for a company to fix their work, which may mean a complete tear out again!! Stay away from Carmen and Sons!!! read more

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Terrible. Find a different contractor. They charged me $550 for the driveway permit. What they actually charged me for was the $50 permit and the $500 city bond for the apron work. Once the apron was approved the $500 was sent back to Carmen and Sons as a reimbursement. When I asked Lucy and Adam about the $500 they said they never got it back. The city's cancelled check says other wise. Then 4 months after the pour, which kept getting rescheduled, the finish started spalling. I have called and left 4 voicemails. Lucy called me back once and said Adam would call me the following week. Been 2 weeks now, still no call. $20k for a crappy job that is busting apart. read more

Excellent communication skills. Timely service. I will be using them again for an upcoming project.

I would not recommend this company. I paid to have my front porch repaired and resurfaced. Within one week part of the resurfaced area started to come off and another section became dirty from normal foot traffic but it would not come clean. I called Carmen and Sons offices twice and both times I was told someone would come out to take a look at it, although that never happened. I would not recommend this company for even the most basic of work. Once they get your money. they disappear and you're stuck with a mess. Call someone else. read more

This company is TRASH! I hired Carmen and Sons Concrete to resurface my front steps and apply a sealer. I had this work done in May 2020, and not even a year later, my steps look worst than they did before. When I first talked with Adam, he stated, "We use concrete that's used at airports so your stairs will not crack at all." As you can see in the photos, that was a lie. This job cost me $1720.00, and I now have to hire and pay another $1500.00 to fix my steps. As many reviewers have mentioned, all they do is show up with a bucket and two bags of concrete. Also, the men that they send out to do the job are not knowledgeable. Please do yourself a favor and go with someone else. This company needs to be put out of business and repay everyone who they screwed over. read more

Carmen and Sons Concrete - Masonry/Concrete Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

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Resurfaced back stairs. Arrived and let themselves in without notice. Poor quality work, poor quality materials and overpriced. Didn't cover wall crack. Very sloppy job! Did not response to our call to return and fix issue. Poorly run business! read more

Carmen and Sons Concrete - Masonry/Concrete Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

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The worst company to get your business done. I won't even give them a rate for their poorly job done. If you see these people, save yourselves from hell and run away from them. Adam just want their money and be done with it. They made me finish the job for them. They asked me to put dirt all around the concrete patio and even destroyed my AC. I have to monitor their work and tell them what to do. ​ read more

Worst company should have trusted the reviews vs Adam and his confidence. Would never hire them for my other project let alone recommend them. The last final day Daniel is yelling at the top of his lungs in front of my house! Unprofessional and trust me I would not contact them ever. Please trust these reviews and don't fall for it when Adam comes with an estimate. I had another one much cheaper but I went with Adam thinking they would be good he seemed solid. But no not his brother Daniel he has a temper. This happened within 2 days of pouring and they came out and patched and still cracked. Adam decided to block my number so they don't plan to fix anything. So much for warranty Adam. Great customer service. Daniel makes a scene in front of neighbours and other brother doesn't care about fixing what they did wrong. So much for giving business to small family owned business. Oh look 2 weeks later more cracks and no response from them. Another week one more crack and no response from Adam or Lucy. When I called Adam answers and claims it's Daniel then they block you and don't pick up calls. Good job Adam you don't care to fix the damages you have caused. This company has been reported to bbb worst company read more

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They must be kidding. I called for an estimate for a stoop replacement. A guy came and told me $13,500. I asked him to email me a proposal and he said he would, but I never heard from him. Today I somebody else come, and they quoted $4,500. I guess that's why Carmen doesn't put anything in writing. Too embarrassed? read more

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! We paid $5,450 and we're left with 2 large piles of loose gravel. We hired Carmen & Sons to pour a concrete patio and a front stoop. After the framing was complete, we noticed that the patio was crooked and the front stoop was not done as according to the village-approved plans. We brought this to the attention of Daniel and he was very understanding and corrected the issues minutes before the pouring began. A few minutes later, Lucy pulled up and told Daniel that we are costing them too much money. She pulled all of their workers and their equipment and left us with 2 large piles of loose gravel. I called my bank to try to stop payment, but it was too late. They cashed their checks immediately (for obvious reasons). read more

Carmen and Sons Concrete - Masonry/Concrete Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

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For some reason our concrete driveway was flaking. Adam came out and looked at the problem. He agreed with me that something went wrong. They are tearing out the bad sections of the driveway and replacing the bad sections with new concrete. I couldn't be happier. read more

