We hired Lee's General Landscaping to do a total yard cleanup + clear a bunch of plants and…read moreinvasive species from our perimeter, then add medium bark to suppress regrowth.
Our assigned estimator Kimball came by for the initial walk through on July 3rd. We walked the property and I pointed out areas that we wanted cleared and bark added to suppress new growth. He left us with a video of him walking the property and shortly thereafter we had an estimate.
My wife and I reviewed it, and wanted to see what it would cost to add landscaping fabric and rocks to some of the areas on the initial estimate.
I responded to Kimball and he asked for a Google image of the home with the areas we wanted the work done marked. I then sent him the requested materials via a color coded aerial image.
Kimball then asked to come out for a second look to make sure his measurements were correct. I was unable to accompany him for that walk, but he did do the checkup.
We had a second open ended estimate shortly thereafter showing what the added rocks and fabric would run per square yard.
We then decided on just doing bark (simplest install) - no landscaping fabric or rocks, but in all of the same areas marked on the aerial photo.
To be doubly safe, I sent him a second aerial photo marking where we wanted the bark.
Kimball's final estimate included a breakdown of what 4 yards, 6 yards, 8 yards or 10 yards bark would cost to procure and install. He told me that they would start at 6 yards with our property per his assessment, and if more were needed, they would request the additional amount day of the job.
7/25/26. The day of the job. Lee's arrived, I walked the grounds with the foreman and they got to work. Late in the day, I got a call from Kimball saying that the 6 cubic yards of bark he'd ordered wasn't enough to cover everything and that they needed another 2 cubic yards to the tune of several hundred dollars to complete all areas we wanted covered. I agreed to the up charge and Lee's crew completed the job.
About 10 days went by, and our very nice looking yard started to sprout weeds all over the place. Naturally, I was expecting to see obvious weed growth here and there pop up, but this seemed like a lot. Regardless, I got to work pulling the weeds every 3-4 days or so, added some more bagged bark I purchased from Carpenitos here and there, and as I tackled each section of the yard on various days.
Then, they exploded. By the 6th week, we were overrun and I couldn't keep up.
I did some checking, and found that for successful weed suppression, you need at least 3-4 inches of bark coverage to prevent light from reaching the newly cleared topsoil.
Lee's quote stated they they lay down "at least 2-3 inches" of bark - not the gold standard 3-4 inches, but fairly adequate.
So, I got out there with a yardstick and started measuring. Low and behold, most of the front and back yard had as little as 1/2 an inch to 1.5 inches bark coverage. The areas I'd hit with bags as I weeded were barely pushing 2 inches, which means they too were initially VERY thin.
I then photo'd the explosion of overgrowth and sent it to Lee's general email with a concerned message attached.
Kimball replied to the message, but he refused to acknowledge any error had been made on his part or Lees in terms of the estimated coverage vs. completed work.
Ultimately, he refused to remedy the situation without charging us thousands of dollars more.
We went back and forth multiple times via email, and he would not budge - not even to cover labor only to rake back, and remove the overgrowth.
He also refused to connect me to a senior manager or owner - eg: a 3rd party in the company whom could objectively review the situation, stating that he was a manager and partial owner and in charge of our estimate.
We were charged over $3200.00 after tax for the job.
It will likely cost us thousands of additional dollars to remedy the overgrowth resultant of Lee's error, and for which they refuse to acknowledge or accept responsibility.
I'm personally kinda shocked considering their reputation and long standing place in the community. We used their services for lawn mowing and occasional yard work in Seattle many years ago without issue.
My how times have changed.