Natural Path Landscaping LLC

After contacting and "interviewing" (at our home) several landscaping companies (recommended by either friends or colleagues), and finding so many of them falling short, we did what we should have done in the first place and logged into Angie's List. Tom Kraus of Natural Path Landscaping (NPL) responded quickly to our initial inquiry and we arranged a mutually convenient time to review and discuss our hopes for creating an outdoor living area. This in itself was greatly appreciated as my wife and I do not usually get home until early evening - an issue we had with many other landscapers when trying to arrange appointments. When Tom arrived, we presented what we thought we wanted based on the other designs we had compiled and asked for his thoughts. Tom diligently took multiple measurements (the area we wanted to utilize is awkward and sloped) and several minutes to view the area from every angle. He asked a variety of questions as to our vision and expectations and then expressed his thoughts on the 'pros & cons' of our original design. He then suggested a new design that not only had better functionality but also complimented our yard and deck. He obviously knew from our "deer in the headlight" expressions that we were caught off guard by the dramatically different design and suggested tat we think about it and let him know. It was refreshing to work with a professional that did not pressure us to immediately "buy his idea/design". After he left that evening, so intrigued by the design, my wife and I staked-off the area and lined it with a garden hose to better visualize what Tom envisioned. As we stood on our deck looking down at the new area - we knew instantly that Tom Kraus and NPL would be our landscapers. Shortly after our initial consultation, an installation date was scheduled. On the first day of the installation, we came home to incredible progress. The crew on our installation (Justin, Tony & Tim) was amazing; professional, informative yet friendly. They answered our endless questions and explained the process step-by-step. They also maintained a clean and safe work area. As issues arose, (i.e. they found the old septic tank), we were contacted immediately. Tom was on-site daily and was in contact frequently. We found NPL to be very organized which led to our job being completed in a very cost-effective manner. Materials were delivered in order of need, with very little waste or left-over stock. Four and a half days later we had a new walk, a landscaped border around the deck, a patio with retaining walls (at a perfect height for additional seating) and soft lighting. This accomplishment, in our eyes, is incredible as mid-way we "tweaked" the design by requesting that an additional area be landscaped and changed some stone work. And our request for these changes was met with a smile and "yes, we can definitely do that". In closing, we cannot recommend Tom Kraus and Natural Path Landscaping more highly. Their work is incredible and we suggest that when considering NPL, that you step back and let Tom create a space for you - he truly knows his field and can understand what a client envisions. Our only complaint is that we didn't find NPL sooner!

Tom and his crew at Natural Path Landscaping have transformed our yard and how we use it. When we moved in we had an old patio, walkway and steps built by the original owner that once may have been beautiful. More than50 years later, they were in disrepair. Tom and his design not only brought it back to life but made it significantly better. We obtained three quotes from landscapers, all rated very highly on Angie's List. We have modern taste, that is often different than typical New England design. Tom was the only one that took some extra time to understand our style and showed a willingness to incorporate it into his design. Tom's willingness to work collaboratively with us ultimately resulted in a patio, walkway and steps that transformed our house and way we interact with our yard. This was not an easy project, given that not only did Tom have to work through the unknowns that come with pre-existing construction, but we also live on a hill and required proper water drainage. We notice now no pooling of water, and after it rains it dries very quickly. Most people focus on bringing the outdoors in. The work done by Tom and his crew has brought us to the outdoors. We now spend any available time out on our new patio.

Tom is a real professional. He is a solid guy and has high integrity. After a lengthy search I settled on Natural Path. I was doing my driveway over and was going to do 80% paver and 20% asphalt. In the end I decided to change course and am doing 80% asphalt. I have nothing but good things to say about Tom. The only advice I would offer is to make up your mind quick and get on the schedule. He is in demand and you will wait if you don't act. All in, a real good experience with a real pro.

