I rarely leave reviews like this, but after my experience with Design Build Landscape Hawaii, and specifically the owner, Shaun, I would not recommend this company.
I hired Shaun for a significant residential project that included removing my old fence and shrubs, installing a new vinyl fence, concrete work, demolition and hauling. What should have been a straightforward project turned into months of delays, unfinished work, property damage, poor communication, and ultimately me having to finish and correct portions of the project myself.
One of my biggest frustrations was the lack of project oversight. Shaun was rarely at the property and generally seemed to show up when a payment was due. His workers were largely left to perform the job without their boss onsite overseeing the project. As the homeowner, I essentially became the project manager, answering questions, monitoring the work, identifying problems, following up on unfinished items, and repeatedly trying to determine when people were coming back.
I want to be clear that most of the workers themselves were great. I enjoyed working with them, they communicated with me, and several clearly knew their trade. My issue was the lack of oversight, coordination and quality control from Shaun. Ultimately, the customer is left dealing with the consequences.
The fence is probably the best example. I paid for a complete fence project that included three gates. The fence went up, but the gates never did. After weeks of asking when they would be completed, I eventually learned they had never even been ordered. My yard remained unsecured for months. I ultimately sourced the materials myself and paid a carpenter to fabricate and install all three gates.
After Tropical Storm Lola, which did not impact my home particularly hard, a section of my new back fence began leaning significantly and several rails pulled out of the posts. One of the skilled workers involved in the original project later told me he had recommended additional reinforcement of the back fence posts because of the known wind exposure, but that recommendation was not followed. I now have additional work to do reinforcing a fence I just paid a significant amount to have installed.
The concrete portion had problems as well. Large pieces of demolished concrete were left on my property despite me specifically paying extra for concrete removal. Some were so large and heavy that I had to break them apart myself just to move them. Other construction debris was left behind and the transition to the new concrete was never completed. Shaun repeatedly asked me what else needed to be done because he wasn't onsite inspecting the work himself. Again, I was managing his project for him.
My gutters and downspouts were also damaged and were never repaired or replaced. When I raised it, Shaun responded that he "didn't have to" remove the downspouts in the first place. I never directed his crew to remove them. I had specifically told Shaun throughout the project that if there was anything I needed to do, to let me know. If a contractor or his crew makes a decision while performing work at my home, I expect the contractor to take responsibility for the consequences, not blame the homeowner afterward.
Communication became increasingly frustrating. Completion dates came and went, there were long periods without meaningful progress, and I was constantly following up to figure out what was happening. Toward the end, I was also presented with supposed additional costs for work I had never agreed to and items I neither requested nor needed.
Eventually I told Shaun in writing that I did not want any additional work performed and only wanted his remaining tools and debris removed. I withheld the remaining contract balance and used my own money to complete unfinished work. In the end, I spent more completing and correcting the project than I would have paid had the original project simply been finished properly.
The frustrating part is that there were capable tradespeople involved and portions of the finished project look good. With proper supervision, communication, quality control and follow-through, this could have been a completely different experience.
Instead, I felt like I was managing my own construction project while paying someone else to manage it.
I gave Shaun numerous opportunities over several months to complete a project he originally told me would take a few weeks. I wasn't expecting perfection. I expected the work I paid for to be completed, the workers at my home to be properly supervised, damage to be addressed, and problems to be resolved.
That was not my experience. I would not recommend Design Build Landscape Hawaii.
If you're considering hiring this company, I strongly recommend doing your own due diligence and checking its public records with the Hawaiʻi DCCA and RICO before making a decision. read more