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"In September 2024, I contracted with Scott C. McIntyre, the owner of Landscape Solutions to do landscaping work at my residence in Los Altos, Ca. The work consisted of replacing existing retaining walls and steps in my back yard and installing a new patio on an already flattened area on the hill in my back yard. Mr. McIntyre declared the work completed on November 4, 2024 although there remained issues with incomplete and substandard work and failure to adhere to rules imposed by the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB). I have filed a complaint (currently not resolved) with the CSLB. I paid Landscape Solutions $56,385.41 of a Total Contract Estimate cost of $58,790.00 (with a not to exceed clause of $60,000) with final payment to be made when the project was completed to my satisfaction. The project was never completed to my satisfaction with some (not all) of the outstanding issues described in this review. ISSUES WITH WORK QUALITY - NON-CODE COMPLIANT, SUBSTANDARD, NOT COMPLETE 1. The Guard Rail over the lower retaining wall is not building code compliant. The most serious issue with the work that Landscape Solutions did was that the guard rail built over a retaining wall does not meet building code and is not child safe. A picture of the guard rail is shown in the review I posted on Yelp (posted with a one star rating on January 20, 2025), but I am not able to show a picture on an Angi's List review. The guard rail is made up of vertical posts spaced approximately 45 inches apart and two horizontal rails between the vertical posts. The upper horizontal rail above the surface of the newly built patio forms the top of the guard rail. A second horizontal rail below it is halfway between surface of the patio and the top of the guard rail, leaving two large gaps between the horizontal rails, each gap approximately 19 inches wide. Code dictates the maximum gap in the guard rail is 4 inches. A child could easily fall through the large gap in the guard rail to the level below. A baby crawling on the patio could plunge head first off the patio to the lower level and be seriously injured. I emailed a picture of the completed retaining wall and guard rail to my city's Building Code Enforcement Division and inquired if it was building code compliant. A Code Enforcement Division representative replied with an email message (Client can provide the actual email message). Following text is from the email message: "The rail needs to be 42" high and there needs to be a maximum of 4" between the horizontal rails. The fence as shown does not meet the standards and intermediate rails need to be added." -----End of quote from email message sent by city's Code Enforcement Division------- NOTE: ALLOWING A CONTRACTOR WHO DOES NOT KNOW THE BUILDING CODES TO BE LICENSED PUTS THE PUBLIC IN DANGER. 2. Incomplete and substandard work i. There are areas with no pavers, just dirt, adjacent to the lower retaining wall. Contractor fixed some but not all areas along the newly built lower retaining wall. A picture showing an example of this issue is shown on my Yelp review but I am not able to show a picture on an Angi's List review. The picture shows where paving stones should have been installed next to the retaining wall. ii. Gate not installed in lower retaining wall. The retaining wall that was being replaced had a gate. I called this to Mr. McIntyre's attention in a reply message to his message that the project was complete. He replied in an email message that he would replace the gate. iii. In doing the work, Landscape Solutions workers moved items (e.g., wooden glider bench, other patio benches, chairs, patio table, an umbrella stand) from the flattened hill area to other parts of the back yard. I requested that the items be returned to their original locations. Mr. McIntyre, in an email message, agreed to do so. This was not done. Returning items moved to their original location should be a standard part of Landscape Solutions clean-up work upon completion of a project. ISSUES WITH NON-ADHERENCE TO CONTRACTORS STATE LICENSE BOARD REGULATIONS In items 3 and 4 below, quoted text is from Contractors State Licensing Board publication "Contracting for Success", which was downloaded from the CSLB website. 3. Contractor did not give buyer a copy of the signed contract as CSLB requires. "Before any work is started, the contractor must give the buyer a copy of the contract signed and dated by both the contractor and the buyer." 4. On the day work began, Contractor asked for payment of $15,000 along with the signed contract. "Except for a down payment, a contractor can't demand or accept payment for work or materials until the work is actually done or the materials are delivered. The down payment may not exceed $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract amount, whichever is less." Contractor gave following reason why he asked for $15000 at start of project. Quote is directly from an email message he sent client. Client can provide the actual email message. Text of email message from Mr. McIntyre, in quotes: "My son is out of state at college and it is very expensive. My cash flow and bank account funds do not allow me to pay for your materials before delivery and pay my payroll in advance of getting paid by you if this is what the CSLB requires." --------End of quote from email message sent by Mr. McIntyre-------------- 5. Contractor made additional changes not in contract without a change order being added to the contract. Contractor's office manager then billed client for the unauthorized work. The Contractors State Licensing Board publication "Terms of Agreement A Consumer Guide to Home Improvement Contracts" (downloaded from the CSLB website) states the following: "Extra Work and Change Orders become part of the contract once the order is prepared in writing and signed by the parties prior to the commencement of any work covered by the new change order.""

