What is the right price to pay for concrete finishes?
We all want a great deal. That being said, what can you expect to get when paying way less upfront for concrete services? Decorative concrete is no different than any other consumer materials and often times you do get what you pay for. As you may or may not know all concrete is not the same!
Having been in the decorative concrete industry for years we have witnessed first hand the trials and tribulations of bad installations and cheap concrete finishes. Whenever we loose out a project to a low bid we wonder, what did they miss or what are they leaving out? Is it the protection of the walls and equipment from splatter and spray? or is it the Warranty on the work performed if something does go wrong? There are many ways to cut corners and add to the bottom line in decorative concrete, so we wanted to share a few of these not so honorable techniques that some other concrete companies use to get your business at a low concrete price.
Insurance, Workers Compensation, Certified Training:
Although these might not seem like an all important factor when you are simply looking for a new patio surface, These items cost money and are in place to protect YOU! If something were to happen on your property that injured a worker that was not insured, how much could that cost you or raise your insurance after the claim?
Diluted Products:
Concrete coatings, sealers, and materials that are not from an approved and trusted supplier and not blended as per manufacturers directions can often be diluted and ‘cut’ with cheap fillers like sand or water to make them go further. This does add to the bottom line of the installers profit but makes for less than an ideal finish.
Not applying enough material:
Especially during the top coats and sealer of the project not applying enough material to last long will cause early decay and early signs of wear and tear. Making for premature maintenance and added costs. This is often the case when the company you are dealing with is a small operation that can easily change their phone number and get back into business as another company.
Skipped steps:
When applying decorative concrete products it is critical that each and every step of the process is done and done right. As an example if you were to not do the right surface preparation initially, you will most likely experience costly de-lamination and de-bonding problems down the road.
Warranty:
How strong is the Warranty going to be when there is little to no profit left in the job to allow for touch ups and remedial fixes if things go wrong. As is with many small fly by night businesses we often tell clients they provide a tail light Warranty: “when their vehicles’ taillights disappear over the horizon the Warranty is void.
At the end of the day, we all need to make a little money and sleep at night knowing we have done our very best. Let us prove to you that we are not always the most expensive but we are by far the best at what we do. You will also feel good about having dealt with SurfaceScapes on your next concrete repair or beautification project.
