While the court of public opinion never resolves any matter, unfortunately this forum seems necessary to set records straight regarding the grading work on our property. We have been very careful to stick to the facts in this case, which is not slander, just the unfortunate events that we continue to pay for.

After having to do subsequent repairs to several other projects this contractor had direct involvement in and after exhausting our attempts to get them fixed, the driveway failure was the final straw.

In May, 2008 we hired this contractor to build a driveway at our newly-constructed home to better accommodate parcel delivery trucks (UPS, Fed Ex, USPS) to our home business. The dirt driveway was completed, contractor paid in full. On May 27, 2008, we experienced significant rain and significant erosion of the new driveway and the contractor was called back out to patch.

In June, 2008, the driveway was surfaced with concrete (not six months later as contractor’s letter stated).

October 2008, after rains began falling again, significant sections of driveway slopes slid away with grown grass still intact. The entire slope of dirt work began separating away from concrete.

In November, 2008, tired of the excuses and failure, we contacted a different contractor to install a surface drain, and recompact the slope of the driveway using a sheep’s foot.

May, 2009, a large crack developed down the center of the driveway. The concrete was literally splitting in two. Under the concrete, the dirt had continued to erode away.

We contacted the grading contractor to request his opinion as to why this had happened. We were told it was caused by too many gopher holes, people walking on the side of the driveway, an underground spring, or the delivery trucks driving too fast.

We used same the concrete contractor who installed the encroachment, patio, porch, walkways, turn-around apron and garage approach. None of those have experienced this failure.

Per his report, 5 of the 8 tests failed, organic soil was not properly removed from the beginning of the project, a keyway was not properly constructed, slopes were 1 ½ to 1 rather than 2:1.

With all of these glaring defects and failures, and for this contractor to still refuse responsibility is surreal.

The matter was taken to the Contractor’s State License Board. Its guidelines require to contractor to produce a written fix. That deadline passed in October. No report has been produced, and no written fix has ever been received.

The thousands of dollars we’ve already spent mitigating the sub par work, coupled with the months we have exhausted having to compile data, file complaints, consult industry experts, plead our case before a variety of legal counsel and County officials is beyond reason. Then to continue to be victimized with his insistence that we are somehow to blame because we now refuse to let him ‘come to our aid’ is absurd.

Vaden and Beth Savage