Backyard Designs Inc

unknown

I had a very specific vision for the look I wanted in our outdoor fireplace. After interviewing several companies, I realized very quickly that they were all giving me a fireplace "Kit". Billy at Backyard Designs was the only person who actually listened to what I wanted and he actually went out and researched "Rustic Tuscan Design". I know this not only because he told me, but also because I purposefully left out the fact that typically this design requires grouting and not dry stacking of the stone. He brought this up when discussing the fact that he researched the design style. He listened to what I wanted and communicated clearly with the person doing the drawings. Additionally, after discussing my ideas for how I wanted it too look, Billy made several key design suggestions that made the fireplace look like it had been built with the house and not added in after the fact. I wanted a rustic wood mantle rather than stone. He sourced reclaimed wood for me. I did't want the typical blue stone that you see everywhere on outdoor fireplaces. He brought a unique rustic stone that left natural edges. He was really "in to" the look I was going for. The installer (Victor) grouted the firebrick inside the fireplace, his next step was to acid wash and clean up the firebrick. Billy called me out before they cleaned it and suggested that not cleaning might be preferable with the rustic look. It is a gas fireplace so we wont get the smokey look on the bricks. He was spot on. Before the project started, Billy said that the installer he wanted to work on my job (Victor) was very particular and meticulous. He said it may take a little longer, but it would be worth it. I am super happy with the work Victor did. He took his time selecting the right stone to go in the right spot. He looked like Michelangelo. He really studied and chiseled the stonework. He was super polite and cleaned up every night when finished for the day. His grout work and stone work was very high quality. I had several iron pieces that I wanted on the fireplace that Billy planned for and installed. The end result is the stunning one of a kind fireplace that has all of my neighbors talking. If I have any future hardscaping needs I will call Billy at Backyard Designs for sure!

unknown

We met with the owner to get an estimate for our patio and had a great experience, however, we have opted to have them do the work in 2014 because we had some medical expenses come up. Overall, we were very pleased with the professionalism of both the owner and the staff, and look forward to doing business with them in the future.

Arrived on time, 3 days work, excellent appearance after completion.

The bid for the job was initially made in February 2012. We had received a bid from another local company but ultimately went with Backyard Design due to the salesman, Mark, being extremely nice and professional to deal with and gave us a lot of ideas that the other company didn't. The ideas Mark provided is what ultimately helped us to go with Backyard Designs. After we accepted the bid, Mark and a man by the name of Chris came out to inspect the project prior to the work being completed. Our experience with Chris was also positive and he displayed respect, professionalism, knowledge and understanding about what we wanted the patio and adjoining areas to look like. Once work was scheduled for March 19, 2012; the sand and pavers were delivered on the preceding Friday, March 16th, with no call from Mark or Chris letting us know about the delivery. When work began on Monday the 19th, Chris only stopped by the job site for about an hour in the morning and the work was ultimately done by a guy named John, who had never seen or discussed what our plans were prior to starting the work, and his understanding of what we wanted done was limited to the hour or so conversation with Chris that morning. We never knew prior to March 19th, that Chris would not be guy doing the job. During the bid process and the selection of materials, we were told over and over again that we would really like Chris and was lead to believe he would be doing the work, hence why he would visit the job site prior to the work being done. When work began on the existing patio, John began laying the supporting wall for the patio, farther outside the original dimensions of the planned work. Luckily, my wife was there to correct this or who knows what would have happened. The patio appears to have turned out well, but time will tell of the quality of the job. Where the project really began to unravel was the walkway that was to connect the patio and adjoining area where we have a porchswing. The original plans was to have the walkway and adjoining area be as close to the grass level as possible. However, the man performing the work made both areas approximately 6-8 inches higher than discussed and would not listen to my wife when she said the work completed wasn't right. However, my wife and I had to call Mark and Chris to tell them what had happened and they said they would fix it. As a result, the man completing the work had to come back out on Tuesday and fix what he had done with these areas. When the man completing the work showed up on Tuesday, he had this girlfriend with him who sat in the van all day. Chris also had to come out and explain to the man doing the work, yet again, what the plan was for this area. The man doing the work ultimately made the areas look nice, but failed on the integrity of it. When I got home, after a few days had passed, I began to walk the perimeter of the area that had been fixed and noticed that the pavers were already beginning to fall away from the rest of the surface. As I put my foot on the side pavers, they ultimately just seperated from the rest of the surface and ultimately John failed to put in the proper edging supports for the pavers. I had to call Mark, yet again, to have his guys come back out and inspect the area. Chris arrived and assessed the area and agreed that it wasn't done properly and told me that this same guy who messed up twice would come back to fix it. I told Chris that I did not want this guy back as he doesn't listen to our instructions and he already messed up twice. Chris ultimately sent a different guy and it appears that the issues have been corrected. At no time did Mark ever stop by to look at the project or apologize for the mistakes. While Chris did stop by, it was only at our calls that he showed up. He also never apologized but appears to have corrected the issues, at no extra charge to us, nor did he try to charge us extra. Then, on March 30th, we received a call from Backyard Designs telling us that our final payment is due (we had to pay them half up front for the supplies). While we had every intention to pay them, we never heard anything else from Mark or Chris seeing if we were satisfied with the work performed and if so, this is how you can make the final payment. Time will tell whether or not the integrity of the project will remain. I have my doubts about it; but am hopeful there are no other issues. With what I know now, I would not use or recommend Backyard Design to perform your next patio project. I believe their customer service is weak and they didn't make us feel like our job was a priority to them. During the project, my wife and I felt like we had to be overseeing the work performed to ensure it was done correctly. It appears that Chris may be involved in larger scale projects and smaller projects, like ours, another crew of guys perform the work. I can't speak for the work that Chris would do himself, but for the guys that performed our work, they failed to meet our expectations.

They did a fantastic job and were quite reasonable. They were very timely, thorough, and did a great job.

It was perfect.. Estimate was given at the home.. we went to the store to pick out the pavers, after positive encouragement from the girls at the store picked out a perfect match for the stone . the work was done all in one day.. we had some mixup with us going out of town and I left a Voice Mail after hours and was very pleased to receive a callback that same evening from them regarding starting the work the next day.. they men came on time and stayed till the work was done. after dark. I was very impressed with their work ethnic and they only stopped for lunch.. this was in 100 degree heat. the next day we left town but they came back to clean up the site and take the excess away..

Took 5 weeks to get parts and for the crew to arrive. Once on site the job took 3.5 days. Expert install, took the time to explain all construction points and cleaned work area promptly.

Did not use the company, used their recommendation...which is also one of their sub-contractors

I wanted to have a patio installed, but had not been a member of Angie's List at the time. I met the owner of Backyard Designs, Inc. at the Home Show in Jacksonville, FL and spoke with him about what I wanted in the way of a patio. Owner came to my home, measured the area and we again spoke about the design. My wife and I then went to their show area and looked at the available pavers for our project. Chose the pavers and made arrangements for installation.