The work ends up fine, if you stay on them about it.
We…read morehired LIT earlier this year to redo our backyard, build a short retaining wall, and lay new sod. We chose them because their bid came in about 30% cheaper than another company. Verbally, I said to redo the whole irrigation system, which wasn't on the bid. Adding that later raised the final price by a couple thousand dollars and I can own that, should have read it more closely...a sign of things to come.
There was no drawing, no pre-work visit to discuss specifics, nothing to approve. They showed up on day one and went straight to work, great, but no communication. The wall was starting to be built in the wrong spot. Each day, I had to make it my responsibility to come out and chat about the day's work, what to expect, and how long they'd plan to be there. There was no project management at all from their side. By the end of week 1, I was losing sleep over the project, sprinkler heads were uneven, there was no indication of the appearance of the final product. The owner came by that Monday to work it out with all of us. In the end, the work looked good but it was tough sledding to get to that point. After they left, I had to clean, by hand, the backside of the short wall they had installed. They left behind concrete, roots, and rock, which looked like a garbage pile. I pulled out handful after handful, sifted it, and replaced the clean rock to make it look intentional.
The sprinklers they installed were aimed incorrectly and a small triangle of sod died. They are coming out later this month to correct it. What I'm seeing now is holes, low spots, ditches forming in front of the sprinkler heads. Showing the soil underneath was put down in a sub-par manner. Mowing the lawn reminds me of how much I dislike how it all turned out.
The owner said it straight to me that he knew "we'd be picky" because he saw the work my wife and I had done, ourselves, at our house. He said it looked professional. Appreciate that, thanks. Their work was not. Our neighbor (who does landscape work for a living) told us that my wife and I would have done a better job. In the end, I agreed.
I did not enjoy my time working with Larry. Michelle, at the office, has been great and I appreciate her help through our project.