They use the cheapest materials, watered-down. Their reputation is poor, and they have changed names more than once to try and avoid their BBB rating of F. Scam artists who cajole their friends and family to try and boost their rating - keep in mind that no one can leave them a rating of 0 stars; that's the only reason they have a rating of 1.6 instead of 0.6 or lower. read more

Horrible! Horrible! Horrible! Do not use this company unless you prefer substandard work. Poured gravel in grass and later said they didn't do that, ran into fence post/bent and misaligned it. Left concrete chucks all over which they didn't clean up. Rain should drain away from house but when it rains it drains into house direction. Provided time for fixes and none were corrected. Avoid this company at your cost...they simple suck, if I could give them no stars that would be more appropriate for their lack of professionalism. If I had the time to picket in-front of their office I would but got to work. Lastly, DO NOT HIRE THESE SONS OF CONCRETE PEOPLE! read more

Worst concrete job ever, after being quoted to fill top stoop, bottom step and leveling existing steps total of six, sent 2 guys out with a bucket and a bag or 2 of mixcrete to only appear to paint over my existing steps with a thin layer of concrete and when I called in to advise of garbage job that was performed had to wait several additional days for the same 2 clowns to attempt to address their previously poor work, attached are photos of this company's work. Also it appears that they try to raise their company's quality by posting fake satisfied customer. This will be a company that will soon change name and continue to screw over people with their lack of knowledge, I had them referred by home advisor, be cautious who you hire!!! ZERO STAR!!!!! read more

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Absolutely TERRIBLE experience with Carmen and Sons Concrete! We paid over 14K to replace our driveway and noticed that a small section was not flushed to the flagstone, with a section of the old driveway cement exposed and not covered during the cement pour. When we brought this to Adam's attention, he said the driveway was 99% perfect, but we paid for a 100% job in uniformity, so we called the office again, asking them to come out to complete the job fully for a uniform look, but Lucy said they're done with us, that they are not coming out, and she hung up on us. Additionally, they left behind chunks of concrete and poured concrete scattered on the grass, which we needed to clean up. I fault myself for not having researched the reviews, 99% of which were 1 star ratings with many saying they would give them 0 stars, which, unfortunately, is not a review option. I foolishly trusted Adam and Daniel when they promised us that we would be totally satisfied with their workmanship,but they are SCAMMERS in the fullest sense of the term. I will report them to the Better Business Bureau and to the Skokie Village Permit Department to ban them from doing business here by not issuing permits for them to do work in Skokie, so that other residents can be spared and not fall prey to the poor quality of workmanship, lack of professionalism, and the unacceptable mediocrity exhibited by Daniel, Adam, and Lucy at Carmen and Sons Concrete. read more

As stated in a previous comment by someone else they have so many bad reviews it is amazing they are still doing business. I hired them back in 2013 - they poured a new concrete slab for me and in a couple weeks I had weeds growing throughout and cracking all over. Their customer service is lousy and they never did anything to fix it. Told me this was "normal" and would charge me more to fix it. I ended up hiring another company to caulk the joints - I would not give Carmen another penny. I made a complaint to the BBB and per a previous bad review on yelp they did change their business name/entity. So I thought that was the end of it. But I am writing this review now because I just received a flyer from their company in the mail - I did not know they were still doing work and in business. So take the advice of the majority of the reviews here and DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY! read more

Carmen and Sons Concrete - they cut the control joints so deep now i have weeds - Masonry/Concrete Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

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I'm glad I chosen Carmen & sons they did a great service with my garage floor applying an epoxy decorating coating. The crew was exceptionally respectful and very professional. Super happy with the overall outcome of this project, and it's going to add much value for resale. read more

SCAMMER ALERT, don't even think about using these guys. If I could leave a zero star rating I would. Like many others, Carmen and sons ripped me off by recapping my front stairs for about $500. I called them 2 weeks later when I noticed the stairs were already cracking. They never returned my call or addressed the issue. I then saw the online reviews and realized I had been taken advantage of by a bogus company that does not stand behind its work. They take your money and never call you back. My 2 year old son could have done a better job than they did. I just wish i could catch them putting there flyer on my front porch every month. Now i have to spend over $3000 to replace the entire concrete slab since they didn't prevent water from seeping in and damaging the inside. Don't know how they are even still in business. read more

If I could give ZERO STARS I would have done so. Very unprofessional and disrespectful of potential customers time. Made several appointments on two separate occasions and they never show up! Of course, then they will not answer your call or texts attempting to see if they plan to show up. I had to make several special trips to the property to meet them so I've wasted hours of time. I highly recommend anyone find a professional company and skip these jokers. read more

DO NOT HIRE THEM. Had my front stoop replaced, came out like crap. Did come back and recapped it. Two weeks later it fell apart. Call them back recapped again and fell apart a week later. After that never answer my calls. DO NOT HIRE THEM if you don't want to get ripped off. read more

