Dan Bennett, serial owner of stamped concrete businesses in Chantilly, Virginia

Dan Bennett was the owner of Concreate Designs LLC. Now that Concreate

Designs has "disappeared," and he has opened a new company called Stone

Images LLC, I am listing his name in particular because I don't want

him to be able to simply continue to open companies under different

names and continue to deceive people.

I ordered a stamped concrete patio, which was quite expensive at nearly

$4,500. Dan sent workers over to perform the excavation on time (second

payment installment), then the workers disappeared for nearly SIX

WEEKS. I asked specifically to be notified when workers would be doing

the work.

On the day the patio was poured, I was not home. The workers simply

showed up and poured the patio (on top of 2 inches of standing water, I

might add). When I came home, the workers were removing the equipment

and asked for final payment. The patio had not been poured to the

correct design specifications –an incorrect pattern was used!

Not only that, but the patio had been poured so that it was actually

HIGHER than the back door of the house, and water began to leak in

around the walls and door and cause damage. This in itself was an

engineering feat, since my backyard slopes down away from the house.

(How could a real professional who knows what he's doing pour a patio

that is HIGHER than the basement floor of the house?) Not only that, to

get the patio to fit close to the house, the workers BENT UP THE SIDING

and poured the concrete underneath. The cable for cable TV was entering

the house in the back, and they actually poured the concrete so that

the cable was embedded in the concrete!

Lastly, they emptied their hopper in the woods – a protected wildlife

preserve – behind my house. Unbelievable.

The owner, Dan Bennett, assured me that he would take care of

everything. He apologized profusely and admitted that the job was

shabby at best. He said that he would rip out the patio and have it

re-poured correctly and repair damage done to the house during the

initial work; however, he'd need payment for the patio to cover his

labor and materials or he'd be "too far in the hole" to be able to

afford to give me a replacement. I am a bit too trusting and actually

gave him the final payment for my "patio" to help him meet his demands.

Of course, he never returned. The patio caused considerable water

damage to the house. I paid more than $800 to have the patio removed,

and even more to have a new patio poured by an actual professional. I

had my siding replaced, which was rather expensive since that type of

siding is no longer manufactured. I replaced the drywall inside the

house. I spent hour digging up the concrete left in the woods to be

disposed of properly. In short, I have spent thousands recovering from

Mr. Bennett's incompetence and lack of willingness to correct his

company's mistakes.

Thanks, Dan Bennett. I hope that anyone reading this won't be fooled by

you again!

Laura

Lorton, Virginia

U.S.A.