J A Topnotch

Jake from J A Topnotch was one of 4 other companies we used to get prices from. His was right in the middle with the price and he did our neighbors driveway which looked great. So we went with his company. We had our driveway, walkway, patio and a spot for our shed done in two different time. First time was our shed spot and patio. Jake and his crew showed up and started removing the old patio and digging the new shed spot thing. The same day they put up the wood forms and told me the inspector will be out in the morning to approve it. Second day the inspector came and approved things and Jake said they will be done with the concrete today but we had to wait a bit to walk on it and put our furniture out. The next day the patio had big spots of different color on it that made me a little worried. When Jake got to our house i asked him about it and he said that that was all part of the curing process but it will all be one color when it is done. Jake started on the second part which was driveway and walkway and it was the same process as the first time. Patio ended up looking all one color after about a week or so and same thing with driveway and walkway. We love the new big patio and use it all of the time now. It is also nice for my heels not to get stuck in the holes of our old driveway LOL. Overall we had a great experience and any questions we had Jake answered. We did recommend him to some of our neighbors out of which 3 of them had driveways done. They were all happy with his services as well. Jake sent us a thank you card once everything was done which was very nice and surprising since these days no one is thankful anymore. We will use him again and will keep recommending him too.

On 7÷13÷2012 I witnessed Jake use a bobcat to unload large pieces of broken foundation. Jake unloaded them onto an easement and some of the pieces hit and damaged my new, custom fence. A 6ft x 8ft custom panel was knocked off of the post, with the horizontal rails being split, and vertical post and slats damaged. The post was hit hard enough to cause it to loosen in the ground. I immediately informed Jake of the damage and took photos of the workers removing the boulders from leaning on the fence, as well as photos of the property damage. On 7÷19÷2012 we gave Jake a copy of the fence repair proposal from the fence contractor. Tom showed Jake the damages to the inside of the fence. Jake said he would call the fence company and contact us at the beginning of the next week (7÷23÷2012). When we did not hear from Jake, I called the fence company and was told no one had called to set up payment for the repairs. Jake called us back a few hours later and told us that the fence company said he could fix the fence after purchasing materials. He specifically said that the fence company «agreed to let him fix the fence». I informed Jake that I wanted the fence repaired by the licensed fence company that installed the custom fence weeks prior. Jake kept saying that he would just screw the fence in, and would not agree to paying for the damages. I explained that the warranty would be voided for her custom fence if I had it repaired by anyone other than the original company. Jake declined and I said she would contact him after talking to the fence company.
So, I contacted the fence company and spoke with everyone on staff (4 people) and everyone said they did not talk to anyone about her file regarding the fence repair. They said that if the anyone calling would have referenced my repair proposal file, they would have let the person know that no one else could repair the fence because of warranty and craftsmanship. The fence company said if I have work done by anyone else that my entire fence warranty that I paid for would be void.
After the completion of the job, we noticed many large splatters of cement, and a large 2 ft smear of cement on the fence near where they were pouring the foundation. I have a police report and because of his lack of response and hanging up on us, we are now consulting with a lawyer to collect $ for the repairs.
Bottom Line– I do NOT recommend this guy if you want to keep your neighbors happy. If he ends up not paying, the law states I can go after the neighbors, which is not something I want to have to do.