Madrona Brothers Inc Landscape & Construction

Vincente Madrona was my contact person and managed the project.  He was prompt, attentive to detail, and a good communicator. He made several good suggestions to modify my original request, and these improved the final result without any additional cost.  His estimate was very detailed.  In spite of much prior rain he was able to start the job when I had requested.
The Madrona workers were well-trained and worked steadily.  They were careful not to disturb underground cables and wires.  They cleaned up at the end of each day.  They had the proper equipment to do the job properly.  They completed the work on time.
In several areas Vincente went beyond the contracted work (without any additional cost) to improve the final result.  He used generous amounts of bark mulch and other materials.  He used high-quality materials, plants, and bushes.
The final result of these landscape improvements was excellent.
I highly recommend Madrona Brothers and would certainly use them again.

As you can see from the ratings, I was very pleased with both the end product and the level of service/communication.  I got 3 estimates for the work, and the Madrona Bros. were the middle estimate.  I selected them because I liked the way they approached developing the estimate and the ideas they provided on options I might want to consider.  I dealt specifically with Marcelo, one of the two brothers who own the company.  
For the bluestone patio, the project was to enlarge a patio that was partially completed many years ago.  When the initial work was done, we had all the foundation work done, but bluestone placed on only about a third of the area, as that was all we could afford at the time, with pea stone on the rest of the patio area.  Marcello was the only one of the three contractors to actually dig some holes in the pea stone area to confirm the adequacy of the foundation as part of doing his estimate.  He also provided some good ideas for the other projects.  
Marcelo kept me informed of scheduling, he and his crew showed up when they said the would, and they worked diligently, and skillfully, on the projects.  Marcelo was on-site for at least a few hours each day and some days worked with his crew most or all of the day.
The patio was a particularly difficult project.  It wrapped around a deck and a screened porch, and needed to fit within existing granite edging on the other borders. The difficulty was that none of these in-place borders for the patio were exactly square with each other.  Marcelo's crew did a very skillful job of cutting tapers on some stones so that everything fits within the pre-existing borders, looks lined up with the various borders, and still maintains the internal integrity of the stone pattern.  The other projects were similarly well done, and we have received many compliments from the neighbors about the front steps.
Another thing I liked was that Marcelo did not nickel and dime us for small alterations to the plans that arose as the work progressed.  There was one change order that was due to the need to replace two very large stones that we originally hoped could be reused, but that was a very reasonable  request for a budget modification.

They are tremendously professional.  They have the best equipment. I have seen their company grow a lot over the years.  You can reach the owners and talk with them. They are very accessible and they will explain things to you. They also send a list of things you could do.  They are very respectful of my wants and needs. If I request something they make sure to do it right.  They take responsibility for their mistakes and learn from them. They are very good and nice. Everyone I have encountered has always been very nice. Both neighbors on either side have used their services.  I continue to recommend their services to anyone.

Madrona Brothers was fantastic to work with.  Our contact, Marcelo, was extremely responsive to my calls during the entire process.  He came out and provided a quote, which was exactly how much we paid for the service.  We agreed on general date range for the work and Marcelo followed up with our exact date in a timely manner. Finally,  Marcelo was very intentional about making sure we knew how to care for our new lawn.  I appreciated dealing with one person who is certainly a kind and friendly face of the company.
The yard came out beautiful - it looks like a park. we couldn't be happier with the services.

I used the Contact Us email form on their website since I prefer email communication when I can and I got an immediate reply from Vincent Madrona. He came out to look at the cleanup we needed and emailed me a price. I gave the go ahead and they were able to do the work several days later. I happened to be home when they came out and I was really impressed with the care they took with our newly planted lawn and the clean up they did for all the leaves that had been scattered around. They blew all the leaves off our lawn, which really felt like an extra and I appreciated. In addition to hauling away all the broken branches around, they also had to cut down a dangling branch and untangle and remove a small tree that had fallen into another tree. The work was excellent and they left the yard immaculate. They also had a great price for the work involved. We'll definitely be using them for any future landscaping or clean up needs.landscaping 

We contacted Vincent for a quote for this job.  He corresponded immediately and arrived at the set appointment time.  Vincent was extremely courteous and our estimate arrived promptly via email.  We were not in a hurry to begin the work so we let him fit us into his schedule, which was approximately 2 months after receipt of the estimate.  Vincent's crew began work immediately and the entire job was completed in about 7 days (weather was quite uncooperative, but they made the most of the nice days...they even worked on some Saturdays to make up for rainy days).  They thoroughly cleaned up the work site at the end of each work day.  The work crew was extremely polite.  Vincent was on the work site frequently to monitor progress of the job.  No detail was overlooked.  They rearranged the existing sprinkler system without any extra charge, the masonry work is outstanding.  Finally, Vincent performed a final walk-through of the site with us to ensure that we were completely satisfied.  We will definitely use Madrona Bros. for any future landscaping work. 

