Capitol Hardscapes

Well, it didn't. If they never returned my calls to engage them, it was a bit of a waste.

We all look for companies that meet expectations. Capitol Hardscapes exceeded our expectations by wide margins. The job took two weeks. They listened to our design ideas and added their own, consistent with our wishes. They told us what to expect, and then did exactly what they said they would do, and more. They did the work with top quality. They have a high quality crew and frequently supervised the work. They have all the equipment. They even threw in some added jobs we did not contract for--things that were helpful during the course of the work that we did not anticipate beforehand. This company is tops.

They came out to look at the work and gave me a price. Their price was $500 cheaper than a price I had received from a contractor 2-3 years ago for work in the same area. They have won an Angies List award in 2009. Their communication was good and they got back to me by phone or email whenever I had questions. I have decided to go with them and have already sent them a check to get them going on the project.

The two representatives, Greg and Chris, were easy to work with and their price was competitive. My property is an investment and I do not live in the area so I only had one face to face interaction with the company, when I first met Greg for an estimate. I used them in part because Greg was very professional when I met him, because he brought a catalog to show me options for pavers and because of the company's reputation. Especially because I was not nearby, I appreciated Greg and Chris' prompt communication by phone and email. To save me a trip to check on the job, Greg took a bunch of pictures and emailed them to me so I could see how the work was done. The job was completed very quickly and the new patio looks great.

My paver driveway was in good condition for its age---but needed work. A lot of the separation was due to the deterioration and movement of the retaining wall. I decided to have the repair done and started the estimate process last November. Chris Stango came to discuss my project. I was immediately impressed by his knowledge, experience, and explanations of how he would tackle the work. His price was also quite fair. I was confident from the beginning that this was the best company to use. I decided to wait until spring to begin the project. Work began two weeks ago. Chris's brother John is in charge of the crew operation. He is amazingly competent. He supervises the job at least once or twice a day. His crews are also wonderful. They are all very competent, organized, pleasant, professional,etc. Our crew supervisor was Peter. The rest of the crew con- sisted of two brothers and a brother -in-law. It was great to observe how well they got along and worked together. They also seemed truly interested in doing a quality job. John also kept me posted on what to expect each day. I was concerned about being able to go in and out of our house during construction. John's organizational skills eliminated this concern. As the project progressed, my confidence with this company only increased. I knew that I had chosen the right company!! Our pavers were reset in one week. It was amazing to see how much better it appeared. It almost looks like a new driveway. I am hoping that it will also be more efficient in directing water after a rain. The second week was spent creating our Pa. stone wall.(40 ft.) The wall is now complete and looks like it has always been there. The stone mason and his assistant did an incredible job. I described what I wanted and he was very anxious to please. All the workers were exceptionally neat. They made sure that everything was cleaned up each day. If there was a threat of rain, they used tarps to cover everything. They were also very careful with all my plantings. This concerned me because I have spent many years creating our landscape. Very little was disturbed and they filled in any needed areas with topsoil. In conclusion, I HIGHLY recommend this company!! I am a very critical and fussy person. The entire experience exceeded my expectations.

Chris visited our house and gave me a very reasonable quote on the spot. The work started a week later (due to a gap in their schedule) and finished in about 5 days. The crew was considerate, punctual, professional and thorough. The job was done right start to finish with great communication from Chris and a perfect job close-out with the site clean and ready for use! Great guys, great work at a fair price - what else can you ask for???

I didn't meet the $4000 minimum but they did the work as I had allowed them to use my driveway for their equipment during my neighbor's construction projection. They were efficient, professional, and kept in contact throughout the process. The walkway looks beautiful.

The crew arrived on time and completed the work in about 2 weeks. All of the work was done professionally and according with the manufactures instructions. And they beat the major snow storm.

We contacted Chris Scango at Capitol Hardscapes and arranged a time within a couple of days for him to meet us for an estimate. After the preliminary in-person meeting Chris provided a written estimate within 3 days which gave us several options for materials and for scope of the work (including whether to replace front stoop). Once we settled on an option the work started the next day. The work was completed within 2 work days (although since they started on a Friday we were left without our walkway over the weekend). The job was completed quickly and professionally. Since Chris determined that they could use the existing concrete base and could also salvage much of the brick border of the walkway, the final price was actually considerably less than than the estimate, which was a pleasant surprise. Chris Scango and his brother John were easy to talk to and to understand. This was a fairly small job, but they gave it their full attention. We recommend them without hesitation.

Capitol Hardscapes finished their work on time, just before the July 4 holiday weekend, which may have contributed to the fact that the work was not done as carefully as we had expected. The edges of the walkway were left very uneven and the flagstones, particularly on the top and last section to be completed, were messily laid into the mortar, which had splattered onto the stones, along the house wall, the decorative guard railing, and in many spots seeped over the edges of the stones. The workers left the lawn adjacent to the walkway damaged and full of debris. spoke with Chris Scango, who then came out to look at the walkway. He agreed that the work had not been done to standard and that he would have the walkway corrected. Some days later he did indeed have most of the edges of the walkway cut and evened out and had mortar added to one uneven spot. He did not correct the messy inlay of the flagstones nor any other cleanup. I have had to spend many hard hours chipping and sanding the excess mortar off and around the edges of the flagstones. I am still not satisfied with the way our walkway or guardrail looks, but guess that this is as good as it will get.

