Bill Rudolph Landscaping

It didn't work out well at all. He called the night before he wanted to come to do the work, and asked me if I had the stone. I hadn't yet picked it out, because I thought he was going to call me to tell me the start date, so that I could pick out the stone and he would pick it up. I went out to get stone that evening. He told me to buy 4 bags, I bought 5 and it still wasn't enough. He arrived with another person, who he treated as if he was extremely inexperienced. This concerned me, as I had to leave for work and couldn't watch as the job was being done. When I came home I was horrified. In spite of my instructions, the stone work did not cover the entire front of the garage, and ended in a patch of dirt and weeds. And while I know much of this was a result of a failure to communicate, I know we talked about that area specifically. I said that I would put a planter in that space, and he made a joke about how I didn't need any more flowers in my yard. The stone looked awful. If I had had more advance warning, I would have made a better choice instead of picking out the lesser of two bad choices at Lowes. I found myself sliding on the stone because the slope was so steep. In one place it felt as if I were falling off a cliff. I pulled up the landscape fabric to reveal an uneven drop off rather than a smooth grade. As a last straw, the stepping stones, which were part of a mostly straight path, looked as if they had been tossed randomly on top of the stones, even though I had specified that they be buried in the stones. It looked as if I had done it myself, which was what I was trying to avoid by calling a landscape contractor. I called him to tell him that it didn't look right at all, and he said he would come back the next day to fix it. I went out and purchased different stone, from a stone contractor and had to carry it home in buckets in the trunk of my car. In retrospect, I should have insisted that he transport the stone. He wasn't too happy when he came by, all alone, the next morning. I told him I had new stone and he said "what do you want me to do with the old stone, pick it up by hand?" I told him he could use the landscape fabric as a sling, as I had, and dispose of it in the same area as the dirt. I also told him that some of the dirt had been disposed of in the wrong place, and he said " I put it in the hole, just like you told me" It was clear that my definition of hole was a lot different from his. In the end, he did regrade the area, still not completely smooth but better, put down the landscape fabric and the stone, but it still doesn't look great. The landscape fabric keeps bubbling up through the stones, because the dirt underneath isn't smooth. I didn't get another bid on this job, so I don't know what others would have charged, but I can tell you it doesn't look like I paid $1500 for this. (The other $100 in the price was for removal of a shrub.) I am particularly upset because he persuaded me he could do the work while digging by hand, when I was willing to wait and have him use the backhoe after the vegetation had died back. I did have a contract and it specified what tasks he was to do, but apparently he heard something else when I was talking to him. His wife did not come to the job site with him, and it is possible that she and I were in sync with what I wanted and I thought she had described the extent of the job clearly to him but she hadn't. I would not use his services again, and I would not recommend him to others.

unknown

An observation, one should never see their sausage being made. I asked for proof of insurance and he provided it without a problem. He also called "Call Before You Dig!". This boosted my confidence in getting a good job then Bill showed up with his wife to do the job and I went oh, oh. They are a great team, been doing it for 40 years and I need not have been apprehensive. It was also good I was on hand to resolve what I really wanted. In such a complex number of things what is said and what is heard can wind up being 2 different things but since I was on site I was able to clarify any ambiguities. Anyway they knew what to do and started digging the trench for the garden frame. Bill used a backhoe and luckily it was small as I didn't have a lot of maneuvering room. Then they dug up an area for the walkway. Then Judy started setting the pavers on the walkway. Then they got timbers and put them around garden. Next they started the "alcove". Now initially I asked for 5'x10' but they could not get 10' timbers only 12' so they asked if 6'x12' would be okay as not to waste lumber and I said sure. There was no extra cost. It wound up as 5'6" x 11'3" which I was very happy with. I am going to put a Tidy Tent on it for my bicycle along with garbage cans and now I can get a bigger tent for storing more than the bike. Anyway they got the chip seal, compacted the alcove floor, put dirt in the timber trenches and finished the walk with edging and pea gravel. Finally they cleaned up after themselves and put down grass seed where it was needed. Then I walked around going WOW! WOW! See 1st sentence, it was messy while they did it but amazing when they were done. And this was just 2 people. Now as to speed, I firmly, sincerely believe in GOOD not FAST. It was in the 90's so the job took a week as they took a 3 day weekend with the grandkids. Not an issue to me, I've never understood people who want it done fast and bad rather than slow and good. They worked a 6 hour day which again not an issue with me. I got the job I wanted and it doesn't get better than that.