I'm happy to update my original 3‑star review to a full 5 stars now that everything has been made…read moreright.
It took some persistence to get back in touch with Gerardo, but once communication re‑opened, he genuinely stepped up. He sent someone out to address every issue I had documented: they cut the landscape fabric away from the tree trunks, moved the drip emitters about two feet out where the roots actually take up water, and corrected the garden bed irrigation so the plants receive proper coverage for square‑foot gardening.
During the inspection, we discovered that the old sprinkler lines had never been fully shut off when the drip system was installed - something that explained the constant water running down the street. Once Gerardo returned, he fixed the problem by cutting off the water supply to the old sprinklers entirely. The front‑yard drip system now works exactly as it should, and the weed fabric is no longer suffocating my mature trees.
I truly appreciate that he honored his 1‑year warranty and resolved the issues thoroughly. My only hope now is that one of my stressed trees recovers in time, but the corrective work was done properly and professionally.
This experience ended on a positive note, and I'm glad to give Ornelas Landscaping & Grading the 5‑star rating they earned through making things right.
***
In-Progress Review: 3 weeks out, already violating his 1-year warranty.
As a 16-year Yelp Elite reviewer, I always aim to give local businesses a fair shake. Right now, I'm sitting at a 3-star crossroads with Ornelas Landscaping & Grading. My project was completed just 3 weeks ago, and while Gerardo explicitly promised a 1-year warranty, he is already ghosting me on critical repairs. My final review and rating are entirely pending how he handles these issues.
The Good: His crew works incredibly hard, and the initial heavy grading work was done well.
The Urgent Concerns & Warranty Failures:
Aggressive Payment Demands vs. Ghosting:
The moment the work was supposedly 'done,' Gerardo demanded immediate payment. When I didn't have a check ready on the spot, he heavily pressured me to get it to him the very next day. Nowhere in the quote did it state payment was due immediately upon completion (industry standard is typically Net 30 days), but I felt rushed and complied. It is highly unprofessional that he can hustle so aggressively to collect my money, but goes completely radio silent when his work fails 2-3 weeks later.
Textbook Root Flare Suffocation:
The crew failed basic landscaping best practices on my mature trees, which have sensitive root crowns. They pulled the landscape fabric tightly against the tree trunks and piled 4 inches of mulch over it, trapping rot-inducing moisture directly against the wood. Worse, they placed the drip emitters directly on top of the trunks instead of out at the drip line where the trees actually drink water. The trees are now being over-watered at the trunk and under-watered at the roots at the same time--classic textbook signs of crown and root flare suffocation. Last week the leaves on my persimmion tree were looking wilty, this week the leaves have fallen and the remaining leaves on the tree are crispy on the tree. It's the fastest way to kill a mature fruit tree, and mine are now actively dying because of this setup.
Walking Back Promises on Garden Beds:
Gerardo, the owner, ran irrigation lines to my garden beds and explicitly promised that once I had them set up, he would return to adjust the lines properly. Right now, for each garden bed, there are just 4 thin drip lines watering 4 single spots, which is useless for a square-foot gardening setup that requires full coverage. Now that he has my money, he changed his tune, saying 'that's just how it is' and blaming material costs instead of honoring his word to adjust it.
Neglected Irrigation Leaks: I believe I have leak in the front yard since it has been sending water running down the street for a full week now, plus a leaking backyard manifold. I've also sent him pictures of the water running down the street 6 days ago.
Zero Commitment: I have been texting Gerardo photos of the dying trees and the leaking lines for a week. He refuses to give me a committed date to come by and inspect his own work under his warranty.
I want to give this business a great final score, but a warranty is only as good as the contractor's word. I am waiting for Gerardo to honor his 1-year warranty and fix these issues this week. I will update this review to reflect his professionalism once the job is actually made right.