We've used several different landscaping companies over the past few years.  The quality of work has ranged from poor to average.  The Madrona Bros. blew us away with their professionalism, knowledge and workmanship.  

We contacted them in the middle of the summer to correct a grading and drainage problem, created by our previous landscaper, and to install a 20' x 10' paver patio.  Vincent Madrona came out to take a look at the yard and immediately saw the issue without me having to point it out to him.  He gave us a very practical and affordable suggestion for how to solve the problem.  

Vincent was upfront that they probably wouldn't be able to start the work until late into the season (end of September), but we were willing to wait to get it done right.  The hurricane that came through the area in August set them back, so the work wasn't started until the middle of October, but it was worth the wait.

The entire crew took great care to keep the disruption to the area affected by the regrading only.  In order to get the bulldozer into the backyard, they needed to rake the side yard mulch out of the way, build a temporary ramp and remove a section of fence.  When they left, the side yard looks pretty much untouched.  If it wasn't for the regrading and new patio, you wouldn't have known they were there.

Madrona Bros. were worth the wait.  My wife and I are extremely pleased with the quality of work they provided.  Big thumbs up.

unknown

They have been working since July. I like everything about them. Every single day the guys are very courteous and hard working. They show up all the time. They are very conscientious and do their job very, very well. They gave me a good price. Everything is looking great. I would use them in the future if I ever need their service again.

The job went perfectly from the start.  They followed up the estimate with me and when I asked them to complete the project by 9 September, they told me that it would be no problem.  They then proceeded to call me around the end of July and indicated that they would like to start next week.  They showed up every day and when there were issues, they immediately showed me the problem and discussed potential solutions.  They are a complete pleasure to work with.  Also, when they had to remove a person to work somewhere else for a day, they told me in advance, so there were no surprises.  They are extremely adaptable and just a pleasure to do business with.  When they completed the work, they cleaned up after themselves and restored the area to the original condition.  They then followed up with a phone call a day or so later and confimed by pleasure and asked if there was anything else we needed to complete the work.

Before we hired Marcelo Madrona, we had an untreated lawn with a little bit of grass admixed with clover and some weeds.  I decided I wanted to give the lawn a make-over and make our lawn look more neat and well-kept. Based on good reviews I had seen on Angie's list I contacted Madrona brothers for an estimate for lawn treatment and care.  After asking many questions, and calling everyone on his reference list, I decided to hire Marcelo and we settled on a contract in the beginning of April.  Marcelo installed a sprinkler system (via subcontractors) for us in the beginning of May, and then did slice seeding and what was supposed to be lawn maintenance with a fertilizer and weed killer program.  (We had decided to mow the lawn ourselves.)

Overall, I can honestly say this is the worst, poorest quality, and most unprofessional service I have ever had.  I feel like I've been majorly taken advantage of.  Marcelo had assured us that after the more expensive slice seeding approach, and the fertilizer/weed killer treatments, that we would have a great lawn by the middle of the summer, as opposed to using the overseeding treatment which would give a great lawn but in a few years.  Unfortunately, after approx 7,000.00 charge - including a sprinkler system installation and slice seeding - we now have a lawn full of crab grass.  We'd never had this much crab grass before. In fact I at first didn't even recognize it since  I'd never seen that much on our lawn, and probably was in denial given what I was actually expecting.  Instead of having a neat and clean looking lawn, we now have something that looks infinitely more unkempt than we had before the now $7,000 expenditure.  We've basically spent a huge amount of money to water and grow weeds all summer long.

