We had Black Diamond design and install pavers for our front and back yards two years ago. A few…read moremonths back, we noticed loose pavers on the stairs leading up to the house and larger-than-normal gaps between the pavers in other locations. I called Black Diamond and Chavalah and Ayla in customer support scheduled repairs within a couple of weeks. Hector came out and not only fixed the pavers we had marked, but also proactively inspected the remaining pavers and fixed them as well. We're glad to have chosen Black Diamond for this project.

We worked with Vanessa Grimaldo on a renovation of our backyard in Berkeley. Vanessa and Black…read moreDiamond Paver Stones transformed our dilapidated, overgrown backyard by installing paver stones, synthetic grass, a proper drainage system, and a rebuilt staircase. The finished backyard looks excellent and the quality of the construction appears high. Vanessa specifically provided excellent, white-glove service throughout the entirety of the project and was super responsive to all of our communication. We did have a number of issues arise with the crew (mainly excessive dust seeping into our house and trash being left behind on the neighbor's property line), as well as the accounting department (an accidental attempt at overcharging us), but Vanessa always did an excellent job of troubleshooting these issues and helping to guide everybody towards a resolution. She also worked diligently on our backyard design and expertly guided us through several iterations and unexpected construction issues. I highly recommend working with Vanessa and Black Diamond Pavers.

We have done multiple projects with NAB construction. Nate and his crew are fantastic. They do…read moregreat work, are responsive and are very professional. Hoping to plan many more in the future.

Nate and his team at NAB totally rebuilt the front stairs of our house, and put in some extra…read morelinear drainage that connected to our French drain system. It ended up being a decent size job, with a fair amount of digging for the drains and demo of the old stairs, took a couple weeks to complete the job. Nate was a pleasure to work with, responsive, had great ideas about how to tackle the job, and his pricing was totally fair. Most importantly, as you can see from the pictures, they did excellent work. Finally, they stood behind their work, a few cracks showed up maybe 6 months after the job (100% not their fault, we deal with a driveway that shifts a ton from the weight of a steep slope we are on) and they repaired the cracks no questions asked and free of charge. I know he does jobs much larger than this but he never made our job feel insignificant or unimportant, and followed through like a true pro. I'd use him or recommend him again, no question.

Lara is an absolute professional in her field and understands the goals and needs of her clients in…read morecreating truly stunning gardens and landscapes. Look no further to find who you're looking for the best person and business to manage your outdoor spaces.

Would give more than 5 stars if I could. Lara and her team are amazing. She was recommended to us…read moreby the folks at Encinal Nursery in Alameda, and they sure didn't lead us astray. Lara understood the feeling we were going for with our project and helped us design the landscaping in a way we never could have done ourselves. She hit the bullseye. And her crew executed the project with such attention to detail, it was so great to see. A+ all around and we can't wait to work with them again.

We had a great experience with Francisco and Gonzalez F Landscaping. Francisco provided a…read morecompetitive bid, started quickly, and completed the project on schedule. He built a stacked-block retaining wall with a very solid, conservative design, including a concrete foundation beam that others had not proposed to help ensure the wall wouldn't settle or move. Francisco also designed a thoughtful hillside drainage and discharge system to control runoff, prevent erosion, and avoid creating drainage problems for our downhill neighbor. His extensive experience with drainage systems was obvious, and he clearly takes pride in building things to last rather than cutting corners. Francisco is also an excellent communicator and listener. He took the time to explain the design and each phase of the work, listened carefully to what was important to us, and was very open and responsive to our questions and feedback throughout the project. His crew was hardworking, friendly, and a pleasure to have around. Francisco stands behind his work with a strong guarantee. We would definitely use Gonzalez F Landscaping again and highly recommend Francisco and his team.

Francisco and his team did a excellent job complely transforming my backyard on a very tight…read moretimeframe. He was knowledgeable and easy to communicate with. His team was skilled and hardwarking and had all the tools to get the job done efficiently. They completed demo of the existing deck, a retaining wall, leveling ground, paving and sod in about 1.5 weeks. End result is a beautiful and functional backyard (see before and after pics).Highly recommend them for any backyards project.

We worked with Landscape Experts Inc (LEI) to revitalize our wild yard, cutting back swaths of…read moreovergrowth and transforming it with a variety of beautiful California native plants and nine fruit trees. They also carved out a lovely hillside with custom stairs, a spacious terrace, and game trails perfect for enjoying the view. LEI works with YesPlease.Garden (YPG) who managed the design process and Fresh Coat Restoration who completed the new fence. The partnerships were well integrated and it felt like working with a single team. See my Google Maps review for more on YPG. We are very happy with our project and would recommend LEI because they were professional, courteous, reliable, and provided clear and upfront pricing. Documenting decisions in writing proved helpful for keeping everyone on the same page. Any problems we had were resolved fairly, such as correcting the direction of our stairs. Aaron is a man of his word but prefers to conduct most of his business through texting. We first contacted LEI and they promptly scheduled a time to visit our property with YPG to see what was possible within the budget we set out. We completed the design with YPG and LEI scheduled a time for the project demolition. A later approximate time for planting was set, but that was dependent on the availability of the various plants we had selected. Everything scoped in the design was completed within the budget and any add-ons we later requested were priced separately and fairly.

