The viral video ignited a heated debate online, with both parties later coming forward to share their sides of the story.
In Australia, a group of builders took matters into their own hands after a payment dispute with a homeowner spiraled out of control. When trust completely broke down, they decided to literally “undo” their own work.
The confrontation began after a team of tradesmen completed a new concrete driveway for a client. What should have been a routine handover quickly turned into chaos when the homeowner allegedly refused to pay the full agreed amount.
Construction worker Jesse Crowe said he agreed to take on the job for $4,012 USD (around $6,000 AUD) after discussing the terms with a woman named Viola, who had hired him for the project.
The job involved pouring a large concrete driveway beside the property. But once completed, Viola reportedly refused to pay the remaining balance.
She had initially made an upfront payment of about $1,670 USD (AU $2,500), but soon after, a disagreement erupted over the quality of the work and the cleanup that followed. Due to the dispute, Viola allegedly withheld the remaining $2,340 USD (AU $3,500) from Crowe and his team.
Speaking with 7News, the Australian homeowner claimed she was threatened after raising concerns about how the driveway looked.
“[They said] ‘you pay now, now or we will smash the concrete,’” she recalled.
Viola also alleged that the workers had refused to finish the job properly and said she would have paid the remaining amount if the work had met her expectations.
“They did what they wanted, not what I wanted,” she continued.
When Crowe realized the payment wasn’t coming, he decided to act on his own rather than pursue the matter through official channels. He uploaded a video online showing what he called an example of “what happens when you don’t pay for works carried out at your place.” The clip quickly went viral across social media platforms.
In the footage, Crowe and another worker are seen swinging pickaxes at the freshly poured driveway, destroying the smooth concrete they had just finished laying. In the background, a man’s voice can be heard shouting: “You should have paid. And it’s going to cost more to get it all dug up, taken away and poured again.”
@dmitrylipinskiy Concrete Job Taken Back #concrete #contractor ♬ original sound – Dmitry Lipinskiy
“Didn’t want to pay? This is what happened.”
The shocking video of the builders demolishing their own work rapidly gained traction online.
Later, Crowe told 7News that he didn’t enjoy taking such drastic action but felt he had no other choice after years of being taken advantage of by clients.
“I take pride in my work and I love concrete, I love doing it,” he said, adding, “I just want to get paid.”
With years of construction experience behind him, Crowe emphasized that he’s always tried to be fair and honest in his business dealings.
“They don’t want to pay, at the end of the day, what are you going to do?” he concluded.
