Artistic Concrete Design

Generally Artistic did a decent job of setting up and doing a large patio concrete job for us, but the follow up and correcting of the stamping details was poor. We had quite a bit of white blotching of the grey coloring and the stamping of a granite style ramp was very poor in detail. We have still heard back from them about correcting what continues to be a less than professional job.

I had a fairly complex job – 1300 sqft of walkways and patios around our house with lots of turns and corners, tight tolerances, sandblast finish using top-​cast, and 24″ sawcuts throughout to make it look like pavers. I had several concrete companies look at the job. Many were not familiar with top-​cast. One knew top-​cast but did not want to do the extensive saw-​cuts. Another was ready to start right away, but didn’t seem to know what he was doing. Another knew what he was doing, but somehow got the idea that I would do the demo, and gave an exorbitant bid for the rest of the job (not including demo – which, again, I am supposed to do). In welcome contrast to this parade of disappointments, Ray Harvey of Artistic Concrete Design showed up promptly, figured out what I wanted quickly, told some colorful stories, and sent a reasonable bid the same evening. I went with his bid, and he completed the job easily, cheerfully, on time, and on budget – no fuss, no problems. Ray has a great crew with whom he has worked a long time (including his son, Dustin). I was able to communicate with the crew directly on whatever issues came up, and they took care of it. Overall, a great team that worked quickly and well.
Ray is a colorful personality, but also highly intelligent and experienced. I recommend Artistic Concrete for any concrete job, particularly if it is on the more complex end of things.

My wife and I heard a strong recommendation for this company on the TAMMY MICHAELS radio design show and thought we’d give them a try. BOY, WHAT A MISTAKE!!! We had them do a concrete stamped overlay on our patio (they talk extensively on their website about the durability). When the owner came out, he assured us that there would be no problems with cracking, adhesion or maintaining the color, etc… He said that his company had performed many of these kinds of jobs and the products they recommended were well tested; they also had been «schooled» in the application process. Within a week of the application (this was during the early summer), a big crack appeared where the concrete slab adjoins the other. It took the owner a week to come out and repair the crack. He took up the material that did not adhere and laid down another coat that ended up at a higher level than that rest of the patio, with uneven texture, etc., and within another week, it had cracked, too. After several calls, the owner finally came back to look at the mess, and he then proceeded to trowel over the original crack, put some sand on it??? (there was no sand on the rest of the patio) and announced that his job was complete. I had requested both the first and the second time (that the crack appeared) to completely replace that section (8′ X 10′) and he refused. I called two more times, and he told me that there was nothing more he could do, and if I wasn’t happy, tough. I threatened to file a law suit and his answer was to «bring it on.» We paid $ 3000.00 dollars for this job, and within the next couple of months, a number of additional cracks showed up out throughout the patio. In the original area, pieces of the overlay have come loose and fallen out. In another section, a 1′ X 2′ section has completely come loose. To this day, chunks of the overlay have cracked and broken off, and continue to do so. Now we have sections with no overlay (and another hole in the patio). We are very unhappy and completely disillusioned by our experience with this (highly recommended) company. Our patio is ruined, and we are now forced to remove the entire overlay and replace at a cost of several thousand additional dollars. I have spoken to the overlay manufactures (ThinCrete) and they said that it appears like it wasn’t installed properly. Suffice it to say, I would highly recommend exploring optional design concrete companies!

Update to ⁶⁄₂₉ post: Contractor hand delivered a cashier’s check for full amount of deposit. Check was delivered when it had been promised. Account now closed.