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Posted by Landscape Design Guy on December 13, 2006, 10:06 am
Hello and Happy Holidays to you.
The overlay products are good for low traffic areas like patios and
walkways. I couldn't recommend these products for driveways. Some
home owners use these products as a short term fix....
As for contractor.....if this contractor is that good he should have a
license. How many jobs has he missed by not having one? This protect
you and him.
Contractor selection
1. Experience. How many years has the company been in business?
2. References. Not just letters, ask for phone numbers or visit a
project or two.
3. Payment Schedule. Pay as the job progresses not all at once.
4. Make sure you and your contract understand the complete job. Less
means less.
5. Licensing. Review permits, company licenses with your City where
applicable.
6. Guarantees. Ask your references if the company stands by their
contracts.
7. Work Changes. How does the company deal with unforeseen site
changes?
Please visit my blog for more information...it is new.
http://designedlandscapes.blogspot.com/
Lila wrote:
> Hi and Happy Holidays!
>
> My husband and I are considering getting some work done to spruice up
> the hard surfaces around our house in Santa Clarita, CA. We like the
> look and options of stamped concrete. One of the contractors offered
> concrete overlay that's about 1/4" thick, rather than removing the
> existing concrete and repouring, and then applying the stamped concrete
> design. We were wondering if that is a good idea because we are
> concerned about the durability of the thin overlay. This project would
> involve our driveway, walk way to the front door with some steps, the
> side of the house as well as part of the back yard. Assuming that it's
> properly applied, is the overlay going to last as long as fresh poured
> stamped concrete? Is it going to save us money? I would imagine there
> would be some big cost savings going with the overlay, like not having
> to rip out the existing concrete, haul it away and repour it all. And
> is it going to save us money in the long run? Or will it look nice for
> a few years and then start cracking and pealing and will we end up just
> redoing the whole work from scratch?
>
> Another question: the contractor that has shown us a portfolio of some
> of his work that we like the best has no license, but he seems to have
> the magic in his hands because the work looks beautiful and he sounds
> like he really knows what he's talking about. Is it foolish to hire
> someone without a license just because you have a good feeling about
> him and his work? He's also a neighbor, and he just bought his house
> in our neighborhood, so he probably won't go far for a while if we have
> problems. We are thinking about hiring him for a short job to do
> something else (replace a broken jacuzzi gas line under concrete and
> replace a cracked driveway section), so we can always evaluate him
> based on that job before we decide to go with him for the big job.
>
> We would appreciate some advice from home owners who have done the
> overlay, especially a while ago (any problems?) and from the pros.
>
> Thank you very much!
>
> Lila
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