 I'm not surprised this has happened, given what I saw during the "lawn maintenance program".  After the sprinkler system was installed and the slice seeding was done (and a $6,325.00 bill was issued), I never saw Marcelo on site again.   I did see one worker come by one time and was appalled to see how he applied the fertilizer/weedkiller - he made one arc-shaped pass across the back yard in about 3 minutes - you could see the resultant line for a whole month, and the front and sides were similarly randomly done.  I'd never seen such unprofessional, careless work.  Given such great reviews on Angie's list, I thought, certainly this must be a fluke, and that the next application would be better.   I never saw any more, though there were yellow signs placed 1 or 2 other times.  I find it hard to believe anything was done properly given the horribly low quality results. 

Never in mid march when I first contacted him was there a mention of pre-emergent not being placed and the possibility that crab grass could over run the lawn.  Obviously if he had said that, I wouldn't have gone through with the program and would have chosen to wait another year.   A do-it-yourselfer friend of mine (who has a perfect lawn) came to take a look and couldn't believe we got this result depsite a professional treatment program.  She suggested we spray the whole thing down to klil off all the crab grass since it was so bad, and just start from scratch.

But the horrible quality doesn't stop there:  The edging was barely perceptible (a prior landscaper I had did a great beautiful looking job for the same price), and an extremely thin layer of mulch was placed over unweeded beds, despite the fact that there were only a few weeds to remove at that point in the early spring (would have been minimal work for them to do).  I feel like I also got "hosed" with the sprinkler system, which seems to have required a combination of over 40 rotor heads and sprays for a lawn area which is only slightly over a quarter acre - (I understood the need for sprays in the front, but so many rotors were placed in the back yard that the water pressure is very poor.  Of course the charge for heads was quite high given so many were "needed".) There was also a "bait and switch" regarding what constituted a shrub - I found out later that shrub pruning only included the yew kind, not the rhododendron kind .  A prior landscaper I had, had done a wonderful job with pruning the shrubs which included all shrubs.  
Overall, all i can say is caveat emptor:   Beware of (Marcelo) Madrona's intentionally vague and poorly detailed contracts, and the manipulative approach he uses to take advantage of unsuspecting customers.  I hope no one has to go through the frustrations I have had with this company. 

I absolutely loved the work Madrona Bros. did for us three years ago on our front porch and walkway, so I hired them again to do a much larger project this time. I have been very happy with Madrona Bros. both times I have used them, and have found Vincent to be very responsive and helpful at all times. We have had many compliments on the work, and have referred Madrona Bros. to many of our neighbors. My only regret is that I didn't see the coupon they are running now showing on Angie's List. I will definitely use them again.

Working with Vincent and his company was a great experience from beginning to end and we couldn't have been happier. We solicited 4 bids from a number of landscaping contractors and Madrona Bros bid was the lowest. Although other bids had more detail and looked a bit more professional, we decided to go with Madrona Bros due to their exceptional reviews on Angie's List. Vincent came out and answered our questions on the initial bid and provide more clarification in several areas. We didn't use them for design, rather we had them bid a landscape plan designed by an independent landscape designer. There was a bit of a delay in receiving a response as to when the work was going to be started but eventually a date was scheduled. Since it was a rainy Fall, the actual start date was pushed back a week, but this was to be expected. Vincent's guys showed up every day on time and worked hard, despite the rain on several days (they worked through the rain!). Vincent came each day in the morning to check on things and answer any questions we had. His masons did an exceptional job, hand crafting our stone patio and Pennsylvania bluestone walls over the course of 2 weeks. Once the patio was in, grading the yard and installing plantings was a breeze. Vincent accommodated our requests (special grass seed) and answered our questions throughout the process. Cleaned up and protected the site every night. No complaints from them at all, they just worked hard the whole way though. They honored the 10% off Angie's List coupon which saved us a lot of $! We'll definitely use them again for our front yard in the upcoming years. Thanks Vincent!

This was a large project for us (a residential project for Madrona Brother's). There were a few bumps (thanks to Mother Nature), but Marcelo addressed those and in the end, we have a retaining wall that is just stunning and a new backyard. The job began as scheduled and finished on time. Marcelo communicated well and always followed up.

Overall, the experience went very well. It was very reasonably-priced and they did a good job. I'm satisfied with their services.

The job came out great and we are very happy with the results.

Vincent Madrona and Co. is simply a first class operation. I found him to be honest, very easy to communicate with and full of great ideas with regard to our project. Communication was prompt via email and phone conversations. Any complicated or detailed communication was done in person. He is very reliable. When the project began, there were some additional costs related to the base/fondation of the steps which he communicated to me immediately with appropriate estimate, which was higher than the final billed cost. He employee's were incredibly hard working, diligent and cleaned the site daily. The project came out beautiful! We anticipate using his services in the spring for additional projects.

