I called Install It Direct to inquire about turf maintenance. I spoke with Jonathan, the…read moreOperations Manager. He explained to me that they only provide this service to clients that they have provided turf for. He then went on to refer me to two landscape companies near my home where we could purchase the infill and the broom to do the maintenance ourselves. He willingly spent about ten minutes helping me, and was so friendly and nice. When we are ready to have more landscape work done, I will definitely be calling Install It Direct.

I am posting this update as a severe safety warning to anyone considering Installing Direct. Since…read moremy initial review, a catastrophic and life-threatening incident has occurred. The fire pit installed by this company exploded into my girlfriend's face. We had an independent professional company come out to inspect the unit and the gas line. Their findings were shocking: the gas connection was completely loose. This negligence allowed gas to build up inside the fire pit structure, which caused it to explode upon ignition. Because of the physical injuries sustained and the absolute gross negligence regarding a gas installation, we are now taking this company to litigation. If you value the safety of your home and your family, stay far away from this business. A "loose connection" on a gas line is not just a mistake--it is a deadly hazard. We are currently in the process of legal action to hold them accountable for the damage and trauma they have caused. Zero stars. Avoid at all costs.

They did an awesome job replacing the old mortar around perimeter of the fireplace where it meets…read moredrywall. I will definitely use them for any future projects I have. They were very clean. They put down tarps and came prepared to put down plastic if needed. The used a huge vacuum to clean up any debris and kept any dust to an absolute minimum. Very friendly!!!!

We had an appointment for an estimate. He didn't call to cancel or show up to the scheduled apptread more

My front and back yards are about 10 years old, but still look beautiful due to my diligent…read moremaintenance work. Some things I wish I knew then that I know now might help others when planning their yards. Yes, Smart Landscape does a lovely job. Here's what would have made my upkeep a lot easier. 1. Extra protection ground cover to eliminate weeds. Some yards get no weeds because a super heavy cover has been used. I've spent countless hours pulling weeds since yards were done. 2. Go over what plants are going to be used. If I'd done that, I would've saved money and work to remove those that had needles that made it difficult/dangerous to remove. 3. If the designer had visited front yard, he would have seen the slight slope and the DG pathway would not have been a logical design choice. Rain washes it away and I'll have to eventually figure out a way to close up that space. 4. At that time, I didn't meet with the designer. I should have. Although it's a lovely design, I would have pointed out a change or two I'd have preferred. 5. Gray DG is not readily available and it has been difficult to keep the pathway refreshed. Someone said that he was going to provide it, but never did. Overall, I am glad I hired Smart Landscape. UPDATE: I needed to come back to add another star after carefully considering how wonderful Danny and his team are to work with. I had met with no fewer than nine landscape companies before Smart Landscape and they were nightmares for various reasons. Danny is wonderful to work with and makes sure the customer is happy.

We redid our front yard using Smart Landscape and the whole process went smoothly! They connected…read moreus with a landscape designer and then brought the vision to life! We worked very closely with Q, who managed our project. He was always very responsive to our messages, kept us involved in the process, and was receptive whenever we had questions or wanted to switch something up. The guys were there working every single day so there was never any delay. We love how the yard turned out and the cost was fair for the amount of work that went into it. We hope to use them again once we're ready to do the backyard and highly recommend them!

