Zafra Concrete

Abraham and crew did an excellent job. Clear communication throughout. The crew worked every day from start to finish and never left us hanging. Now we have a very well built patio.

Abraham and crew did a fantastic job for us! We had a hose bib leak right where it was set in concrete and also had a small sidewalk that had raised up about 2 inches and needed to be replaced. We needed the leak done immediately, but were willing to wait on the sidewalk. Abraham came over the very day I called and examined the situation and sent me an email bid a few hours later. The very next day, his crew arrived and started working on both projects. They were careful, clean, and did a perfect job. In addition, they repaired another sidewalk that was starting to rise and a broken flagstone on the front porch, neither of which were part of the contract. We couldn’t be more pleased!

We have dealt with a number of contractors over the years with mixed results. This time we had a great experience all the way around. We have a number of family members in the concrete business and his quote came in exactly where we expected it. He was extremely responsive, always on time, and his crews were friendly, efficient, and did a quality job. Abraham runs a great business and we would not only recommend him, but we will be using him on a future project. You should have no concerns with this pick.

Emailed Abraham Zafra through his website to give us an estimate on a retaining wall for our second home in Encinitas, he responded and set a time to come to our house. We traveled 2 ½ hours all the way from El Centro, texted and emailed him to confirm the appointment. He was a no show and not even a courtesy phone call to cancel. Very disappointed at his unprofessional conduct after all the positive reviews posted online.

I cannot talk highly enough about Abraham and Zafra Concrete. Not only are they professional, but they are timely, thorough, artistic and detail oriented. There were so many little elements that were unforeseen when we began our job, and Abraham had answers and suggestions for everything. I found Zafra through Unilocal,and I’m so glad for this site, because the reviews really help so much. Abraham is an honest, hard working owner and his crew is fantastic! Everthing that everyone else said is so true about his work ethic. There are not a lot of contractors out there anymore with an artistic flair and good honest work ethics, but Abraham is a gem. Thanks so much for your beautiful work, we will definitely be calling on you for other areas in the near future!

We had Abraham and his crew install a modern fire pit for us, and Abraham was very helpful with ideas for design. He was very professional and hard working along with his other crew members. They even got our project done before the schedule date. The fire pit looks awesome! and was within our budget. My wife and I were very pleased and will definitely be using him for our next projects. Thank again Abraham!

Flexible, reliable, enjoyable to be around, very knowledgable, highly skilled, and most importantly excellent work.

We were so impressed with Abraham’s attitude and business ethics from the first meeting. His father and uncle are also wonderful cement men. Their work (they built a beautiful wall and cemented a driveway and walkway) was well thought out and carried out. They worked with our requests in a nonstressful manner. They were easy to contact through the job. Cleaned up the site daily. Really enjoyed working with them!

We are totally impressed with Abraham Zafra and his crew. Professional, dependable, hard working, and excellent craftsmanship. Abraham’s estimate was right on. We will be using his services again. If you want a true professional to demo and replace concrete, regrade and place drainage in your yard, Zafra Concrete is who we recommend. Thank you Abraham!!!

These guys are the best! Their work is impeccable! They were always prompt, honest, and cleaned up the work site. They took their time in order to make sure the end result was perfect! Our stamped concrete looks gorgeous. Their prices were very fair in comparison to several other bids. We highly recommend them. Howie

We needed a patio, wrap around walkway and a retaining wall replaced. For the patio and walkway we debated between concrete and paving stones and had several bids on each. We went with Zafra and concrete and are very happy we did. Abraham was very knowledgeable and had pictures of many previous projects that showed us the outcome of different selections. He has a good eye for design and color, and his input was very helpful. What we ended up with was great! It is the style and effect that we were hoping for. He was also very affordable. The entire process went well. Abraham is a pleasure to work with. He is warm and friendly, reliable and really listens. The workmanship was top notch. He even helped fix the sprinklers that the gardeners had botched. We would highly recommend Zafra to anyone who needs this type of work done.

