On Apr 29, 1:15 pm, balti_phuc...@
yahoo.com wrote:
> On Apr 29, 11:14 am, john.stv...@
gmail.com wrote:
>
>
>
>> On Apr 27, 7:05 pm, Anonymous Sender
remailer.metacolo.com>
>> wrote:>
>>> From the files of 1) the Better Business Bureau (BBB),
>>> and 2) the Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC):
>
>>> Complaint Against Navy Seal Coating (MHIC # 92424)
>
>>> Richard Stevens from Navy Seal & Paving who was driving a white Chevy
>>> pick-up truck (MD License plate # 42R-266) knocked on my family home
>>> door without an invitation on the morning of Wednesday, June 28, 2006,
>>> asking if I wanted my gravel driveway “blacktopped.” He then proceeded
>>> to tell me that he had 50 tons of asphalt material that he needed to
>>> get rid of before the start of the July 4th weekend holiday and that he
>>> could offer a great paving job for $3,000.00 cash. So we proceeded to
>>> walk to the lower half of my driveway which has crush-n-run gravel on
>>> it. After looking at my driveway, we both agreed that it needed: 1)
>>> grading, 2) removal of the excess gravel and 3) herbicide applied to
>>> kill the grass growing in the driveway. Because of all the recent
>>> drenching rains, I inquired: 1) if he could pave over the soaked gravel
>>> driveway, and 2) if the applied asphalt would withstand heavy truck
>>> traffic since heating oil is delivered to my home during the winter
>>> season? He stated that the pooling water in the driveway didn’t matter
>>> and that he would put down an “airport mix” which would withstand
>>> 70,000 lbs of truck weight before cracking or breaking-up!
>
>>> Later that same day, Richard Stevens returned with a front end loader
>>> and proceeded to grade the lower half of my gravel driveway. After he
>>> finished grading, I proceeded to ask him why he didn’t load and remove
>>> any excess gravel as previously agreed upon? He told me it wasn’t
>>> necessary. I then stated that the finished paved driveway would be
>>> significantly higher than my pre-existing lawn and he responded that it
>>> wouldn’t be. I told him that he was the expert and that I needed to
>>> defer to his judgment, but he’d better be right or I would call him on
>>> it! When I asked him about the application of grass killer, he said he
>>> would do that the next morning prior to paving.
>
>>> On June 29th the following morning, Richard Stevens and his work crew
>>> arrived at my family home around 8:30 AM. I told him that I was still
>>> waiting for a written contract. So he proceeded to his truck where he
>>> retrieved a blank contract which he completed. He entered under Section
>>> F that the machine applies “3” inches of hot asphalt type along with
>>> the letters “AP.” I asked what the letters “AP” stood for and he
>>> said “airport mix.” I then asked him to spell it out and he responded
>>> that he couldn’t spell the word “airport.” I told him I would spell it
>>> for him and he proceeded to write it out on the contract per my
>>> request. He then asked me to enter my name & address and to date & sign
>>> the contract which I did. He then gave me a copy which is attached to
>>> this complaint.
>
>>> Around 9:45AM, his son Mike Stevens (who was driving the company dump
>>> truck) showed up with 25 tons of asphalt material. Richard Stevens and
>>> his crew proceeded to apply the asphalt to my gravel driveway which
>>> measured about 80 linear yards. After laying approx 50 linear yards,
>>> Mike Stevens needed to get another load and departed. At approx 11:00
>>> AM, Mike returned with an additional 15 tons of asphalt material which
>>> he said he got from an asphalt plant in Aberdeen, MD. Richard and his
>>> crew proceeded to apply the remaining asphalt to the end of my gravel
>>> driveway where it meets with Jerusalem Road. The asphalt was then
>>> rolled with a small (approx 1 ton) roller to compress the asphalt
>>> aggregate. By 11:30 AM, Navy Seal Coating was packing up and leaving
>>> the jobsite. Richard Stevens approached me and asked for payment and I
>>> proceeded to hand over $3,000.00 in cash. I asked for a receipt and he
>>> then asked me for my copy of the written contract where he wrote “Paid
>>> in Full” and signed with his two initials “R.S.” He told me that I
>>> could drive on the finished asphalt by early evening that same day.
