A year after Dennis Keaton's new home was built, he said he noticed a crack through the walkway leading to the back of his Clearfield house. He said his warranty from Ivory Homes provided him with assurances that these types of problems would be fixed. The problem, he said, was getting Ivory Homes to actually fix the problem.

Keaton said he had been calling since 2003 and nothing happened.

"There (was) always a last-minute excuse," Keaton said.

After four years of no results, he was worried whether the warranty would still cover concrete replacement.

That was when Keaton contacted The Deseret Morning News Help Line.

Within four days of the Deseret Morning News contacting Ivory Homes, Keaton received a call from an Ivory Homes field warranty, his walkway was removed and a new one was poured.

Keaton was correct about his warranty covering the replacement.

"There is no question as to this being covered under his (Keaton's) warranty," said Liz Wolfgramm, warranty manager for Ivory Homes.

While there is some dispute over who called whom and when, Steve Herman, COO of Ivory Homes, said the company is truly sorry it took so long to respond to Keaton's complaint.

"Ivory Homes values every customer, and while we are pleased that Mr. Keaton has been taken care of, we are sincerely sorry for the length of time it has taken to get this issue resolved," Herman said. "Ivory Homes continuously strives to provide outstanding customer service, and the vast majority of the time we are successful in accomplishing this goal."

The most common reasons for cracked concrete are either a poor base upon which the concrete is poured or tree roots, said Andy Rigler, owner of Customized Concrete and Cutting Corp.

"If you don't have a good base it's like painting a rusty car, the paint is not going to look very good if you don't fix the car underneath it," said Rigler, who was not involved in Keaton's situation.

A good base should be level and firm. Weather adds to the frustration of pouring concrete in Utah. It is hard to pour concrete that doesn't crack because the severe cold and heat causes the concrete to expand and contract.

"That is why we put those control joints in that you see in a sidewalk, to allow the concrete to expand and contract," Rigler said.

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E-mail: jlarson@desnews.com