We chose Zafra to pour a large patio and fire pit in our new home. We were impressed start to finish. We went back and forth with the design iterations and finally came to a perfect solution that met our needs, was within budget and was a good use of space in our yard. From the color to the layout to the constant communication… we were totally blown away by how easy this project went along. Abraham even picked up a fire ring for us, even though it wasn’t part of our original agreement. His crew watered our plants (without us asking) and always cleaned up the site. The experience was above and beyond what we could ask for. We could not be happier with the end result and we’ll absolutely be calling Abraham again for the next 2 concrete projects we have planned down the road.

We interviewed several contractors, called references, looked at reviews and decided to use Abraham Zafra. We used them to tear out existing concrete and pour over 1,600 sq ft of new concrete with a stamp pattern, coloring and sealant. He was very patient and they took all the time and care to do the job right (rebar spacing properly done, off the ground and no exposed rebar to stain the concrete with rust). The job turned out great which is the most important thing.
As one reviewer stated, Abraham is pretty busy and it took a little longer for the coloring and sealing to happen but it turned out great, because if you seal the concrete before it’s completely dry the sealer will turn out bad and look milky. However, I figured he is very busy because he is REALLY GOOD and has good word of mouth references and therefore has plenty of work. Plus, he and his crew do things the right way and take the care and time. I never felt like they were there to rush through the job and get to the next job. So he doesn’t sacrifice your ongoing job to bid and start the next job. Abraham was trustworthy made great suggestions and we couldn’t be happier. ALSO NO «SURPRISES». We paid exactly what the bid was even thought the existing concrete turned out to be a lot thicker and harder to remove than originally thought. I was worried because I’m sure that a lot of other contractors would likely had given me the «oh this costs more than I expected» spiel and would have tried to nickel and dime me.
One thing I was really concerned about was drainage and getting the concrete away from the bottom of the stucco (this is REALLY important because if the concrete is above the bottom of your stucco, water in the wall from rain can’t drain out and you will have water damage issues in your wall and house). Abraham was really conscientious about this and did a really great job of making sure the drainage worked well and used quality materials (none of that black flexible pipe for drainage — he used the white rigid pipe that were glued together at the joints).
Again, the most important thing you want is to have the job done right and be happy with the final product. He did that. 5 stars.

How should I start this long review. It started back on June 13^th when I called Abraham. He told me he is so busy for me to call back next week and he can try to fit me in for a visit to do a quote. My job was to extend my outdoor bench area and not a new or large project. Although, we do plan on adding a whole new outdoor kitchen in the future.
So I said ok. I went on a business trip the following week and so called him when I got back which was the week of June 20^th. He then told me to go to his website and email him!!! I should of known at this point that it was wasting my time but I went ahead and emailed him anyways… usually they would of taken the moment to pull over somewhere or stop to take my information down.
Anyhoo, of course, I did not hear anything until suddenly on a Saturday morning, my children and I were enjoying the warm California sun and preparing to go out for a nice family bike ride when I get a call and it was none other than Abraham. He asked if he could come then. I am assuming I got lucky because suddenly he had available time or perhaps he was wondering lost in and around my neighborhood or perhaps he finally remembered my email. So I obliged and he arrived. He appeared nice enough but so am I and my neighbors next door! He looked around and discussed my project and it didn’t seem like a project he would not handle or he did not mention that he was so busy that this project may not fit in his timeframe. Matter in fact, he said he should be able to fit it in. I told him how I need this done soon so I can make cushions for it and have it ready for my child’s birthday at the end of July.
He left.
I waited… I waited… I waited… I waited…
Then July 2^nd, I sent him a email follow up asking if he had a quote for me…
I then waited… then the below is what I get at 12:19 am on July 5^th, probably after a wonderful night of fireworks watching.
— — — — — — — — — — — –
From: Abraham Zafra
To:
Sent: Friday, July 5, 2013 12:19 AM
Subject: Re: Quote
Hi — — — -,
I hope all is well. After reviewing my calendar and an unexpected trip I need to plan for in the end of the month it doesent seem like I would have time to take care of the job for u. I trully apologize but I just can’t make it this time. Thanks for your reach out and I hope to help in the future.
Best Regards,
Abraham Zafra
Zafra Concrete
Concho Pl. Oceanside
CA. 92 057
760 415‑3366
California Lic.# 967 473
— — — — — — — — — — — — — –
So to conclude a long drawn out process… it would have been much more courteous if he just told me the job was too small or perhaps he was too busy. I would of respected that and put him back into my Unilocal to «Try» for later. I am a small business owner and in my books professionalism is always to be maintained and honesty is utmost. The customer should always be left with accurate expectations and straight answers. This run-​a-​round and waste of time is something that has probably cost him my future business with bigger projects but also all my neighbors projects in my gated community and trust me we are outdoor loving, BBQ crazed, remodeling fiends over here! Hope this review will benefit someone!