>
>>> On July 3rd the following Monday, my aunt who resides next door to my
>>> property had a lawn care company over to cut her grass. In the process
>>> of turning around their truck and trailer, I noticed skirmish marks on
>>> my asphalt driveway. After further inspection, I noticed several stones
>>> flaking away and separating from the top layer of the coarse asphalt
>>> aggregate applied to my driveway. On Wednesday, July 5th, my brother
>>> and I closely inspected my newly paved driveway. We noted: 1) that the
>>> finished asphalt material was rather coarse compared to the asphalt on
>>> Jerusalem Road which was just replaced during 2005, 2) that the asphalt
>>> in the middle half of my driveway appeared to be as thin as 1” instead
>>> of the 3” that was promised in writing on the contract, and 3) that the
>>> coarse asphalt aggregate seemed loose particularly around the edges of
>>> the finished job. Over the next few days, I noticed that aggregate
>>> stones could be easily flaked away and were separating from the edges
>>> of my paved asphalt driveway. Inspection of where the paved asphalt
>>> meets with Jerusalem Road revealed even more aggregate stones flaking
>>> away and separating from the paved driveway with relative ease.
>
>>> So I began to wonder what kind of asphalt mixture was applied to my
>>> gravel driveway a week earlier. I started calling several asphalt
>>> suppliers (eg. Lafarge, Maryland Paving, Maryland Infrastructure) in
>>> the Aberdeen area to inquire about their “airport mix.” I was
>>> repeatedly told by all asphalt suppliers that they didn’t make or sell
>>> an “airport mix.” After a morning of calling around, I ended up
>>> discovering that Maryland Infrastructure (aka Independence Construction
>>> Materials, 910 Old Philadelphia Road, Aberdeen, MD 21001) had sold 40
>>> tons (eg, 25 tons followed by 15 tons) of a “base” asphalt mixture to
>>> Navy Seal Coating on the morning of June 29th while paying for both
>>> transactions with cash. Arch Bullock and later the Plant Manager Joe
>>> (Maryland Infrastructure, 410-272-8640) told me that Navy Seal Coating
>>> ordered and purchased a “19 mm base material made with 64-22 Level 1
>>> oil.” Mr. Bullock told me that this “19 mm base” should: 1) have been
>>> rolled with at least a 10,000 lb roller (as compression of the asphalt
>>> aggregate is probably the most important part of paving), and 2) have
>>> had another top coat applied over the “19 mm base” since it wasn’t
>>> impervious to water. Mr. Bullock commented that if the coarse material
>>> wasn’t covered with a top coat (using 9.5 or 12.5 mm stones), that
>>> water would infiltrate the “19 mm base” this coming winter, freeze and
>>> then likely crack/break the “19 mm base” into smaller pieces shortly
>>> thereafter.
>
>>> The reason for filing this complaint is multifaceted:
>
>>> 1) I was never told that Navy Seal Coating was paving my driveway with
>>> a “base coat” asphalt material at any time. In fact, on Section D of
>>> their written contract, it outlines application of “blank” inches of a
>>> binder base. Richard Stevens left Section D blank and proceeded to
>>> complete Section F instead never mentioning that he was intending to
>>> apply a “base coat” of asphalt to my driveway.
>
>>> 2) Navy Seal Coating cooked up the name “airport mix” and never
>>> mentioned the word “base” as it applied to the asphalt product they
>>> ordered and purchased from Maryland Infrastructure for exclusive use on
>>> my driveway. None of the asphalt suppliers (eg. Lafarge, Maryland
>>> Paving, Maryland Infrastructure) makes nor sells an “airport mix” for
>>> sale to paving contractors like Navy Seal Coating.
