At first I was pleased with the initial consultation with Christopher and Diana. Their response was…read moreimmediate and they to found a time to give us a formal bid for a 15x25 paver patio.
We were told that we were working with a family business that was given to the son and his girlfriend and they had been working together for 7 years (later Diana told me she was new to the business). They gave us great ideas how we could design our patio and fire pit, did measurements and said they would email a quote the next day.
The day came and went as well as four other days. I called and texted per their voice mail request with no response. After I left a negative review, they got back to me stating their laptop and iPad were stolen. I gave them the benefit of doubt and they gave us a small discount off the price of the job. We decided to proceed.
I give them 2 stars and here is why:
1. Chris was never seen or heard from again - they stated his Dad was sick and he left for Mexico for the summer.
2. Diana was only on site very briefly and occasionally - a handful of times, which I actually have documented.
3. The crew of 5 that was promised along with Diana or Chris always being on site only happened after I quit being polite and the last 2 days of installation, minus Chris or Diana. Diana only appeared after I said I was not releasing final payment.
4. The patio was to be level with the grass, per Chris they were to dig down 6-8 inches, the crew dug down 1 inch, I complained and a crew of 2-3 came out the next half day to dig deeper. Patio is still a good 3 inches above grass line.
5. Crew had no idea the size, dimension or details of patio, they kept asking ME how it was supposed to look.
6. Crew had the circle kit / pit in more than half the patio, I said that was not the design, had I not caught this, my pit would literally be off my second step - all unusable space.
7. We went back and forth from 1 step to 2 about 15x as the crew said they could then couldn't do it.
8. The pavers were laid incorrectly, when I told the two man crew they stated "don't you like it"? We had decided on particular pattern that wasn't being followed. Texted with Diana (as that was our only communication since we was never out to monitor the guys) and told them to relay the pattern. They tried to take the easy way out instead of relaying all the pavers, I said "Not acceptable" and directed them to pull them all up and start again.
9. I was told by a crew member who was laying the pavers that the border would have to be laid different directions on each side, horizontal on one and parallel on the other - I said NO they all can and will be laid in the same direction.
10. After pavers for patio were laid, the crew began to load all the leftover bricks - which were a ton. They had cut my grass 2 feet wider than they should have (since they had no plan to follow) and said I could plant grass. NO - we had plenty of pavers left, after a call to Diana they did lay the additional 2x15 feet of pavers.
11. Fire pit was NOTHING like we agreed. We told them we wanted a propane pit, the igniter switch and start switch on the side. Chris stated "NO Problem" and that he could even build a cover for the tank. NONE OF THIS HAPPENED AND IT WAS A DISASTER.
12. Fire pit was supposed to have a cap around the top - crew never finished it, built it too tall making for the cap to not be installed. the pit should have been 33" circle fire, we ended up with a 24
13. Diana brought me a regulator for a bbq/propane, had I used it for the pit it would have blown up.
14. To get my fire pit useable and somewhat appealing cost me another $300 - After my text to Diana about holding payment she removed that cost from my final bill.
15. The plastic trim that goes around the pavers to hold them tight was not complete around the back of the pit circle, I was told it was not needed, have you ever seen half a border, it looked unfinished and forgot. I stated they needed to finish the border whether it was cosmetic or not.
16. The same day I made final payment to Diana, Chris sent me a message to ask if the patio pavers was done to my satisfaction, he never replied to my response.
17. After having a rainy day, the patio is NOT level and we have water that pools and sits on top of the pavers.
Had Castro their Project Manager been on site like he was the final two days, I believe this all would have went a lot smoother, had less problems and errors and I would have had a pleasant experience.
If you want to be the project manager, do all communication by text, and have nothing done that was promised, this is your company.
May 2020 - Due to the poor build quality, danger to the lack of ventilation and the igniter being below the burner our firepit was a hazard. Our pit did not pass inspection and cost us an additional 3k to have a professional company rebuild the whole pit.