I couldn't be happier with the job Madrona Bros did for me. Vincent quoted the initial work with me, and brought in a landscaping designer to help plan the project. It took a while to get started after the plan was done due to obligations to other customers, but once the project started I had their complete attention. I had expected that I might not see Vincent very much during the actual execution phase, but he was at my house most every day making sure that every detail was done right. When the inevitable changes to the plan came up, Vincent couldn't have handled them better. Most adjustments and changes were agreed to happily with no impact on the cost of the project. In every case, Vincent's top priority was to make sure that I was satisfied. I heartily recommend Madrona Bros for any landscaping project.

Work was done on time and work area was cleaned up at end of every day. Vincent was very responsive to all inquiries. I couldn't be happier w/ the quality of the work done - it came out even better than I had expected. I highly recommend Madrona Brothers for all your masonry needs !

Fantastic! Owner was on-site with crew for job. They were fast, efficient and neat. I've been managging income properties for over 35 years and this contractor is as good as they get.

His guys did all of this in about a day, came exactly when they said they would, and did a very tidy job. Unfortunately, there were two issues: 1. the water-table is rather close to the ground here, and the new slope of the ground caused a drainage problem that persisted through the winter, and of course, was much worse in the wet spring of 2010, to the point where you'd sink two inches just stepping on the grass; and 2. the fill contained glass, which percolated to the surface during the rain. This is where it pays to go with people who have a professional ethic. I can't say that the drainage was entirely his problem: it was definitely worse after he finished, but you could tell beforehand that there was risk that there might be problems. Vincent calmly listened to our problems, came out to check them, made some suggestions. He sent his guys over to pick up all the visible glass, which they did to an amazing degree, and he made some suggestions about how to improve the drainage. Ultimately, picking up the visible glass wasn't a long-term solution, since more of it came up over time, and although the drainage got better, the yard was still not dry enough to walk on. So, in May 2010 (once the ground had dried up enough to support the equipment), he came back and redid the whole thing. He added a small drainage ditch (six inches deep), which he filled with pea gravel, and reseeded the grass. Unfortunately, the hot weather this summer has not been kind to the grass (though the crab grass doesn't seem to mind it!), but that's not Madrona's problem. Hopefully, he's found a different supplier for his fill. I feel that Madrona brothers was a good company because they truly aimed to leave us happy with our yard, even if the problems (glass in fill, wet yard) weren't entirely of their making. They weren't cheap, but I can imagine not all of their competitors would redo the yard from scratch to make sure we were happy.

This was a great experience. Marcelo came out to view the property and provided a very competitive quote within 24 hours. The work was done over 2 days and the crew was very professional and did a nice job. The new lawn came in quickly and the yard now looks better than ever.

They arrived right on time for the estimate and gave us a fair price. They called the night before and showed up right when they said they would and the work was completed that day. The price was exactly as quoted. We would use them again.

I cannot recommend Madronas highly enough. From the first time I met Marcelo I knew he was excited and invested in my project. He arrived and quickly understood my needs and began making suggestions. He brought samples of stones we could use and pictures to give visuals. He then sent a very detailed and broken out estimate of what each component would cost and the options we had discussed. Over the course of the next several week, Marcelo would drop off samples as we decided which pavers and other options we wanted. Despite not having a deposit (he didn't require one) he would come by often to give us new options. When the project started his workers started early and finished late sometimes even staying until 8pm to get the job done. The project started on time and finished on time as well. I cannot compliment Marcelo and his team on their professionalism enough. They were thoughtful, thorough, and professional. Marcelo stopped by daily to ensure everything was going well and was in constant contact throughout the project. The end result was just fantastic and we couldn't be happier. We plan on working with Marcelo again for our next project. I am sure you won't be disappointed if you do the same.

Masonry is expensive, and we did a lot of research looking for the right contractor. From beginning to end, we found the Madrona Brothers to be fantastic. They were extremely professional: responsive, and prompt. They started the project on time, cleaned the work site every day, taped off dangerous areas, were flexible about some ambigous direction on our part and evolved the design to our wishes along the way. I felt like they made decisions as if they were working on their own house and based on what looked best - not simply what was quickest or easiest to execute. I can't recommend them highly enough.