Didn't do the project but timely vendor response

I obtained financing from my Credit Union and there was a wait until I closed on the loan. Moreover, I had other work done on the house that pushed the driveway job forward. Capitol Hardscapes accommodated the scheduling delay all along. Chris and John Scango are the names behind Capitol Hardscapes. They were great! I am one to do the work on my home myself. But I recognized that I didn't want to tackle removing the asphalt, and pouring this much concrete myself. I was nervous selecting someone else to perform the work. That's why I relied on Angie's list. Chris or John were in touch with me the entire time. And John worked very hard to complete the job timely and anticipate potential issues. The job begins: John was often on-site. He sought to be sure that I was OK with every step in the process. His crews are first class. Here are examples: 1) One glitch was that I didn't pull a permit and speak with the county inspector prior to the job. I assumed that the contractor would take care of the permitting process. I know nothing about this. Capitol Hardscapes took care of this. I paid the county "bond" and "permit" fee, and the county was happy. The inspector was great. A pleasure to work with. Just be sure you know about this permitting process going forward. As one that does his own work, I wasn't familiar with this. Who pays the bond and permit fee is one thing. Who performs the legwork is another. 2) During one of the pours, the concrete mixer truck got stuck in my yard. This was during a rainy period in August where I measured 2.3" of rain in one day. It's no wonder the truck (on a down grade) might get stuck. John was quite concerned about this, and apologized profusely. To me, nature, a hill, and a full concrete mixer makes for this. John repaired the trenches the mixer made in the lawn. 3) We have a concrete block walkway that meets the original asphalt drive. John brought his concrete block walkway foreman on site to "repair" the walk to drive junction. The work is exemplary. What an ordinary contractor deems "your issue" Capitol Hardscapes deems attention to detail. 4) The concrete finish, and the joint placements are wonderful. The surface of the slabs are uniform and blend well the shapes of the pour. 5) We specified a curb to deal with an elevation change. The solution is artistic. In other words, if I performed the work on my own home, and I were able to do so, Capitol Hardscapes performed the same work. 6) We requested a drain pipe from our garage go under the slab to daylight. John wasn't satisfied with the initial placement and asked the crew to extend the pipe further. Other touches include: The mixer that was stuck: John insisted that the vehicle's tires were cleaned before the driver left the site. This to prevent leaving clay tire tracks on the road for neighbors to see. So, if you want high quality materials and first class work done, contact Capitol Hardscapes. I admire their old-school attention to detail.

I am disappointed that Capitol Hardscapes did not come out to give an estimate for these two jobs. The other reviews indicate what a great job they do. Perhaps we caught them at a busy time of the year.

They came out several times to assess the situation, sent detailed information on what they recommended using and came when they said they would and completed the job perfectly.

They showed up on time from the first meeting to look at the job through the last visit to repair a cracked sidewalk. For everything, from demolition of the old wall to the final touches on the new one, they were professional, courteous and clean. The job was more involved than we expected, but we were informed about what was going to happen each day, and at the end of the day, the work was done. We are very pleased with the final result, as is the rest of the neighborhood, judging from the compliments we've gotten.

We found them to be very quick with their work and their clean up was very good. They communicated well with us and very professional in every way. We are quite happy with the results and we would hire them again.

I received an immediate response by email, requesting among other things, an estimate of the project budget within 3 ranges, under 5,000, 5 - 10,000 and over 10,000. Since I don't have much experience with these types of projects, I selected the low range and provided the additional information requested. I received a subsequent email advising that Capitol Hardscapes was going to pass on my project because of the small budget. The company also provided recommendations for two contractors that would handle smaller jobs. Unfortunately, neither is listed in Angie's list.

This was the only company I found that really knew what they were talking about. They had experience with the materials I wanted used (Granite cobbles), could show me examples of their work and I have every confidence that they were the right people for the job. Unfortunately, I didn't have the money to hire them at the time, so I went with a cheaper, more temporary fix for now. I would love to call this company back to get the job done right in the future.

They were very professional, pleasant, but I felt their price was too high.

Excellent. Capitol Hardscapes helped us solve our problem and find a company that could powerwash our exposed aggregate and flagstone driveway. I appreciated Chris' professionalism and his willingness to refer us on to a company that was able to promptly come and complete the job after the holidays. I will definitely call Capitol Hardscapes in the future for any new construction or masonry repair projects on our property.

It was excellent and they did a very good job, which was the main thing. They came on time, got the work done quickly, were professional, and they cleaned up.

Chris Scango came out, listened to what we wanted done and came back with a plan of work and an estimate of the cost. We chose not to go with Capitol primarily because of cost--they were slightly more than the company finally chosen--and the fact that we wanted to do considerable landscaping in addition and the company chosen could do both.

They arrived on time. They did everything they said they would do, and they were neat. They were polite and very easy to communicate with. We had some questions about the steps, and they came back at least twice to fix these. We are very satisfied. We would recommend them highly and would use them again in the future. They weren't cheap, but they were very good.

They were extremely professional, and the work was very precise. The finished project was beautiful and clean. They were very professional about answering question about the work. They were reliable in coming out and doing what they said when they said they would. Their employees were really pleasant and professional to work with. Its a very good company.

Chris was on-time, professional, and very knowledgeable. He extended helpful suggestions and worked quickly and efficiently to provide me a detailed quote on the spot. He also asked for 2 days to talk with distributors and delivery about any discounts for my proximity to their shop. Chris followed back up both via email and via mail with very detailed revised estimates and a courtesy copy of the contract to review before I made any decisions.