Is $35,000 to rebuild front steps and patio a fair price?
Project Details
I hired a contractor to rebuild my front steps and patio. The initial quote was $26k, but it jumped to $35k before work started. The timeline was supposed to be 3 weeks, but it took about 5 months. I ended up having to hire the engineer, surveyor, and deal with the borough and utilities myself for permits and plans. During the project, the contractor hit gas, sewer, and water lines, broke downspouts and sidewalk blocks. They used a backhoe instead of hand-digging, even though the utilities were marked. I had to pay about $8000 in “extra” repairs for these issues, including $900 for the gas line, $1500 for the sewer line, $5000 for demolished sidewalk blocks, and $1000 for an unauthorized driveway expansion. They also crushed downspouts which I had to replace. The finished work has major quality issues. The cheek wall is bowed, the patio slab was poured wrong with incorrect slope and mesh instead of rebar, the stairs were hand-mixed, there are missing construction joints causing immediate cracking, red chalk stains are still visible, and there are loose cement drippings. They also didn't restore my neighbor's yard as per the contract. The contractor got angry when I asked for written change orders and reportedly harasses reviewers to remove bad feedback. They claim they lost money but made me cover every repair. This project has been a horror story and has basically ruined my life as my mortgage has doubled. This is my first house and first project, so I didn't know what to look for and took the contractor's word too often. I was in over my head and couldn't afford to fire them and hire someone else.
Quote Details
Rebuild the front steps and patio. The initial quote was $26,000 but jumped to $35,000 before work began. The project was promised in 3 weeks but took approximately 5 months. Issues and quality problems encountered: - Gas line hit by contractor using a backhoe without hand-digging ($900 cost to homeowner) - Sewer line hit by contractor using a backhoe without hand-digging ($1,500 cost to homeowner) - Downspouts crushed (cost covered by homeowner) - Sidewalk blocks demolished ($5,000 cost to homeowner) - Unauthorized driveway expansion dug and billed without prior quote ($1,000 cost to homeowner) - Cheek wall is noticeably bowed - Patio slab poured incorrectly (mesh instead of rebar; slope is ¾″/ft vs. max ¼″/ft) - Hand-mixed stairs at top instead of a continuous pour - Missing construction joints, leading to immediate cracking - Red staining from non-washable chalk still visible after 4 months - Loose cement drippings hardened on pavement - Neighbor’s yard left dug-up and filled with gravel, not restored per contract
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