So we decided to have the backyard fixed up for summertime and get a nice patio, seating wall, and built-in barbecue. We had several estimates and decided on a referral from a friend who had an addition built by this "contractor". We gave him a drawing of what we wanted and lots of photos of examples of the stone, wall caps, and concrete we wanted. He started right away preparing the area and was building the seating wall by day 2. I thought this was strange, but what do I know? I would have thought the wall would go on top of the patio with footings into the concrete, but heck this guy has done this before right? First major problem was when Mr. Patio shows up with a load of dark charcoal bricks. What are those for, I ask? "The top of the wall, and I can't take them back"....I don't think so, Mr Patio. First those are the ugliest things I have ever seen, second you don't just show up with a load of materials without getting approval, third, that looks nothing like the long stone caps we showed you we wanted. Uh oh, I think we may be in trouble here. 
Ok, so next problem the stone veneer that we requested, is "not available" so he brings one stone of a few other types and tells us to pick. Stone veneer is comprised of many different shapes, sizes and colors, so picking one stone as a sample is a guess at what the batch would look like. A photo or a sample section glues to a board (which we found out later from visiting a stone store) is a much better way to see what the stones will look like together. Anyway Mr. Patio starts attaching the stones on parts of the seating wall and the first night a few have already fallen off! I don't think the three bubblegum sized pieces of cement are enough to hold the stone on. Ugh, now I am getting really worried.
Ok, so next problem the stone veneer that we requested, is "not available" so he brings one stone of a few other types and tells us to pick. Stone veneer is comprised of many different shapes, sizes and colors, so picking one stone as a sample is a guess at what the batch would look like. A photo or a sample section glues to a board (which we found out later from visiting a stone store) is a much better way to see what the stones will look like together. Anyway Mr. Patio starts attaching the stones on parts of the seating wall and the first night a few have already fallen off! I don't think the three bubblegum sized pieces of cement are enough to hold the stone on. Ugh, now I am getting really worried.
Time to start the barbecue. The what? Oh Mr. Patio is running out of money because he had to pay his rent and now that will be extra $. I'm about loosing my mind at this point, and we have already given him more money than work he has done, so we are stuck. He continues on, making a giant mess of the backyard leaving trash everywhere and making it look a lot worse than before instead of better.
BBQ is still unfinished with no counter top and no door installed.
And the stairs...yup, you guessed it that will also be extra. So basically, he underbid the job to get it, and then decided to charge us more once he got started. Super!
What a nightmare. Things continued to get worse. He backed into the side of the garage, broke the back gate (by another misjudgment in his driving), raised the price $3,000, and we had to go out and buy our own wall caps (+$700)and still pay for the ugly ones he bought without approval. Really??? Yup it gets worse....
So I come home from work the day the concrete is poured and instead of the picture I gave him of beautiful stamped concrete that looks like flagstone, it has a few hand drawn lines across the middle and its the wrong color. I completely break down at this point. I cannot believe this is happening. This guy is not listening to a word I am saying, and if he is he is not understanding. Everyday I have a huge argument with him telling him what I want and he is telling me what he did is what I want???? I think I know what I want and this is not it!
This is what we got...
This is the picture we gave him of what we wanted....
Although he assured us he knew what stamped concrete was, he apparently did not! Hand drawn lines are not stamped concrete.
So now we have a patio, that is completely not what I wanted, but I'm stuck with it unless I want to pay someone else to redo it. We paid way more than his original estimate. And he hasn't finished the barbecue (no top). Plus the closer we look the more things we find wrong. Things start getting ugly, I demand his contractors license which he promised me he had and come to find out...surprise! no license. He wants the remaining $1000 because he needs to send his friend back to the islands (like that's my problem). Chad is out of town and I am left to deal with Mr. Patio, so I call for backup...a few firefighter friends who come and disperse the situation. Mr. Patio is told to hit the road because the job is in no way complete, the yard is a disaster, the patio is completely not what we asked for and he is not getting the remaining $1000. Now he is threatening to put a lien on our house for the $1000. Are you serious? I think operating without a license is frowned upon heavily in the state of CA, so chances are he will get in more trouble for that if he tries to take legal action on us. PLUS he hasn't finished the job!!!!
This is the end of the concrete, where there is supposed to be a step. He just left the wood there because it was stuck from the rebar he stuck in the concrete to keep it in place, which is oozing out from underneath. The concrete is also supposed to go out farther than the wall, and have a lip. And below is the picture we gave him of what we wanted....
Completely different! Ugh!
We wedged the wood off and now this is what the edge looks like - ugly and uneven!
So we are trying to find a legitimate contractor to finish the barbecue. Four appointments for estimates and all four were no shows. I thought the economy wasn't so good and people were looking for work? Apparently not in my area. Finally we did get one guy out for an estimate and the estimate was $6,100 for the counter top. Do we have sucker written across our foreheads? There is no way I am paying $6,100 for a barbecue counter top. The search continues....
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