This company is a gem! They use the best materials, and their team is wonderful. They are easy to work with, professional, knowledgeable, honest, and creative. They transformed our older brick front steps to a beautiful granite entranceway! Its a work of art. Everyone glows when they come in and out of our building! We are so grateful to this company.

He was professional with a good vision on what could be done. Cost of the proposed was out of our budget but he proposed doing very high end work. In discussing our goals he did prepare me that cost was likely to be above what we had thought. If I wanted that level of work I would contact them again, but his vision was above what we desired.

They were professional. They did good work. My interaction with them was good.

Tom is very professional, detail-oriented and good at communicating. I find that many contractors live by a different set of business rules and norms than their customers. Tom has spent time in other industries and understands how to interact and treat clients. I can honestly say Tom is the only service provide more detail-oriented than me as the customer. Tom and his small team did an excellent job. You pay for the quality, but it is has been a good investment. 5 years later the patio is holding up nicely.

This was our second time using Natural Path, and the experience was just as positive as the first. We asked Tom and team to look at two independent projects as part of this job. The first was to create a patio landing area at the foot of our deck stairs. The twist was that in this area, we had the cover to our septic tank so we needed to have access. After a little brainstorming, Tom came up with a creative solution to have the cover topped with a circular piece of granite that is easily removed when necessary. And the compass design makes it a bit interesting. This was another good example of the creative design work that Tom does. The second project was a bit more involved. The team put in a 27x14 patio and installed wooden pergola that has created a great outdoor living space. This included mounting the posts on granite footers, as well as including a decorative circular design in the stonework. I have referred Tom to many others based on their strong work. I think what sets them apart is that their level of service is well above others. From the design to the finished product, they are thorough and have a keen attention to detail. Every day they showed up on time. Every day the work area was cleaned up. Every day they communicated on where they were in the project and what the next steps are to properly set expectations. Across the customer comments, people are correct to praise Tom on his work, but it goes beyond him to his team. They are all professional and put in the extra effort (even on hot weekends) to finish the job on schedule. The work effort goes across the team which makes them good to work with.

Tom and his crew were always punctual and exhibited the utmost professionalism. Tom worked with us to achieve the best design for our front walkway. He clearly takes great pride in his work.

This was the third project Tom has done for us and like the previous two it looks great. Tom and his crew are wonderful and their attention to detail is tremendous. For this project they excavated the old driveway and replaced it with a beautiful paver driveway outlined with granite pavers. Tom also designed a drainage system from the house downspouts that now goes under the driveway and away from the house. Our new driveway now compliments the beautiful bluestone walk and granite front steps that Tom installed last year. We highly recommend Tom and Natural Path Landscaping to anyone looking to do an exceptional landscape project.

It went very smooth. Tom and his crew delivered what was promise and more.

Tom's crew did a great job. They were very neat and professional.

Great! Tom was our third vendor to provide a quote, and it was clear from the start he was our first choice. His vision for our project specifically and passion for his line of work overall was very impressive. When his quote was actually the lowest I was shocked, and it made hiring Natural Path a very easy decision. From that day forward Tom was very responsive, provided constant updates, and was happy to share his thoughts on things outside the scope of our job (such as planting in the area afterwords, even an assessment of our aging deck [a job for another day]). The work was done in only two days (by Tom and two additional members of his team), which was quite impressive as I was expecting three and maybe even part of a fourth. The cost was spot on the contracted estimate, no hidden extras or surprises. It was Tom who recommended going with granite steps, and he was right - they look awesome! They really pop, and granite lasts forever. His design for the front walk, with a bit of a curve and a curved bottom front step transform the entrance to our house. It came out better than we could have envisioned, looks straight out of a magazine or brochure. The back was a more simple job. It's a walkout from our finished basement, which I can only assume use to be covered by a bulkhead. The steps were mere boards on cinder blocks, an area impossible to keep clean of leaves and vermin, and an eyesore when looking out the window in the backdoor, no less when actually using the steps. The new granite steps, filled in behind them with loose stone, obviously look a hundred times better but also make maintenance a breeze. New pavers and some loose stone at the bottom look much nicer than what was there before and still allow for the necessary drainage. We couldn't have had a more positive experience with Natural Path!

