Reviews of Isaiah Armstrong Painting & Construction in Birmingham

I hired Mr. Armstrong to extend our patio by adding a 15’x15’ slab, along with a 3’x9’ smaller slab next to the garage for my garbage and recycling bins. I hired him through the Angie's List service, where Mr. Armstrong billed himself as an experienced contractor. I paid Mr. Armstrong $1,250 as a 50% down to have this work done on May 23, 2021, with the agreement being that the remaining balance would be paid on the work’s completion. Mr. Armstrong performed his "services" on June 16, 2021.

Contracts work both ways, and Mr. Armstrong did not abide by the contract we signed. He created work not to code (specifically Alabama Building Code 1910.1 and International Residential Code R401.3). He did not follow any industry standard practices regarding concrete slabs on grade (see ACI 332.1R-06 section 5.1). None of the slabs met any of the contract requirements. The slabs were not even the right size! The 3'x9' it was poured to about a 4'x7' and the 15'x15' was out of square by almost a foot on one side. Construction debris was found within the slab during demolition. Moreover, they “finished" at 9pm at night and demanded the remaining payment at that time - when it was impossible to even assess the quality of the work until the following morning.

I have 38 pages of detailed documentation explaining exactly how many flaws were in this work. This was not something the "one more coat” Mr. Armstrong offered would fix. This was deeply flawed, unsafe, unusable, non-code work that had to be totally demolished. Mr. Armstrong was terminated for breach of contract on June 17, 2021 and all further payments to him were (thankfully) halted by my bank.

In responses to reviews, Mr. Armstrong likes to claim that "he wasn't paid." Mr. Armstrong was absolutely paid $1,250. He was paid this on May 23, 2021, and he deposited this check on May 25, 2021. He was paid no further money because he did not adhere to the contract and, given the extremely poor quality of this work, I have zero confidence in his tradesmanship or ability to deliver on any additional promises to repair it.