A JOB WELL DONE We…read morehave a long concrete driveway that curves up a hill to our home. The driveway is 47 years old and was in need of repairs to the driveway and to replace a low curved concrete wall on one side of the driveway, which was badly damaged by time and a large truck. From the Yelp website, I selected 3 five-star contractors for bids to repair the driveway. I'm in my late eighties and handicapped, but in my younger days I worked in construction starting back in 1952 as an apprentice carpenter. I have worked on many projects where I built forms to pour concrete for homes, high rise buildings, and underground tunnels. I have also worked on cementing casing in oil wells as deep as two miles and I have personally poured and finished concrete at my own home. So needless to say, I know a lot about concrete and construction in general. Now that I'm too old and crippled up to work, I'm always apprehensive when I have to hire men to work for me. All too often you get people who lack the skill and experience to do a proper job and often, they don't care how the job turns out. Then they leave behind a mess for the homeowner to clean up. When Oswaldo Minez came to look the job over prior to submitting a bid, I was very impressed with his knowledge and attitude. He told me he was the son of a father and son business and that was my background as well until my father's early death at a young age. The bid from Minez Concrete was the lowest bid and I gave them the contract. A few days later they called to say they had an unscheduled delay in their next job and they could begin work at our home. Oswaldo said they would show up at 7 AM and to my surprise the crew arrived right on time and every day thereafter. Oswaldo's father, Ramon is in charge of the actual work and I could tell right from the start that Ramon is an old school craftsman. He has trained his crew to be competent workers. Too often companies in southern California show up with a boss, who doesn't know what he is doing, and untrained men hired to work by the day. Not the Minez Company, their men are professional workers, who know their craft. On several occasions I have hired people and had to stand there all day making sure the job was done right and sometimes pitching in myself to do the job. After watching the Minez crew for a short time, I knew we were in good hands and I went back into the house. Every time I came out to observe progress there was Ramon supervising his men while working beside them to give us a first-rate job. The repairs all turned out beautifully and several people have commented upon how nice the driveway looks. To be honest, I wasn't expecting the work to go so smoothly and quickly. It was such a surprise and relief to be treated so well with a beautiful result. Oswaldo kept us informed regarding progress and his suggestions and those of Ramon contributed greatly to the final outcome. If you want a first-class experience at a fair price then hire Minez Concrete. They know what they are doing and they do the job right for a fair price. In today's world, that is rare.

Minez Concrete did exactly what we needed done. Ozzie and his employees were there early every…read moremorning. Built a retaining wall, leveled the yards, added drains from back yard to the Front yard. Replaced sidewalks, driveway and patio..They were efficient, dependable and finished In such a reasonable amount of time. I would recommend them to family they were so impressive. Thank you Ozzie Connie K

Great quality, job done quickly and efficiently. Owner is very kind. Highly recommend!read more

Ronnie was referred to me by another contractor who is rebuilding my deck. I think it speaks to his…read moreprofessionalism that other contractors are willing to refer you to their customers. Ronnie was super responsive and his quote was reasonable. We set up a start date and he had his crew here at 7 am sharp. His foreman Pompeyo was amazing and super detail oriented! He worked with me to make sure every curve and stone looked perfect. I'm beyond thrilled with the outcome and can't wait to put the finishing touches on my beautiful patio and walkway. The photos don't do it justice. I'll update with more photos when I get all my plants in!

What a wonderful man! Polite, helpful, friendly and very knowledgeable! I wasn't able to do my…read moreproject after all, but if I ever do, Vindel's Construction will be doing the work!

2nd update: My wife and I continued our outdoor renovation projects and of course we decided to…read morecall Berlin with Vindel's Construction for a third time. Berlin came out the very same day to measure and quote us on a front yard turf installation (and existing grass removal). As always Berlin's team were on time, polite, clean, and did an amazing job with the work. Berlin and Daniel pointed out several key details I had overlooked, including adding a bubbler to water our palm tree and lifting and fixing an existing fence post to make sure the job came out perfectly. If I ever plan on doing work on a project Berlin's team offers services for we will not be looking elsewhere for help. Vindel's construction has been a dream to work with and we are very thankful for their great work!

RCP has a few locations around San Diego. The Encinitas…read morelocation is probably on the smaller side, but it has a pretty good inventory of pavers, decorative rocks, concrete blocks, and other materials. I appreciated that they have samples of pavers already laid out to help you see how it will look all put together. It helped me narrow down my decisions when we were remodeling our backyard, front patio, and driveway. We also used RCP for turf and rocks. I would say they have pretty competitive prices. This has been our do go place for materials for a few years now.

I had a great experience at RCP Block & Brick in Encinitas thanks to Vanessa Rivers. She went above…read moreand beyond to help me with my order and answered all of my questions with patience and knowledge. Vanessa has such a positive attitude and a wonderful personality that made the whole process easy and enjoyable. Truly outstanding customer service--I highly recommend asking for her if you visit!

I had a lifted up driveway from roots and Mike did a great job with demolition and pouring the new…read moreslabs. His communication is top notch and his prices were very fair. Definitely recommend!!!!

Mike did a small project for me and it worked out great. He is very friendly, flexible, and easy to…read morework with. He responds quickly and finished the job in no time.