Tom, deserves all the "excellent" ratings that I gave him. I would love to clone him for any other service I need done in my home. I have NEVER had such great responsiveness from the time he first came to look at the area to the very end.. If we had a discussion about the design and questions, I had a response within 8 hrs. He gave me ideas, listened intently to what my goal was. He would warn me if an idea was not a good one and would suggest alternative. I had a deadline because of an event and he worked very hard and did make the deadline. He was in touch with me daily during the project asking each day what did I think. I never had to leave messages and wait, he called me first. He is meticulous and the patio is Perfect and beautiful. He prepped the area for my new shed and did a great job on that also. He does not do fencing but it was a small fence and when I was having trouble finding someone to do it in the time frame I needed, he went and spoke to a fence company and he did it for me. He was over and above on every point. He has been back a couple of times checking the patio. HE IS THE BEST! I would recommend Tom and his company every time. I had 3 people come giving estimates and this was truly the best choice. I am so happy I found him and his company.

He does excellent work. Tom, the owner, is just great. He actually has a software background, so he was very professional and precise about the planning. He used computer software to generate what it would look like ahead of time. He’s very very responsive to our needs and wants, and his whole team is great to work with. He’s not the cheapest, but he’s not the most expensive either, and for the quality of the work, planning, and the follow-up, I couldn’t ask for anyone better. I received one other quote which was comparable in pricing, but Tom was just so good in terms of articulating every aspect of the plan, and could show us on a diagram. It was an easy choice to pick his company. Everything he said he would do, he absolutely did, from email follow-ups to the actual work. We absolutely love the end product and we are enjoying it now. He put in a gorgeous blue stone patio, with landscape lighting and granite benches.

Tom was recommended to me by the granite company I called. He impressed us from the very beginning because he spent a lot of time actually looking at our steps and thinking about possible solutions--the steps were on a very steep hill and in very bad shape. He is incredibly detail-oriented and spent a lot of time in the planning stages of the project including making sure we had a design we wanted. As a result, when he and his crew showed up they finished in 8 days instead of the 10 they'd planned. They were very respectful of our neighbors since their equipment had to block part of the street occasionally.

Tom Kraus came in September and gave me an estimate to install brick walkway and stairs and at that time he also suggested installing underground drainage for the 3 downspouts to avoid erosion. This was something we had never thought about doing. Tom's estimate was competitive and given his Angie's List reports we decided to go with him.He then emailed me a detailed drawing and came over to lay it out and discuss it. They started the work in November and it took about a week. I have to say Tom, Justin and Tim are great. The work was done carefully and it was obvious that they all take a lot of pride in what they do. They arrived everyday at 7:30, kept showing/asking me things as they went along. We discussed some minor changes and their suggestions were carefully thought out. I love my walkway and would not hesitate to have Natural Paths Landscaping do work for us again.

My wife and I obtained several estimates before finally deciding on Natural Path Landscaping, and we were really glad we made that choice! Tom and his crew were a pleasure to work with. They are very detail-oriented, hard working, and completed the project in the estimated timeframe. We have received numerous compliments from our neighbors on the beautiful job that Natural Path Landscaping completed!! I would highly recommend this company!

Tom Kraus along with Justin and Tim did a fabulous job. Tom is very professional and his attention to detail is amazing. Tom is great to work with and his communication is wonderful. I was most impressed with the design ideas he presented us with for our project. We now have a beautiful bluestone front walk way that leads to amazing granite steps. Tom also solved a problem we had for years. Our home has a sloping front landscape. Tom was able to correct this by giving us a curved wall that now levels the front corner and looks great. We were so happy with what Tom, Tim, and Justin did for our front walk way and steps that they are now currently installing a patio and new granite steps to our back yard. We have had a great experience with Natural Path Landscaping and would highly recommend them.