>
>>> 3) Navy Seal Coating left the job (with no hint of returning) and never
>>> told me that I would need a top coat of fine asphalt applied over the
>>> coarse “base coat.”
>
>>> 4) While my written contract from Navy Seal Coating specifies that 3”
>>> will be machined applied, the middle half of my driveway is lucky if 2”
>>> was applied and in some places, the thickness looks to be less than 1”
>>> of finished asphalt.
>
>>> 5) According to Maryland Infrastructure, Navy Seal Coating did not
>>> compress (by steamrolling) the applied “base coat” with enough force
>>> and this is likely a leading cause why aggregate stones are flaking
>>> away and separating from the paved driveway with relative ease just one
>>> week later.
>
>>> 6) According to Maryland Infrastructure, I am sitting on a time bomb as
>>> it is only a matter of time before water infiltrates the “base coat”
>>> asphalt on my driveway, freezes and then cracks/breaks the coarse paved
>>> surface into pieces.
>
>>> 7) My neighbor (two doors over) had Navy Seal Coating over approx a
>>> month ago to pave over his gravel driveway and they used a “top coat”
>>> of asphalt aggregate on his driveway. In addition, no aggregate stone
>>> from that driveway is flaking away and/or separating from his paved
>>> driveway.
>
>>> 8) Navy Seal Coating has paved several other driveways in the area
>>> (3001 Woods End Drive, 3005 Woods End Drive, 12420 Jerusalem Road,
>>> 12514 Jerusalem Road) and none of them has the coarse “base coat”
>>> applied which can be found exclusively on my driveway.
>
>>> 9) Richard Stevens never applied grass killer to my driveway. I ended
>>> up doing it myself since his contract reads “all material is guaranteed
>>> for one year except for grass and/or cracks.”
>
>>> 10) My finished driveway now sits anywhere from 1 to 3 inches higher
>>> than my adjoining lawn
>
> ...
>
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>
> - Show quoted text -
This gentelmen told some of the truth but not the whole truth. We
paved his neighbors driveway he had come over and asked for a price.
We gave him a price for $4500 dollars & he said the he could not
afford that. I then gave him my buisness card, he told me he would
call me when he got the money. The next day Wednesday June 28, 2006
he asked what could we do for $3000 dollars cash because we were doing
a lot of his neighbors driveways. He said I could come up with $3000
dollars cash if you could do my driveway. His driveway sloped down the
hill and went up to the main road. His neighbor came out next door and
told him and myself that they shared the right a way of the driveway
and that she didnt want no water going on her property. If anybody
looked at the driveway they would know what we were talking about. His
driveway is 2 feet higher then his front yard and there is no where
for the water to go. We put down 48 ton of airport mix at $55 dollars
a ton and the labor was $360. The total price of blacktop was $2640.
We showed him the reciepts of the material that was delievered to him.
We grated the driveway down, took out 2-3 inches of stone and hauled
the excess stone by his garage where he told us to put the excess
stone & dumped it. He said that he would use the excess stone later.
His neighbor came out and looked at the driveway and said she was very
pleased with her part. He stood at the end of the driveway and told us
what a beautiful job we had done and paid us cash. We did not ask for
cash he recommended it. This material was bought from Independent
Materials in Maryland. This gentelmen did not understand the
difference between airport mix and F3 mix which is the same material.
Before this gentelmen gave us the driveway he went and looked at all
of our work including his neighbors and asked if they were pleased
with the work and they were very plaeased with our work. He also
checked to see if we had home improvement license & were registered
with the state of Maryland which we were. Out of 80 driveways 2 years
later there is no complaints, he is the only one but he has no
complaint cause the job was done professional. We used a ton in a half
with a 7 ton vibratory on the driveway and it was put down with a
Leeboy 1000 paver. That is the same equipment that every paver uses
everyday to pave driveways. Everything was done according to this
gentelmens expectations.
P.S. There was no grass in his driveway but we applied grass killer
anyway.
