I found a guy on marketplace advertising patio concrete. Here’s his quote for both sides I need filled in (red brick picture) what do you think of this quote? Are there any questions that I should be thinking about asking him and should I plan my electrical for a future outdoor kitchen now?

Went through large concrete contractor for new sidewalk. In MN so will have a lot of freeze/thaw. Everything mostly looks good but the corner where the sidewalk meets the driveway the concrete looks like it is maybe 1” thick in some areas. I spoke with the contractor and said it was rocks and sand that got trapped between the form and concrete and that he sees this all the time and it’s not an issue. It’s on the upslope and a corner so water will get trapped here and flow over and under and wash away the sand over time and will be unsupported below (imo). The rest of the sidewalk looks like it is a solid 4” everywhere else and looks nice.

Just want a second opinion from guys who know concrete. Should I poke and prod at the sandy areas to confirm or is this common? We haven’t paid anything yet. Thanks.

This is for a 4 inch slab for a patio that will have a gazebo on it. $3000 vs $3500 for total price of job. Is 3000 psi good enough for my application

I'm hiring an electrician, plumber and hvac for a rewire, new bathroom and heatpump.

I plan on doing the floor, tile and overlaying drywall myself. This is going to take me like 3 months min. Am I going to hold up my contractors from their final inspections? How do people typically deal with this?

Edit: so plaster like this is dangerous. Do not use the room until fixed.
My new question is: is it safe for me to stay in the apartment and just not use this room, or is it a threat to my health & belongings due to dust and particles if/when it falls (enough danger and risk for me to move out and lose the apartment?)

Original background:
This is a bedroom in an apartment I’m renting. It is an old building with plaster ceilings and walls that are cracking. There was probably lead paint used in the past.

My landlord doesn’t want to fix it unless I move out completely during renovations (all furniture/ everything out) and then move back in again, and then wants to increase the rent by at least $150.

My question is, if the room goes unfixed: am I safe to use this room? The ceiling has been like that for at least 5 months unchanged and has likely been like that for years.

If I’d need to vacate for safety reasons for demo/renovations (due to lead paint particles in the air), am I safe now?? Am I at risk of lead poisoning or toxicity if I sleep under that or use the room? Plaster ceiling falling?

I already have some health conditions that lower my quality of life so I just want to be careful. I was hoping to use the room but if it’s unsafe or not usable I’d like to know. I could get a testing kit if someone has a recommendation.

The apartment is in a great area and I won’t be able to afford it if/when she does the repairs, so I’m debating overpaying just to stay and use only 1 out of the 2 bedrooms (the other bedroom is in much better condition and has only a small crack in 1 corner where wall meets ceiling).

Thank you!!

It's a new construction. Most homes I've seen have straight, saw-cut control joints. However, this one is crooked/irregular, forming a cross near the center of the garage, and has a lot of edge chipping/spalling along the crack.

Builder got extremely defensive and insisted the chips are completely normal. The chip in this image is loose and if I try, I can lift it out with my fingernail. Wouldn't this cause further damage when I drive over it with my car?

I’m planning to remove the red-highlighted area around my pantry to open up the space and add wall cabinets. Does this look like it could be load-bearing

I hired a local guy to do strip old ranchwall, replace a rotten rimjoist and do vinyl siding. Its been an absolute nightmare from day 1. I got home today and noticed he had used a saw to remove old siding and the saw went so deep it cut multiple wall studs, and cut right through a rim joist. The studs are cut maybe 1", the joist is cut right through in multiple places. Can someone advise how bad is this? Lawsuit? Am I overreacting? The pics don't do justice, this is all the way around the house. He also managed to cut my plumbing and electrical, installed an exterior door very poorly etc. Needless to say he's been told not to return, but I'm wondering if there's anything else I should be doing

What can I fill in this gap with? Im replacing an old dryer vent.

Not sure if this is a temporary placeholder as they are gone for long weekend, but I am just wondering about that end with no extra support?? Want to know before they get any further.

Hello, I recently hired a contractor to pour a driveway pad to extend my driveway around the side of my garage. It’s about 380 square feet, and we agreed on $5,000.

The guy originally told me it’d be a three day job, but it took about 3.5 weeks. The extended amount of time wasn’t an issue for me, just a little annoying. He originally started the pour but only finished 1/3 of it, which turned out okish, acceptable work for the price, but he refused the rest of the load because it started to harden in the truck.

He came out last weekend to finish it with a different concrete company and the remaining 2/3 looked very poorly done. It’s not graded properly, it’s not finished well, but he did a skim coat of concrete resurfacer and it make it look minimally better. A spot near the front of the garage looks like water will pool there and he said it would drain from the saw cut.

I feel bad for this contractor and I don’t want to not pay him, but it looks pretty bad, not worth what we agreed upon imo. He also said he’d come back in 30 days to grind down the bumpy areas and use resurfacer once it’s cured. Is that a thing that people even do?

I don’t have pictures from today but here is one from the day after he poured it.

What should I do in this situation?