Stapes put in a driveway and sidewalk in the St Charle's / St Mary's area. Huge patches of the surface crumbled away to gravel. It looks horrible.
Without ever coming out to look at it, Stapes immediatly rejected all responsibility, claiming it was 100% my fault for using salt to melt ice off my concrete.
I paid for a professional assessment of my concrete. The inspector brought pictures back to the leading concrete manufacturer in the area (who reportedly won't do business with Stapes, apparently because of "past issues"). Both agreed that Stapes had either poured indoor concrete or he had used an excessive amount of water to work the surface. Of note, interior concrete could have been slightly less expensive for Stapes, and it does take some time to disintegrate when poured outdoors. I may never know for sure because Stapes will not disclose the mix ticket to me.
After getting nowhere with Stapes, I posted a negative Google review. Stapes publicly expressed concern and asked me to contact customer service to prioritize an inspection, as if he was suddenly surprised about all of this. I did so, mostly to be able to say that I had complied. I received automated email and text responses. I responded many times to those contacts, but 20 days later I still have nothing but silence from Stapes.
The grading job Stapes did before pouring the sidewalk has dropped, causing damage to the retaining wall and steps, and causing water to back up inches deep on my sidewalk. I was concerned at the time of the job but he assured me the pile of rocks he had placed at the end of the sidewalk would totally keep everything stable even thought it was at the top of a steep dropoff. It didn't.
Stapes didn't even pour the driveway in the right place. He cut a full 3 feet off of the agreed upon width, about 60 square feet of concrete that he just "oops" didn't pour, making the driveway much too narrow.
Stapes has repeatedly used the term "fair price for repair". He wants me to pay about $3,000 to have his mess fixed. That is what Stapes considers "fair price" for apparently pouring the wrong concrete, pouring it in the wrong place, and for creating an unstable grade.
While on the phone with me, Stapes admitted that another customer had experienced similar damage, trying to get me to see that this was a common thing to happen and it was all my fault for using salt. Stapes appeared to have successfully convinced this other customer that it was all their fault because of salt. I wonder if Stapes got paid to fix that mess.
The mugshot of Kris Stapes is from his arrest and conviction for insurance fraud related to his concrete business. Images and reports of the arrest have rapidly been evaporating off the web in the last few weeks, but there is an archival copy of the official Iowa Insurance Division report here.
