Concreteworks

Concreteworks has beautiful products and they charge a premium. We recently ordered a firepit and they quoted $ 1500 JUST to transport the firepit within the Oakland area and move it into our yard up one flight of stairs and down a quick pathway. Insane.
Once the firepit was delivered, we noticed a few marks and sent photos. The manager said that what we considered marks were a «valued addition» to the design. I asked them if they could come by and take a look to be sure, and didn’t receive a response beyond offering a refund if we were dissatisfied. What? We waited three months for a product and that’s the best they can do? They don’t want to take 30 minutes to stand behind what they create?
.It looks like customer service is still an issue as it has been over the past few years with a few other clients. Too bad they don’t match a very high service standard with a high end pricey product.
We’re already down the path with Concreteworks, but I can’t say I’d recommend them given this experience. A shame!

On the occasion of the first real chip in my four-​month-​old counter, here’s a review of Concreteworks. Bottom line: they delivered a good counter with terrible customer service. If you are an ordinary homeowner (and not, say, the proprietor of Bar Agricole) I would hesitate to work with them.
The counter itself is smooth and gleamy, with warm color tone that exactly matches the sample. It is getting scratched from use, but I assume that’s normal. And there’s this chip at month four, but let’s call that bad luck, something which had to happen eventually.
The customer service, though, was incredibly frustrating. Concreteworks’ delivery schedule was the reason I came home from the hospital with a new baby to a house with no kitchen counters. I think this delay was actually not their fault, and the initial miscommunication that led to me learning of the delay shortly before my due date was only partly their fault. But their handling of the situation from there on was sad. When I managed to get the customer service rep on the phone, she told me minor CYA lies about how the situation arose, which made me mistrustful of everything else she said. Far more annoying, she never returned a single call of mine. She urged us to go through with the install right before a planned party with heavy counter use, which then added a bunch of scratches that I don’t think would have happened if we had waited for the counter to cure. (I don’t know what the use and maintenance guidelines for the counter are, since Concreteworks never provided any, but based on the much slower rate of scratching later in the counter’s life it appears this was just too early to be using it so heavily.)
Eventually I resorted to talking to the service rep’s boss, who apologized and promised that I would get a call back to schedule an inspection and possible repair of the scratches. It’s been a couple of months and that never happened. Too bad. Their work is nice, but not worth the hassle.

I first met Concreteworks when I was looking to create a custom planter. I had a hard tome finding anyone to help me because the design was tricky and the time frame was tight. Concreteworks jumped right in, came through with some creative technical solutions to make the design work, and delivered a beautiful planter in time for the magazine photo shoot.
Since then, I have worked with them a few more times and had great results.

Concreteworks is a fantastic, forward-​thinking design studio. I’ve worked with them on several magazine projects and have been thoroughly impressed by their creativity, professionalism, and skill. In my build-​a-​house-​from-​scratch fantasy, every counter surface (and bathtub) would be designed and installed by the pros at Concreteworks.

I’ve worked with Concreteworks for over ten years and they rule! They get design, they get quality and their people are really knowledgeable and great to work with. I’m in the design/​build business. Check out some of our projects, all of them featuring Concreteworks designed, fabricated and installed work. Specifically check out our latest project, Oakland’s Margarido House, the first LEED-​H Platinum custom home in Northern California.
Mike McDonald
President
McDonald Construction and Development Inc.

At the end of the day, I am very disappointed in what we ended up with. It took over a year to have the sealer issue resolved. The counter color is great, our custom designed sink area and bar counter looked great when installed, nice and shiny as the sample we were given was, and what we agreed to. However, the material used for the sealer originally was flawed; oil, wine, food got through that and INTO the concrete. After 8 months, they sent a couple of men to wet sand and redo the sealer. THAT batch was bad, leaving mineral water marks trapped in the sealer. THREE months later, another fellow is sent, with a completely different sealer. The finish was matte and had bits of grit in it. TWO weeks later, two fellas are sent to wet sand and redo the sealer, but NOT to our original specs. At each point in this process, I spoke with staff to voice my disappointment, and received assurances they would make it right.
Bottom line — If we had wanted the sort of finish we ended up with, we would have gone with formica. Seriously. After the last try, I called the scheduling manager and discussed my disappointment. I was told I would hear back. Haven’t heard a peep.
If you don’t want a smooth, shiny surface for your counters and bars, this product is fine. If you want something orange-​peel textured and matte finish, spend the $$$ on this or save some $$$ and get formica. This product iis very expensive, and we will now have to live with this for a few years before we swap it out for granite.

Mark Rogero of Concrete Works out of Oakland did an amazing job bringing my modern kitchen and bathrooms to a uniquely high level of residential design. His product is superb to others offered in the Bay Area and his selections of finishes and colors are vast. If you are in the market for concrete counter tops and tiles, I found these to be superior to any other available (and believe me, I shopped around). It is a bit of a drive, but I recommend just stopping by his showroom and checking it out. The concrete soaking tubs and lounge chairs are amazing.