My wife and I are in love with our yard again, and we are very happy with the work Aaron and his…read morecrew did. After deciding to remove our pool, we hired Aaron as the installer for our new landscape project, and we are so glad we did. For months, work was moving forward almost every day, from demolition prep and grading to hardscape, planting, irrigation, lighting, fencing, pergola installation, pebble work, and the finishing touches. The quality of the work was excellent throughout. The paver patio, carport, and front entry all turned out beautifully, and the plants, irrigation, and lighting were installed with great care. We were especially impressed by the rock and pebble work, particularly the dry creek and front mow strip. The mix of stone sizes gave everything a natural, detailed, and polished look that really elevated the final result. Aaron also has a strong eye for detail. He regularly caught things that needed adjustment, even when we had not noticed them ourselves, and he stayed focused on getting everything right. While there were some issues that delayed finishing the project, Aaron took responsibility and worked with us to make them right, which we truly appreciated. In the end, what matters most is that we are thrilled with the outcome. Our yard feels beautiful, welcoming, and complete, and we look forward to years of enjoying it.

We hired Christian and his team to design and build a deck (and remove the old one plus a giant,…read morebusted concrete patio). All of my experiences with him and his crew were great. He's a thoughtful design consultant in that he will be a sounding board, will have his own ideas, and ultimately worked with us to get the design and build we wanted. I feel completely satisfied. The crew building the deck were so solid--super hard working, efficient, friendly. Christian was referred to us and I've already referred him to someone else and will continue to do so. We'll bring him back in for some additional landscape work as well later this year.

Christian is a creative problem solver. I have a very small patio. He delivered exactly what I…read morewanted which was a Mediterranean style patio. He found the perfect dimensions for pots as well as flowers and plants to make my space pop with color and create a Mediterranean oasis. He built a shed to look like a Tuscan cottage, which in turn has now become the gorgeous centerpiece of my space! He genuinely cares about making your place unique to your style while being enjoyable and practical for your needs. He has a can-do attitude, a creative eye, and the skills to execute masterfully. I couldn't be happier. Thank you Christian!

We met Leslie about 6 months ago and asked her to design the landscaping for our corner lot in San…read moreLeandro. We gave her a list of hardscape features to incorporate into her plan for plants. She asked us many questions about what we liked, waterering and color preferences, etc. In a couple of weeks she delivered a detailed plan to scale that was easy to follow and create our yard. We did most of the work ourselves and the outcome is beautiful! Leslie is great at designing the overall look and which plants work in each spot. In our case, we used 190 plants in the design. I fully recommend Leslie and appreciate her knowledge and expertise. To top it off, her fees are very reasonable and worth it!!

Leslie is such a thoughtful designer. I love way she plans things out so for beautiful foliage all…read morefour seasons. Amazing work!

We love working with Linda. She clearly has so much expertise with her deep knowledge of local…read moreplants and landscaping needs, including drought tolerance, fire resistance and defensibility, deer resistance, soil erosion, etc. She is practical and mindful of individual budgets but does not compromise quality or the aesthetic vision. During the design proposal process, she listened to our input and took everything into account. Her proposal was reasonably priced and she never tried to upsell us on certain stylistic choices. She was punctual for all meetings and on all deadlines - we really appreciate her meticulous care to the design and professionalism. Our landscaping project came together beautifully!

My husband and I are so happy we enlisted the services of Sunrise Garden Design and had the…read morewonderful opportunity to work with its owner Linda. Linda's design process from beginning to end is extremely effective! It involved friendly communication and relationship-building to ensure we provided her with our plant interests and overall desired garden outcome that helped her with designing our front yard. Linda's expertise in plant knowledge and garden design resulted in a drafted plan that was very detailed and informative. In addition, Linda's contractor referrals helped to seamlessly complete the project process. About six years ago, we had our front yard transitioned from lawn to drought-tolerant plants, but it hadn't been thriving. With Linda's help, we were able to keep the healthier plants and incorporate their place in the yard into Linda's plan. We appreciated that as well as her suggestion to transplant many of the existing plants that didn't really fit the front yard's plan to the backyard area where they can still be enjoyed. Linda's gardening love and enthusiasm is infectious! With our newly completed front yard and improved backyard, I'm looking forward to increasing my own gardening skills and enjoying the therapeutic benefits it can provide.

We recently used Kevin's Gardening Service to do our summer yard work for the 6th time and we…read morecouldn't be more pleased with the two-day job. As always, the crew arrived on time and the work was done exactly as promised. We met with Kevin to discuss the tasks (cleaning yard; trimming trees and shrubs; weeding and moving plants; etc.). Sometimes Kevin has had a crew of 6 or 8; this year, it was three. The work was done by Kevin's nephew John plus Juanito and Benito. All worked diligently, taking only a short lunch break. As always, they listened to our requests and accommodated our wishes. John, when appropriate, offered helpful advice about possible options; he was consistently friendly and considerate and it was a pleasure to have his help. Years ago, we had used two other companies but were not satisfied. (One even had a worker who fell fast asleep in our yard after drinking at lunch!) We are so pleased to have found Kevin's Gardening Service and we will definitely continue to use them!

Kevin, John and their team did a wonderful job of trimming my bushes and trees. They also met with…read moreease the challenges of clearing and trimming border plants and clearing months of inattention in both my front and back yards. (debris, weeds,leaves) The service was prompt, very efficient, and a very pleasant team to have in my yard, I am appreciative to have now scheduled monthly maintenance with Kevin, John, and team. Submitted by Donna L.