Rapoza Landscape, Inc.

unknown

Rapoza is a good company. The patio was perfect. I did not do a great deal of comparisons, but the price was fair.

The walk and step rebuild was incredible: everything lined up with perfect edges and grouting. The front entrance looks great!The surround for the plant growing area is perfectly done.The irrigation system works better now than it has since we moved here 12 years ago! (This is the first year Rapoza has serviced it.)All work, scheduling, clean-up, etc. have been impeccable.

We didn't get a call that the design plan was ready until a few days before Thanksgiving, more then 2 months after their initial visit. My husband and I were both busy with holiday plans and asked them to re-schedule in a few weeks. When we did go to the Rapoza office, the landscape architect presented us his design plan (I'll email you the plan separately. My husband and I were bewildered. Instead of a casual plan that I could use to do the work, they had designed a formal garden, not only around the waterfall and pond, but deep within the woods! They presented us with a contract to sign that would allow them to build this unwanted design, provide all of 464 plants ( 5 trees, 101 shrubs, and 358 perennials/ornamental grasses/ground covers) bring in yards of fill and planting material,install a retaining wall at the bottom of the pond with an 8-stone-step opening in it, an Upper granite flagstone patio with a mortared fieldstone retaining wall along its lower edge with steps, a Lower granite flagging patio wet-laid on a concrete footing, a stepping stone path with bluestone used in the flat area, flat stones along the top of the water feature, 22 cu. yards of premium mulch,and (last, but definitely not least!) 45 yds. of screened loam that they will spread over our existing lawn, which they will smooth, rake out and hydro seed. All this for JUST under $70,000. Of course, if we went along with this plan, we would then need a lawn/garden maintenance contract with them! We payed for the plan ($800),plus another $700 to have elevations of the slope done by an engineering firm, and we didn't sign the contract. I used a small portion of the plan for what I wanted, and hired the contractor who installed the water feature to do most of the work. I will email you the Rapoza design plan for our property and some photos of what we actually did with the site. We'll still not quite done, but the final bill will be just a fraction of Rapoza's plan. My main complaint with Rapoza was that they didn't seem to listen (or brushed aside) my modest plan and replaced it with this grandiose idea - just exactly what I DIDN"T want. Second was that they hoped to lock us in to a longterm maintenance contract. Bottom Line:They didn't listen or respond to my specific requests for professional help. I think that Rapoza is a responsible, professional company, that would do a good job once a contract is signed. Just be aware that its design plans may be much more than needed, and may they contain future maintainence needs that you might not be aware of.

Working with them was straightforward. The owner, Paul Rapoza, made the first visit to see what we needed to have done. Then, a landscape architect drew up plans. On the day of installation, the architect was here to supervise the work. The work foreman introduced himself and kept us informed of the progress. After the installation, Paul came by to check the job. Very easy to work with.