I'd keep a fresh bed of mulched flowers next to the steps and forget about it.

I live in PA. I can't keep flowers there all year, only summer. I believe that i shouldn't have to pay additional money to hide his mistake. I already gave this guy $10,000 and I am angry! What about the chunk out of the NEW patio where it meets NEW sidewalk? Do I plant flowers there, too? I'm sorry, but I came here to ask for USABLE advice, not for someone to basically excuse what I believe to be sloppy work.

Respectfully, buttermint215, you asked for suggestions on how to fix this and I assumed you meant cost effectively. Do evergreens instead of flowers. They have those in PA.

Yes. They do have evergreens in PA. But what about the other issues? How do I fix the chunk of concrete that has broken off in less than a month? Why do you refuse to address the other issues? What about the sloppy broom finish that will be even more evident once it's sealed? What about the danger of stepping into a hole so close to the street. You find a trip hazard so close to the road acceptable? You want to hit your head on the edge of a concrete walk when you fall after stepping into a slushy, icy hole? Oh, and I forgot about the hairline cracks that run the width of the steps. Even the landscapers mentioned that they should have used rebar or dug down and made a more solid base to tie such a large upper pad to a lower set of heavy sidewalk/steps on a grade. The contractor should have been aware of settling. Are you in the concrete business? Is this the kind of work that you'd find acceptable, both as a contractor or a homeowner? I'm certain this is NOT how a $10,000 job should look. But thanks for 'respectfully' reminding me that they have evergreens in PA.

Epoxy the chunk back on. If you want the steps to extend further, then pay for them to come back out. I've never seen a walkway that ended in mid yard, but since you asked for that, if you want anything else there, you'll need to pay them for it. The broom finish is fine. It's not decorative. It's there for functional reasons and does the job. Don't seal concrete. Especially if freeze thaw areas. It will pop off the face.

As usual, lwo's advice is excellent. I've epoxied concrete chunks back on without a callback.

I really don't feel that I should have to epoxy the chuck back on - it's a month old. Additionally, while I did tell them I wanted it to end before the road to avoid damage from the plow since we have no city sidewalks, I naturally assumed that it would be ground level at that point. I mean, who would think ending a step at that point would be a good idea? Shouldn't the contractor have dug deeper and placed the last step at ground level, or started the ground level step first and worked up from there? It just seems very dangerous and I have no solution other than to give this guy even more money. What about the sloppy edge? How is that excusable? I know that I asked for help on this site, but it's becoming apparent that everyone is going to make excuses for shoddy/sloppy work. Then I get the owner and his wife out here telling me 'we want you to be happy' yet in the next breath they are making excuses. You know what would make me happy? Fixing the OBVIOUS issues with the work and not charging me. Admitting that 'we could have/should have paid closer attention to the issues and made you aware of them then.' I feel as if they are telling me we can fix it (in other words we admit it's not right) but you have to pay for our errors. That's crazy! Why was it up to me, an inexperienced homeowner, to be forced to recognize a badly placed walk? Shouldn't that have been the duty of the guy in business for years? The guy I gave $10,000 to do the work correctly? Ugh!

I have come to the conclusion that this is not a site that is favorable to the homeowner. This is a site where other contractors make excuses for contractors that do inferior work. I gave someone $10,000 to do a job and the job was done incorrectly. I was hoping to get some USABLE advice, not 'go buy epoxy' for what, $20, then use my time to epoxy it back on and hope it looks good because I have no experience using epoxy. Oh, and then 'go spend $100, or more, on evergreens' to hide some inferior work. And then, 'don't seal it because it will be ruined.' Well, then why is the concrete guy that all of you feel knows it all telling me otherwise? He pushed for sealing. If I had him seal it, would all of you throw him under the bus for giving me poor advice? Probably not. You'd tell me that sealing is 'good' and then when the surface looks like crap I'd probably be told 'that's what happens to concrete in winter.' I will make sure to tell ALL others NEVER come to this site for advice and/or help. This is a site for excuses.

You ''assumed''. Enough said. They complied with what you verbally asked them to do. If you wanted them to extend the steps further, you should have physically marked it exactly where you wanted them to end. Yeah, they should be the ones glueing the concrete chunk back on, under their labor warranty that hey provided you with in the written contract where you specified the layout and details of the job. So there would be no assumptions and misunderstandings.

