Pennsylvania gives homeowners real protections through the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act. Knowing four or five of its rules will screen out most bad operators before any concrete is ordered.
How do I find a good concrete contractor?
To find a good concrete contractor, look for one who visits the site, asks about drainage and writes down what they will build. Then check them. Search their home improvement contractor registration with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, ask for an insurance certificate sent by their agent, and go and look at a driveway they poured at least two winters ago. In this climate, how a slab looks after a few winters tells you more than how it looks in a photo taken the day it was finished.
Does a concrete contractor need to be licensed and insured in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania has no statewide trade licence for concrete contractors. Instead, the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires anyone doing $5,000 or more of home improvement work in a year to register with the Office of Attorney General and to show the registration number on contracts, estimates and advertising. The Act also requires at least $50,000 of personal injury liability cover and $50,000 of property damage cover. Registration is not a test of skill. Some municipalities add their own rules. The City of Pittsburgh's Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections issues a General Contractor licence, so ask the permit office what it requires for your job.
What should I ask a concrete contractor before hiring?
- What is your Pennsylvania home improvement contractor registration number?
- How deep is the stone base and how is it compacted?
- How thick is the slab and what reinforcement goes in it?
- Is the mix air-entrained, and what strength?
- Where will the water go, and is a drain included?
- Where do the joints go?
- Who gets the permit and who places the PA One Call notice?
- How does concrete reach my yard: truck, buggy or pump?
- What happens to the price if you find bad ground?
- When can I walk and drive on it?
What should a written estimate include?
A written estimate should state the area, thickness, base, reinforcement, mix, finish, joints, drainage, tear-out, haul-away, permits, start and finish dates, total price and payment schedule. For a home improvement contract over $500, Pennsylvania law requires a written, signed contract that includes the contractor's registration number, a description of the work, the total price and the start and completion dates.
How much deposit is normal?
Up to one third. Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act caps the deposit on larger contracts, which the statute sets as those over $5,000: the contractor may not take more than one third of the contract price, plus the cost of any special order materials. Smaller jobs often follow the same pattern. The balance is normally paid in stages tied to the work.
A contractor wants 50 percent up front in cash with no contract. Should I agree?
No. Asking for 50 percent up front on a job over $5,000 goes past the legal deposit limit, and no written contract breaks the rule for work over $500. Cash with no receipt leaves you nothing to show a court. Any one of the three is reason to walk away.
What are the red flags?
- No registration number on the estimate.
- Pressure to sign today, or a price that is only good right now.
- Left-over concrete from another job offered at a discount.
- No mention of base, thickness, steel or joints.
- A large cash deposit.
- No address or insurance certificate.
- A promise that the concrete will never crack.
What warranty should I expect?
Expect a written workmanship warranty and read what it excludes. There is no standard length set by law, and we will not invent one. Most exclude hairline shrinkage cracks, damage from deicing salt and movement of the ground. Ask for the terms in the contract, including how to make a claim.
I paid a deposit and the contractor stopped answering. What can I do?
Send a dated written demand to perform or refund by a set date. If the contractor has still stopped answering, file a complaint with the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection, which handles home improvement complaints, and consider a claim in Magisterial District Court. If you paid by card, ask the card issuer about a dispute. Keep the contract, receipts and messages together. You also have three business days after signing a home improvement contract to cancel without penalty.
How do I know they have done stamped work before?
Ask to see it. A contractor who has done this before can give you addresses of stamped work that is several years old, and photos of jobs in progress showing their own crew and tools. Look at the pattern lines, the joints and how the color has held. Stamping is unforgiving, since the concrete sets on its own schedule.
What if the crew hits a hidden water line?
If a marked public line is hit after a proper PA One Call notice, the excavator and the utility sort it out under the state's rules. Private lines are different. A water line, drain or wire that belongs to the house is not marked by the utilities, and old Pittsburgh lots have plenty of them. The contract should say who pays for damage to unmarked private lines. Tell us what you know is buried, and we dig carefully near the house.
Is a written estimate binding if they hit something unexpected?
A signed contract with a total price is binding on what it describes. An estimate is only a projection unless both sides sign it as the contract. Unexpected conditions are handled by a change order, which is a written, priced change that you approve before the extra work is done. Good contracts name the likely surprises, such as bad soil or buried debris, and set a unit price in advance.
For a real number, we need to see the site. Call (412) 725-2024 or text a few photos, and we will set up a free on-site estimate with a written quote.