"Only one thing about this company,professionalism, work quality, and value it's in high level. Thank you guys ."

"Excellent! Great work! Exceptional service!! 5 stars!!!"

"SkyBlue Builders Performs Quality Work SkyBlue Builders is a Five Star High Quality Siding Construction Company, and I recommend them. My thirty-year- old home is in a rural environment. with a humid atmosphere. The siding on my home was worn by the salt air and moisture and needed replacement from the eaves all the way to the foundation. I chose SkyBlue for three main reasons: 1. Siding is all they do, and they have specialized in it for 19 years. 2. They are rated A+ by the BBB and have had no complaints regarding their work. 3. I viewed online photos of their previous jobs and was impressed by the quality of their work. My experience with SkyBlue was positive from beginning to end. Every day they showed up at 8 A.M. and worked until 4 P.M. when they began cleanup. Every day they put away their tools and cleaned up the work area. At the end of every day they made sure that my driveway was clear, so I could pull my car out of the garage. The workers were always polite and cooperative and responded positively to homeowner concerns. Here are some examples of their work: 1. SkyBlue provided protection against animals. Our rural community has many wild creatures nearby: Bats, coyotes, skunks. raccoons, opossums, mice, and gophers abound, These animals are always in search of a warm and dry haven such as a basement. Over the years, invading animals chewed the wiring of my HVAC dampers, ruining the home heating and cooling controls. I spent thousands to repair the damage. I reported this history to SkyBlue. They replaced the old substandard and ineffective basement vents with quality new vents. They were also careful not to leave any vent opening exposed during the repair. SkyBlue also replaced my costly, old, substandard roof eave “chicken wire bat control,” installed by three separate “bat experts.” SkyBlue installed new, high tech, high quality solid construction in the space between the fascia and siding. Now there is no space for the bats to occupy. 2. SkyBlue used quality materials and did quality work: SkyBlue installed Kelleher Double Pre-Primed Siding so that both sides of the siding and trim are pre-primed with two coats of prime and thus are well protected. SkyBlue reset every single nail in the new siding and trim, and then caulked all holes. Finally, they sanded the caulking, effectively hiding every nail. Looking at my house, you can’t see any joints where two siding boards come together. You cannot see any nails. What a refreshing improvement from the original construction ! SkyBlue then applied two color coats of High Quality Sherman Williams Paint, for a total of four coats of paint. The result is spectacular. To see their work for yourselves, go online and look at photos of their previous jobs. 3. SkyBlue found and repaired old wood damage and previous poor construction. The repair work is better than the original construction. Their workers are experienced, friendly, and will listen to your concerns. The people who hire SkyBlue are people who want quality construction with attention to detail, and a beautiful result."

"Alfredo, the project manager, and Donnacha, head of the project, did a great job on the roof repair project."

"Went great and quick. True pro’s."

"A family member recommended Sersiv corp When we were having issues with roof. After talking about options with Andres, we made the decision to have the entire roof replaced. Andres and his team made the process very easy and he answered every question we had. We love our new roof! we will be using Sersiv corp in the future."

"Overall, just fine. The work was done a couple of days earlier than planned, and the gutters and downspouts are now cleared of debris, leaks are sealed, and they are ready for the rainy season. Mike's sub Gabriel Flores also painted over some wood staining caused by past leaks and reattached a loose gutter bracket."

"Inspection was done and a quote was provided. Very professional and on time. No high pressure sales tactics and upselling."

"I was really pleased with the new roof job Lifetime Roofing and Renovation performed for my mom's house that I decided to hire them again for my house. Tony the project manager and his crew once again knocked it out of the park. The work done efficiently and and with quality/care. My wife and I are very pleased with how the project came out. The price point for concrete tiles is what I expected given the rising costs of material and labor."