Can you try filling the swale in front of the step with a ($6.00) bag of white marble chips, to provide footing, while still allowing water to drain? Is the hollow deep enough to lay a 3" drain pipe in the bottom?

Yikes. In less than 3 hours you've decided to paint the entire site with the same brush? I came here to offer some advice, but not with that attitude. It sounds like the only thing that would make you happy is a complete tear-out and re-pour. Good luck with that.

I did mark where the end of the walk should be, and they moved it in somewhat and raised it to a step. I didn't have a step before. I just had a walk that ended flush with the ground - no trip hazard. I believe the last sidewalk SHOULD be flush with the ground - just like the old walk was. I never thought he would make them sit so high or I would have said something. And is it partially my fault for not recognizing that while the forms were up? Yes, but I was told not to walk on the formed area to prevent movement of the forms, so I never got a 'feel' that that last step was 'gonna be a doozy!' Look, I'm 50 years old, and I've almost fallen there twice already. It is a huge trip hazard. A hazard that a PROFESSIONAL should have seen. I do not pour steps for a living, so I don't have the knowledge that that would be an issue. This guy should have said, 'if I form/end the steps there you will be a a hole when you step off.' It is CODE that steps are supposed to be all of one height for 'muscle memory.' That prevents falls. The guy had a tape measure! He could measure that the last step was going to be significantly higher.

This is an odd step down and it is an odd step up, as well. My intention was to build a SMALL brick walk at the end so that when the plow does damage it (and it most certainly will) then I could replace the damaged brick as necessary. He designed it so I can't do that by not pulling it out further. This IS inferior work. It performs like crap and it looks like crap. I guess I'm just going to have to admit that I got ripped off and try to move on. It's the new American way. Excuse poor workmanship.

To AtomicJay007. No, I didn't want to paint the 'entire site' with the same brush, however I am upset and angry that OBVIOUS poor workmanship is getting excused. When the contractor came out here he and his wife kept the mantra 'we want you to be happy.' Well, I'm not happy. I'm not happy that they made excuses and suggested that I give them even MORE $$$ to make things right. So I get on this site hoping that someone - anyone - would say, "you know, you have a legitimate gripe. A PROFESSIONAL should have taken his TAPE MEASURE and determined that the steps would not be uniform height. He should have informed you IN ADVANCE that you would have one step higher than all of the others." If after that I said, ok, then I have no right to gripe. But he never gave me that chance. He poured and now says 'I can fix it for more money.' Why doesn't anyone recognize that? No. I get suggestions to buy evergreens and buy epoxy. How is that helping me? I already bought the product, $10,000 worth of it! Should I have to keep 'buying' more and more stuff to fix this? Look, I apologize if anyone thinks that I'm being rude, but I am angry. I saved for YEARS for this and I'm tapped out. I simply cannot afford to continue buying 'fixes' because a contractor didn't do the job correctly. Look, I get that 'contractor brotherhood' stuff, but that doesn't help make better workers, it simply excuses the poor ones and makes the entire group less likely to strive to do good work. Like I said. The new American way.

To Mamagoose: Thanks for the suggestion about the rocks. The three landscapers that looked at the job all say the same thing. You needed one more step and the contractor should have provided it. They've stated that the contractor could have simply measured and seen that it was going to be an issue. They have costly suggestions on how to fix it, but as I said, I can't afford any more work. Thank you, though, for your help. I grew up in this house and bought it a few years ago after it had fallen into disrepair when the new owner couldn't afford to do the work. We put LOTS of $$$ and sweat equity in the house and this has been such a disappointing experience that I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I had hoped that the concrete would be one of the final projects and I sold on ebay for years to pay for this. To have this happen is beyond sad. Again, thank you for your help, it is greatly appreciated.

AtomicJay007: Thank you! I am SO grateful that you've offered a workable suggestion. I really like your idea. I have one more landscaper coming out tomorrow, and if he can't offer an workable/affordable suggestion as to how to finish the walk, I will present your idea to the contractor.