Tom and Tim did excellent work! I was impressed from the beginning by the care they took to install the subsurface drain system. I commented to Tom that; "I'd watched Finish Capenters who weren't as precise with thier work as he was with work that wouldn"t be visable when finished!" That attention to detail continued throughout the project.

We contacted Tom Kraus about ideas for replacing our failing backyard retaining wall. We worked together on the design, and the work was completed in July. Throughout the process, Tom made sure that we were happy with all aspects of the work. He is very detail oriented and careful. For example, after we had approved the original design, we found that the septic system was buried very closely to where the digging was supposed to take place. Tom insisted on keeping a safe distance from this area, and redesigned the patio and wall to meet that requirement, while keeping the design aesthetically pleasing and functional from a space perspective. His detailed estimates before work began helped the project to stay both on time and on budget. We enjoyed working with him, and intend to work with him in the future.

Tom took a look at the site and quickly prepared a detailed quote with drawings and an accurate breakdown of expenses. He was also able to help with the many design decisions that we encountered in the planning phase. When the work began, we were pleased with the skill of the work crew. They were considerate, friendly and easy to communicate with. We were very impressed with their ideas and creative solutions. For example, during the project, the work crew removed a boulder which was much larger than expected. This presented a problem as we had not planned to use such a large boulder anywhere on the property, but the size of this boulder would make it difficult and expensive to remove entirely. They quickly came up with a wonderful solution: they were able to move it to another planting bed at the end of our driveway. They dug out an area and nestled the boulder inside the planting bed. It looks like it was meant to be there all along and added a beautiful point of interest to the bed. They considered the contours and differing faces of the boulder to choose its best orientation. To say they went above and beyond the job given is an understatement. Tom also engineered a very functional solution to a drainage problem involving a nearby downspout. This has worked very well - even in heavy downpours. The end result of the overall project well exceeds our expectations. Everything is beautiful, well crafted and functional. We are very happy with the work performed by Natural Path Landscaping and plan hire them in the future.

A good portion of our backyard was covered with heavy plastic and woodchips. Tom was just starting his Natural Path landscaping business and came recommended to us by a neighbor of ours. Tom was wonderful and worked very hard to complete our project for us. He completed all of the work himself and with the use of mostly hand tools. He clearly put a lot of time and thought into the work to be done, he suggested ideas to help cut our cost. He offered advice on how to properly care for the new lawn, what to avoid and what to watch for. Tom was courteous, friendly and very meticulous about his work. The lawn still looks great today. I would highly recommend Natural Path Landscaping to anyone who is considering to have landscaping work completed. We never had a problem or issue while working with Natural Path, everything went very smoothly because Tom strived for excellence! Thanks for a job well done!

Natural Path Landscaping was the most professional contractor we have ever dealt with -- they were at our house promptly at 7:00am every morning and put in a very hard day's work. They were very polite and helpful and did an excellent job cleaning up every night. Tom had estimated that the project would take about 6 days -- removed the front stairs, cement walkway, light post and all the shrubs. They installed granite steps, a front walkway (paved with techo-bloc parisien pavers), a granite light post, granite post for mailbox and edged the garden with cobblestones (which pulled the pavers and granite stairs together...giving everything a cohesive look). I loved the cobblestone edging so much that we ended up doing it for the entire house instead of just one side. Tom even took the time to go to a nursery with me to assist in selecting new plants to replace the very overgrown shrubs that they removed. Tom was very helpful in the design and materials used for the walkway and edging. He also suggested the granite light post and mailbox post -- which came out better than expected. They finished the job on time (even though we added to the scope of the original estimate). When we initially met with Tom, I asked him to help me get some curb appeal for my house...and that is what I got.

Their price was reasonable. They just called to follow up but we weren’t home at the time of appraisal.