Run the other way.
Like many others (see HomeAdvisor and Angie's List), I've been burned by this company. My check is cashed, but my project isn't finished. Text messages were no longer being returned. Calls were being sent to voicemail mid-ring. Then I discovered my number had been blocked. Only after I sent a message from another number, disclosing my intent to take action against the company, did I get a further response from the owner. He returned my stolen property (more on this later), claimed blocking my number was an accident (said his child did it), and left behind equipment to "finish" the job (which ended up causing even more damage). The owner promised the job would be finished the next day, then the next, then the next, and so on. In five solid weeks of daily calls and texts because the owner kept ghosting me, it was never completed.
I had two areas paved: a front driveway and a rear parking pad. The whole project is uneven throughout. No leveling was done. There are places where the asphalt is too thick, and places where it is too thin. Much of my lawn (and the neighbor's, too) is destroyed.
The rear pad was put in carelessly, and it is sub-par quality. Roots and yard waste were pulled, piled, and then asphalted right over. Asphalt was spilled into my yard. A stump was paved over and then cut out, and a child could have done a better repair. Excavated pea gravel was dumped into my garden and left behind. After weeks of complaining about it, they brought their BobCat back, and removed about half. I later noticed that they just found a different place on my property to dump the pea gravel instead of just taking it.
The sloped front driveway is atrocious and unusable. Rough surface, rough edges, poor quality. There is so little asphalt laid on the six feet where it meets the street, that weeds are breaking through, and the asphalt is crumbling away after just a few weeks. There was no excavation done or stone laid, just less than an inch of asphalt spread over dirt. Conversely, on the upper part, there is a 6" lip all along the edge that is cracked and crumbling because the land was not excavated before the asphalt was poured. Despite reassurances that the driveway would be flush with the yard, 6" of asphalt was laid right on top of the land. I risk personal injury, vehicle damage, and further damage to the asphalt using it. As a very poor stop-gap to this disaster, and to cover up the fact that his foreman did an inexcusable, grossly negligent job that was not even remotely what was promised, I was assured that several tons of stone would be delivered and laid to mitigate the drop off. That didn't happen. The crew showed up unannounced, did a nominal amount of work, and then just left without talking to me or finishing. I received a message from the owner right after, saying they were "all done."
I have no more fight left in me. Now it's on me to spend more money and days of my time spreading stone by hand, plus the time it will take to shovel the remaining pea gravel from my garden, and replant grass on half my lawn. And I still have to pay another contractor to redo it when it falls apart. This is on top of the other unbelievable struggles I encountered: a broken sewer cap that was "repaired" by putting a new cap in the ground over top of a broken pipe, a 30% project cost increase mid-job for excavation that never happened, the crew abandoning my project in the middle of the day, without warning, to do a neighbor's driveway (which created unsightly creases where they stopped and started), and most astoundingly, theft of personal property. Yes, his employees will use your tools without asking, and then take that property with them if not closely supervised (by YOU). Took 3+ weeks to get everything returned, and I had to threaten filing a police report.
Simply put, P&M will grift you at the first opportunity they get. The owner lacks any professionalism, customer service, or attention to detail. His "word" is worthless. I cannot count the number of broken promises. When you express dissatisfaction, he will turn it around on you. Direct quote: "I'm sorry we did not satisfy your needs But you also gotta remember there was nothing there. Now you have a driveway." He basically hands you a s*** sandwich, and then says you ought to be grateful you got a sandwich at all. The owner and the foreman are never on site together, and they slander one another to avoid blame entirely. This smarmy, disingenuous approach to doing business is unconscionable. Everything is everyone's fault except P&M's, as they laugh all the way to the bank.
In summary, be prepared to advocate for yourself beyond what any sane person would consider reasonable. Be vigilant, attentive, and assertive, with undaunted diligence. But after all of that advocating, be prepared to still come up feeling like you were robbed of your money, your belongings, and your dignity.
Or just don't hire them. I wish I hadn't. read more