As for the $$$ cost. I tried for two solid years to find someone to do this job. It's one of those, I won't get rich/too small to do on the side jobs. We had a guy lined up to do the work that gets OUTSTANDING reviews, but he dogged us for over a year. He refused to give me a starting date and my ancient steps were not only a terrible eyesore, but a huge liability. My mail carriers and UPS all commented on the danger. The guy we used has been in business for 25 years and I heard good stuff about him. Unfortunately, I think he sensed my desperation. We had a 19 x 12 pad for parking in the back, a small patio, the walk in the front and also about 70 feet of other walk - not a small job. The other guy was nearly the same price, so I don't think I was seriously overcharged. Where I felt overcharged is what he stated he was going to do, and what he actually did were different. You know the 'I'll fan this out (wasn't fanned out) I'll run this all the way to here' (ran it short) stuff they feed you. What he did and what he sold were not the same. He and his crew also frequently mentioned that my job was taking longer than expected. Hey, I didn't bid the job. How am I to know how long you need?

Anyway, I apologize for my rude comments. It's just SO frustrating because my dad had an amazing ability to see the end result of a job. Sadly, he passed away last September. He gave us LOTS of help/suggestions with the house and I know he would have seen the danger of that last step. I hope that the contractor will work with us on a fix. Again, thank you very much!

P.S. Should I seal concrete in PA? We get bitter cold temps.

Perhaps someone else can help me out with a link as I can't seem to find it, but someone recently wrote in worried about her concrete and thinking that she'd been the victim of shoddy work. Some of us replied that in fact, she hadn't. She soon came around to our point of view and thanked us.

It is impossible for us to tell who will be receptive and thankful and those who will remain in denial or just want to commiserate.

The idea that contractors stick up for other contractors here is a perfect example of the logical fallacy of relevance, ad hominem circumstantial to be specific. You must address my arguments (landscaping your way out of this) not my circumstances (earning a living as a contractor) which is completely irrelevant.

If they end up extending an apron like that, and it is above the existing grade, make sure you have the contractor come over every fall and put up the little indicator flags to tell the snowplow operator that there is an obstacle sticking up out of the ground that can tear the plow off the truck.

In response to Joseph Corlett LLC: I am the link you are looking for. I am the one the decided I would try to learn to love the flaws, but I can't. It's bothered me to know that I spent $10,000 of HARD-EARNED $$$ to pay for this and we are not happy. My husband works in a mill 50 hours weeks for $14 an hour. He's on his feet the entire time. Money does not come easy to us. Sure, it's not your problem of how my husband earns his living, or how hard he works. But how would you feel if you, or your wife, worked HARD and sacrificed (not eating out, no vacations, etc.) to have something like this and it turned our badly? I don't believe that you would be so accepting.

I simply feel most of the issues I'm having were preventable with a bit of extra effort. I've had four landscapers here and without my prompt they have all mentioned why the contractor left the work as he did. They all questioned why the walk ended on a slope in a hole. They all questioned why the visible edges weren't finished. You can see from the photos that these are areas that can't be easily hidden. You have your opinion, and I have mine. Mine is they did sloppy work and it was preventable with not much more effort. They chose the low road because it was easier and the job was taking them longer than they anticipated. As I mentioned in a prior post, them not planning for the length of a job is not my fault.

When a contractor comes to your home they are basically your 'employee' for that period of time. You pay them for a job WELL done - not a job ONLY done. If I do a crappy job at work, I'm called on it, and so is most everyone else in the workforce. I don't get paid to do a job, I get paid to do a job right - there's a difference. I gave this guy $10,000. I provided Gatorade, lunch and bottles of water every day that they were here. I treated these guys WELL, and I'm upset that I made the extra effort for them and they didn't for me. You'd be disappointed, as well.

In response to Sombreuil: Good point about notifying the snow plow operator. I will not, however, be extending to the street - only past the low lying area. At that point I would put bricks, or pavers, flush with the ground. If the bricks get damaged, big deal - replace them in the spring. I understand this is a weird set-up with no city walk to tie into. Our situation is odd because we share a main driveway with the neighbors, so there is no sidewalk off the driveway like most homes. If we didn't have this front walk, then we'd have to go down a long gravel driveway, all the way around the house to our mailbox/front of the house. Yes, it's odd, but it is workable. The contractor just chose not to take the additional time to measure and look at the finished product. My dad taught me to ALWAYS try to look ahead at the entire job BEFORE starting to prevent issues such as this. Is that a guarantee? No, but it helps. Thanks for the heads up on the plow.