Smooth Style Concrete

I asked for an estimate for a 300 sf stamped concrete patio, to have rounded edges, and to be about an inch above the ground as most concrete patios are, and be strong enough to hold a 4500 lb hot tub which was to be on a level part of the patio and the other to be slopped as standard. Typically this would require digging down 6 inches, having 2 – 3 inches of base and 4 inches of concrete as a minimum. maybe more. Hector had the lower bid by about 600 and said he would also include taking out the old steps so the new ones would match.
The first issue was that he dug down only about 3 inches and declared I should help him out and not need deeper because he said he didnt realize there was so much dirt under the ground. He jack hammered the old steps for about 15 minutes and then said he could not take them out he would have to go over them.
He did not come prepared to round the corners and said it would be better not to to accommodate the square patterns on the stamps. I said ok.
He ended up putting down 1.5 inches of base and because of not digging down deep enough virtually the entire thickness of the patio is 3.5−4 inches above ground level.
The part under the hot tub is not made to be level but adjusted a bit by hand and has a ½ inch slope on one side and one inch on the other. Its not level but it may be close enough– I will have to see. To his credit they did put rebar under the concrete.
He marked a point on the building where the step should go for height and then didnt put them there. There is an 8 inch drop for the first step a 7 inch drop for the second and a 6 inch drop for the third.
At the edge of the patio was the control panel for the yard sprinklers. They could have been tied up out the the way but for some reason he decided to just cut all the wires from the sprinkler control to the sprinklers for the entire yard.
He suggested he needed 5 expansion joints but put in 3 saying he didnt need the others cause the run was only 20 feet. Later when I questioned this after it was dry he decided to cut in one more expansion joint. So I have 3 troweled in joints and one cut in joint.
At the end he suggested I may not want the stamped look because «it might look too busy». But i said he should do that. That was the idea.
I have some questions whether it will be strong enough for the tub but that remains to be seen.
In the end the patio does not look great but it also doesnt look bad. It is close to what I wanted. Its 3 inches too high and the steps arent equal. I will have to see if it holds the tub. I will be sealing it myself. In numerous choices made Hector didnt follow what was wanted but what would save him time.