Preferred 1 Concrete

I hired Preferred 1 Concrete in October 2025 to complete a 700 sq ft stamped and colored backyard patio, front steps, and a garage door sidewalk. From the start, communication was essentially non-existent. After the first day, I had no clear idea when they would show up. Days would pass with no one on site, then someone would occasionally arrive and leave again, with long gaps between visits. When I followed up to get clarity on scheduling, they seemed annoyed by the questions. Overall coordination was inconsistent and unpredictable throughout the project. On the days they did work, they sometimes started in the evening, which resulted in work continuing late into the night (up to 11pm). There was no reliable schedule or communication around timing. The quality of work was also inconsistent. The front steps and garage sidewalk already have visible cracks. Parts of the broom finish were missed, and there is significant concrete splatter on my siding and existing driveway that cannot be removed. The stamped patio was poured in three separate sections, and each section came out a noticeably different color. Large chunks have already broken off since completion. Some areas of the steps were also left with form finish instead of being properly stamped. There was damage to my property, including a broken garden box, broken fence, broken sprinklers (marked with flags) and an absolutely demolished lawn which required loads of dirt and three pallets of new sod. Despite commitments to repair, I ultimately had to hire another contractor to fix it. Waste concrete was also left on usable areas of my lawn. I paid in full and on time when requested, but when I asked for clarification on final square footage, I was met with hostility and profanity. They did not return to fix most of the issues. The only follow-up work was a repour of one slab section in the backyard that had been damaged by rain, which occurred after I requested it be fully redone rather than patched. However, even those repaired areas later developed issues, with chunks breaking off after completion. Overall, I cannot recommend this company based on communication, reliability, professionalism, and quality of work. All pictures are from a patio that is less than 6 months old.

I had preferred one do my driveway last spring. I told Mal and sent him pictures of some of the holes in my driveway that were made when the tree seeds fell on the new concrete. I asked him if that was going to be a problem and he told me no. After finding holes in the new driveway, I did inform him of this. This was his response: After seeing the photos, there are no holes. There are no defects requiring any repairs as they are minor surface spots. Anything other than letting the surface buff over time would be an eyesore. As far as the timing of the project, Preferred 1 cannot be held responsible for the seeding cycle of your foliage. That is not rational. I am unsure what solution you are hoping to accomplish. Needless to say, we are pretty disappointed and not only the results but his attitude. A year later, the holes are actually worse than they were last May.

Update: Mal and his wife came and scrubbed and cleaned the sealant on our patio. They did a fresh coat of sealant and I am happy with how our patio looks! The spots and border appear much more fresh and blended. Mal was apologetic about the Delay to come out as they have very busy this season. I am overall happy with the job! We went through Mal and preferred 1 concrete based on the reviews we found online. We wanted to get a stamped patio done in our backyard. When they came to do our concrete they showed up late in the day due to their truck breaking (not their fault, it happens), it was starting to get dark and they proceeded pouring and stamping our patio in the dark. We offered lighting out their to help, but they declined. I noticed a bunch of issues with the border not being blended and there were white splotches all through out the concrete. There is also a stain from the sealant. We brought up some of our concerns and it was kind of brushed off and we were told to address it in the spring since it was late in the year. Come spring we also now have a hairline crack almost across the patio as well. We were just told that it was unfortunate. My husband has been back and forth with Mal for a couple of months with nothing on the calendar yet to come out and look and see what can be fixed. Disappointed for how much we spent and not being able to get a call back easily or even a time for them come to look and hopefully fix some of our issues.

2nd Update: Eventually we brought this to conciliation court and received partial reimbursement of $7,000. Update: This is what our driveway looks like 9 months after installation. Cracks began appearing in the winter 4 months after it was poured and have continued to develop since the frost left the ground. Most sections are now cracked. Some of these cracks are big enough to insert a coin in. The stamped border is beginning to pull away from the main section of driveway, as shown in the photo. Cost: $9,500 We contacted Mal (Preferred 1) about the cracking in early January and he said he'd take care of it this spring, as well as finish the surfacing. We met with him on April 23, and one month later, as I write this, we've received a one-sentence response that tells us nothing. We had the new driveway installed to prepare our home for sale this spring. We've been in landscape limbo, unable to complete landscaping knowing that our yard will need to be ripped up again. Mal told us he'd get back to us with a "plan." We stressed to him repeatedly that this was urgent. We asked that he prioritize making this right so that we could ready our home for sale. Instead, no word from Preferred 1, despite the fact that prior to and during installation Mal assured us several times that he would repair or replace any issues with the driveway. Knowing what we know now, we would run the other direction. Below is my original review: Our driveway with stamping and colored border turned out beautifully. No doubt very knowledgeable with great suggestions and implementation of design and structure. Trustworthy and fair in pricing.

After having another company no-show (for the 3rd time), I called a list of places and left voicemails that were never returned. The one that did call me back said they were booked and wished me luck finding someone this "late" in the season (it was May). Mal at Preferred 1 Concrete called me back, came out the same day, gave us a quote on the spot and it was right on budget. He said they were busy but they'd get us on the schedule in the next couple of weeks. He called a few days later and said they could start earlier and were on site two days after that. They helped us with the design and made sure the layout was right for the water run off so we wouldn't have any issues in the future. While doing some prep and demo work, we found our wooden gate had been installed incorrectly (only half of the fence post was cemented in). We called the contractor that did the work last year but they weren't available. We let Mal know and he fixed it without any hesitation. The rain held up the work a few times but Mal and his crew were at our house every chance they got - early day, night and even on the weekends to get our project done ASAP. We couldn't be happier with the work they did; an extended driveway, a boat pad with a raised back, a connected sidewalk, stairs down our backyard (part of their design) and a new patio. I never thought I'd say this about concrete work but everything is just beautiful. Their customer service is some of the best I've ever experienced and we'll definitely be calling them again when we replace our asphalt driveway. They're a great local company and we couldn't recommend them more.