Update: sidewalk completed 10/29 & cement picked up 10/30
TL;DR
Our sewer line was not fixed for three months throughout this time our basement was flooding. Things were forgotten or not completed up to the city's standards needing to be redone. Going into month 11 we still have no sidewalk; their contract has not been completed.
LONG FORM
December 26 or 27, 2018- They came out to provide an estimate for our house on the 26th or 27th of December 2018 the estimate paperwork reflects both dates.
January 9, 2019 - We signed a contract to have our sewer line replaced and the sidewalks replaced after. In the meantime, our basement was filling with water every time there was any form of precipitation. They made a temporary attempt to have some water flow which was successful for a few days and offered to come back out if it flooded in the meantime before they started work but the unfortunate part is that we would not know it needed temporarily snaked until it flooded and they kept canceling or not showing to fix the main problem.
January 17, 2019- They came out and started after admittingly forgetting to file the necessary permits to start the week prior. This was something that was told to my husband over the phone so unfortunately, I have no documentation of this.
January 23, 2019- They were scheduled to come out to finish but canceled due to weather. They canceled or just did not show up again until March 21. Understandably they cannot dig in unsafe conditions but there was little to no communication during this time and throughout this, our basement continued to flood anywhere from one or two inches to a foot on the worst day.
March 14- No show, presumably weather. We call again very upset that for three months, we have had water in our basement, we had cleaned it, bleached it, and lost items countless times. Our basement had flooded at the very least 10 times by this point.
March 19- Canceled, sick
March 21- They came out and presumably finished the sewer work. We received no communication from them after and we assumed we would hear back about the sidewalk being put back in as that was part of our contract.
August 12- After absolutely no communication we called and were told they had forgotten about the sidewalk and would receive a call back from Anthony. We never received a call back.
August 22- We called again and were told it would be scheduled for a time in mid-September.
September 10- We called again to get an idea of when they would be out and nothing was scheduled. Again, I received just another promise that Anthony will contact us back later (he never did).
September 11- We called again the next day after not receiving a call and spoke with Tony who said he had just spoken with someone who would be out next week. Next week being September 16-20, in this call, only the sidewalk work was referenced.
September 13- We received voicemail by Denise that they would be out the September 24-27 to do the sidewalk.
September 19- People were at our house working we assumed we were just given the incorrect date or we had been bumped up. No sidewalk is put in and a pile of the old sidewalk was added on the easement. This means that when they worked on our house previously, they threw all the cement in the pile of dirt over the plumbing. A "partially approved" sticker is left on our mailbox.
September 20- We called and are told the job was never completed, to begin with, and that the city requested things to be fixed which they claim they did. We were still anticipating the sidewalk to be placed on the dates promised.
October 7- We reach out and they say someone would be out that week to complete the sidewalk.
October 17- Someone finally came out but only installed the forms.
October 21- We reach out after no contact from them and they are unaware we still have no sidewalk. They say that the city needed to inspect the forms and now they are inspected, and we "should" have sidewalk soon.
October 28 (today)- The job has been paid in full since the beginning of the year. We have no sidewalk and the pile of garbage cement remains on our easement and has not been removed. We never received anything other than a partially approved sticker. They continue to blame other cement companies even though the sidewalk is on our contract with them. To this day Anthony has never called me and spoke with my husband one time throughout this process. I spoke with Tony once not by him contacting me but by luck of him answering the phone.
Update to owner's reply:
We had a pump draining water out of the basement NOT a sump pump. It began flooding on the night of Christmas Eve and no one was available to come out until the 26th. At no point during this process was an increase in cost or our financial status discussed with us. I understand they contract other people for cement but our contract is signed with Empire Plumbing making it the company's responsibility to ensure the work is complete. read more