With all the negative reviews that Carmen and Sons has online, it seems pointless to post yet another. But since I cannot get "Carmen and Sons" to return a phone call or repair the substandard concrete work on my front stoop, I'll spend the time to post the review. Last August I paid to have my front stoop skim coated - which in theory (or on paper) should have lasted at least 2-3 years. By April of this year (8 months) the skim was disintegrating and cracking. As disappointed as I was, I merely wanted Carmen and Sons to come repair it. Now it's July and my repeated requests for service - or even a PHONE CALL have gone unanswered. I knew old man Carmen and he would be ashamed of the work being done by his sons. I intend to pursue legal action against this company. In short, RUN from this company. read more

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Carmen & Son's did an excellent job on my driveway. Had couple of estimates but best explained job was by Daniel who took the time to explain my options. I strongly recommend Carmen & Son's for any concrete work! read more

With spring comes fixing your concrete sidewalks, and if you are considering using Carmen and Sons Concrete DON'T ! If possible I would give this company 0 stars for their quality of work and customer service. It took them 5 days to do a job that should have taken one day and then they blamed me because they came when the weather was bad. Each time they came it rained (actually it poured as soon as they left). The concrete , of course was rained away. When I called they blamed the weather, but as a concrete company they should know not to work on days when it says rain. In fact I questioned them about this before they started and they said there would be no problem. When you call to complain they do not answer the phone and it takes many calls until they get back to you and then you get the runaround. It is now March and the concrete is worse now than it was before they started the work. Please stay away from this company, I wish I had read the reviews before I went with them, but Dan, the salesman, sounded so sincere. They are total scam artists and I am considering taking them to small claims court. read more

Carmen and Sons Concrete - Masonry/Concrete Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

Stay away! We called Carmen and Sons to come out to quote a price to redo a 5 step concrete stoop at my mothers house, and chose them because they were the cheapest... be warned, you get what you pay for with this company. In addition to misinformation Daniel gave me when we spoke, their work is the sloppiest I have seen. They drilled directly into siding that's only a few months old, drilled into the foundation, without covering those holes, and ruined the siding around the stoop they re-poured. I was told when the estimate was done that the siding around the house would be properly flashed with a J channel, and that never happened, instead they cut the siding with what appears to have been safety scissors by a 5 year old, and poured the concrete back, and left the bottom edge of the siding exposed to the elements They did come back to caulk around the siding (proper method would have been to flash it properly, not caulk it), but they may as well have just stayed away, its some of the sloppiest caulking job I have seen. They attempted to cover the holes they drilled with either caulk or cement, so it's not even color matched to the siding... Gray caulk on blue siding is a soar thumb, oh and remember the holes that I mentioned were drilled into the foundation? yeah, they failed to fill those in. The color of the concrete is patchy for some reason (I watered it per the concrete guys instructions, to a T), and the concrete was not even smoothed out for a nice finished look! it looks like they literally poured and left. I was told by Daniel that the job would be done well, even after we spoke on the phone to express my concerns and frustrations with their excavation work. I also expressed concerns on the stability of the stoop, and the concrete guy explained his process, which I was still iffy about, but we wanted the job to just be done, so I gave the OK (Should have gone with my gut instinct). Since they did not pour new footings PRIOR to pouring the stoop, only time will tell if the stairs will begin to sag again (my guess is that they will), or stay level. In short, yes they are able to pour concrete, but they have no concept of neat detailed finish work on either the concrete, or anything else. The person who quoted the price will tell you what you want to hear to reassure you of them doing the work properly, and then accuse you of not remembering your conversation when you bring up the fact they are not doing the job as discussed. Unfortunately my mothers budget did not allow for a proper concrete company to do the work, so we are living with the consequences of that, but do yourself a favor and learn from our mistake and go with a company that will do the job for you properly. Attaching sample pictures of the above comments to justify my poor rating... looks worse in person. read more

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Our experience with Carmen and Sons was good! When the weather finally cooperated, they came and did a great job and cleaned up afterwards thoroughly. They were very careful and respectful, and we are happy with our porch and steps. read more

This guy is a shister. Poor quality workmanship on our front stairs. He never came out to inspect completed the job and refused to return our phone calls. The stairs cracked after 2 months. He " moved to "Italy" according to is secretary and we we're unable to recover our money. Now I see he's back in operation! A lawyer said you can wipe your backside with his contract. read more

They take advantage of seniors. They charged me $6700 for a basic job.They did not level the concrete and now I am left with a worse problem- flooding into my basement when it rains. . Is anyone interested in a class action lawsuit? read more