Abraham, owner of Zafra Concrete, is a perfect example of everything good that a contractor should be. He was both extraordinarily polite and courteous, as well as the most commpetent concrete man I have ever used (and I have used a few). Work was done on the schedule he gave us; there was never a work day when they didn’t show up. Every day an attempt was made to neaten up the work site prior to leaving. And at the conclusions of the job the entire site wash power-​washed. I agree with all the other Unilocal reviews; he was the best.

All the prior reviews are true. Abraham and his group did exemplary work, finished on time and on budget, more reasonable than many other bids. They tried every day to leave a neat work site, and the clean-​up at the end was superb. They built a very effective 35′ retaining wall; He was the personification of a very good contractor; he is very highly recommened.

An overgrown tree knocked part of our retaining wall down in our backyard. Abraham and his father removed the tree/​roots, rebuilt the broken wall (with a new foundation), and replaced the stucco on the complete wall so all matches.
Most impressive besides the quality workmanship was the personal, friendly approach Abraham exhibits. You trust him at a gut level as his sincerity and honesty shines through. He provided written estimates that were the best from all the bids received. They worked steadily, cleaned up well behind them, and repaired the damage as detailed on the estimate. Quality work from quality people. Highly recommended.

We agree with the other reviews! Abraham is a true artist and did such a nice job with our side courtyard in Del Sur, we are thinking now of switching out our concrete in the back patio. We have seen other people’s work in this area and it is not as nice.
Also he is pleasant to work with, reliable and completion date was on schedule which is rare! He books up as he is good, but is worth the wait!

I recently moved into my new home (previously foreclosed) which was in desperate need of a new patio. I came across Abraham’s contacts on Unilocal,and really liked pictures of his work. I decided to give him a call for an estimate. My neighbor wanted to provide an estimate on it too, and also I decided to contact 4 other concrete/​patio businesses for comparison. At the end of it all Abraham had the best price. What sold me on Zafra concrete though was his impressive portfolio, and also Abraham’s patience with me. I was constantly changing my mind and asking questions over a period of 5 weeks while waiting for HOA to approve my project.
The project took approximately 4 days to complete, as planned. Existing concrete was removed, the area was prepared, and finally concrete was poured and a pattern created on top. The finished patio looks awesome. I was very impressed with Abraham’s attention to detail, quality, and his careful planning, everything was executed perfectly.
I would definitely use Zafra Concrete again.

Having moved into a new home surrounded by just dirt, we knew one of the first things we had to do outside was get some hardscape in. What a pleasure it was to find Abraham. He is polite, trust-​worthy and respectful. Although we thought we knew what we wanted, Abraham came up with some alternate ideas that worked out fantastic.
Of the nine homes on our street of new homes, six have used Abraham. They love the quality of his work and attention to detail. So, having seen thousands of square feet of pavers installed on my block, plus our retaining wall, seating wall and beautiful water feature, I am please to give Abraham my highest recommendation.