A-1, Grading Inc

A-1 Grading IMO Dwayne is a nice guy who doesn’t do good business. So if you want an unlicensed contractor who will underestimate the job then jack up the price on you after completing the work and then threaten to put a lien on your house if you don’t pay Dwayne is your guy. Gave an estimate for a clearing the backyard and redoing driveway and extend the culvert pipe widen the curb cut Clear backyard estimate was for $9895 for clear whole area and haul away the debris. Dwayne said they would also grade seed and straw the area but did not put that in the estimate. Driveway estimate was for $6375. Dwayne said they would be putting down 3” of stone for the driveway but did not write that in the estimate. Payed half down for them to start the job $8623.10 of 17246.20 on 10/14/22 Began work on 10/19/22 for clearing the backyard estimated the job to take 4 days Last day working 10/27/22 Removed his equipment on 11/07/22 On the first day of the job the workers arrived and they were all extremely nice and professional. Unfortunately it did not seem as if they had been properly informed as to what the the job was. They used a large excavator and small excavator but did not bring a chipper and when I asked about not having the chipper Dwayne informed me his was broken. After having completed approx 80% of the clearing job Dwayne informs me that the debris had exceeded what he thought it would be and he wanted $9900 extra in haul away fees again after doing the work. Dwayne claimed that he only expected 10 loads of debris but was currently at 26 loads with 2-3 more loads of debris still on the property. I told him I was not paying that and he should have talked to me when he realized he messed up the estimate not after doing the work. He responded by saying he would take care of it everything would be fine. He then proceeds to bury the remaining debris instead hauling it away. After this he sent me a change work order for $8800. They also had delivered crush and run for the driveway project by now approx. 10 yds. As of the last day of working on the project the clearing of the yard has not been completed, all of the debris has not been removed and the yard has not been graded. On 10/27/22 Dwayne told me he needed the $8800 to pay the hauler and dump fees as they were a sub contractor and he did not have the money. Dwayne said if I gave him the $8800 so he could pay he would finish the job with no additional payment needed. At this point the remaining balance on the job was $8623.10 I agreed to pay him the $8800 to complete the job. Dwayne said they would be back to complete the job. After this the only people who came back were the lumber buyer who he sold the pulp wood to to collect the pulpwood. Dwayne had claimed they would begin working again on 2 dates but never came back. I also discover that the “subcontractor” was actually Dwayne’s brother. It also took 11 days before his large excavator was removed from the property. On 11/09/22 I filed to reverse the charge on the credit card for his failure to complete the job. A-1 Grading has now threatened a lien on my property and a lawsuit if I don’t pay them for the change work order as well as the incomplete work. Additional notes they were told not to cut down 3 poplar trees they instead saved 3 sweet gum trees the wrong trees. It is also costing me $1500 to complete the clean up and haul away of debris so the yard can be finished and useable.

A-1 came out and re-graded and seeded our yard and we can't say enough good things about them. They were responsive, honest, showed up on time, communicated about every phase of the work, and met the original deadline that they had planned for. Their pricing was very fair and reasonable. Two super nice and friendly guys. We would definitely recommend A-1! Dale and Amanda Dixon, Zebuon, NC

The last two were from me. Diane from Garner.

Highly recommend this company. Dewayne is very true to his word. Very reasonable and knows his job. Dewayne and his brother are two great people to work with. I can't come up with enough words to say how pleased we are. Plus we made two new friends.