Stu wrote on 08-12-2012

Very disappointed

We are very disappointed with some of the workmanship that went into our garage. 1. To start with was the concrete slab construction. In a properly poured pad, chairing the rebar is a must. I was told this by Jeff who works in the Code and Permits department for the Municipal Affairs office of the Alberta Government. (Example: http://www.concreteconstruction.net/industry-news.asp?sectionID=707&articleID=325536) In our case, they just placed the rebar on the ground and pour over top of it. This does not achieve the strength that placing the rebar on chairs inside the concrete slab does. It also allows for water penetration from below. This slab will not have the life of a properly poured one. This was a concern of mine before they poured the pad so it was brought it up with our builder. Assurance, in writing, was given that the rebar would be lifted before the concrete was poured. It was not. Unfortunately in Alberta it is not code however, so there was no recourse for this. 2. The finish of the slab was damage because they poured the concrete while it was raining, so it is pitted and the top of it is very weak. You could scrape it away with a key. I brought this up with the builder and told him it needed to be ground down to a smooth finish. We wanted to install an epoxy finish on the floor but this can not be done unless there is a smooth surface. He assured me, again in writing, a finisher would sand down the surface to an acceptable smoothness. It is hardly acceptable. It barely looks any different from pre-sanding and thus we can not put the epoxy floor coating on. 3. The trench that was dug for the electrical from the house was not filled in properly and a large amount of soil from that trench was poorly raked over our lawn. I can only imagine this was done because it was faster than doing the job properly. Because all of the soil was not packed back into the trench, it is starting to sink and has become a hazard when walking through the backyard. We have small children that play in the yard who are in danger of injury because of this. 4. The builder did not back fill around the slab that was poured. There is an 18 inch wide, 12 inch deep “moat” along 2 walls of the garage. This is also a severe hazard. I have no complaints regarding the actual structure of the garage. The framing, siding, doors, & shingles are all fine, but as they say, “A building is only as good as its foundation“, and this foundation is below standard. I do NOT recommend this company for anyone’s building needs. Find a builder that will actually finish what they started and like Mike Holmes says, “Check their references.” I can only hope our bad fortune and lack of knowledge will teach others about which questions that need to be asked at the beginning of their projects.