First Impression Hardscapes

The workers of First Impressions were on time and worked very carefully. The walkway has a circular shap at the front door and down the length of the house with a border. The laying pattern is described as "Soldier". The walkway is absolutely beautiful. Completed the work in the time estimated. Supervisor check work in the morning and evening. Cleaned up and disposed of debris. The only negative is that they did leave two small area on the grass (size of a dinner plate) with concrete that we had to dig up and resod. If I would have called, I am sure they would have returned and fixed.

First Impressions did a lot of work around our hours a few years ago (see previous review). This spring as I was cleaning up around our patio I noticed that several of the brick caps on our knee wall had come loose so I called them to let them know and was told I should leave a message for Mike Walters. Mike called me back within the hour and asked me to take some pictures and send them to him, which I did. The next morning I was surprised when Mike called me back and said they would have a crew out that afternoon to make the necessary repairs. To top it off he said that while there wasn't a warranty still in place that the caps should not have come loose in that time frame so there would be no charge for the repairs. It is nice to see a company that does what is right versus hiding behind the legal gobbledygook and red tape. Also, while his crew was at my house they noticed that a crack had formed in a cement wall so they took a few minutes and filled it in. I did not ask them to do this but they did it on their own and made it look much better. I would recommend anyone doing any brickwork, patio work, hardscaping, etc... to give First Impressions a strong look. Not only do they do great work but they stand behind their work, with or without a warranty.

Couldn't have gone better. Mike and his team were communicative, responsive, professional, and did a great job. As a crucial added bonus, Mike helped me figure out how to maximize the project while keeping within my budget, plus he was enormously helpful in navigating the DC green rebate process.

Great experience. The crew worked very hard, they kept everything as neat as possible at the end of each workday.

They had good Angie's List recommendations and were on the DC list for green providers. They were very courteous, nice, they knew what they were talking about.

I submitted a request for an estimate via the provider's website on April 4, 2014 and never heard back. On April 12th, I contacted First Impressions via Angie's List to ask if they were still providing estimates. They responded on April 14th and said they had emailed us (specifically my wife) and we had never responded, which is untrue (if they emailed us, they must have misspelled the address, because we both checked our junk folders). I wrote back and again provided the email address and phone number. My wife attempted to follow up a few times but we never heard back from First Impressions to schedule an estimate. We went with another company instead. It's very frustrating to feel like I'm bending over backwards trying to give my money to a company that doesn't really care. If First Impressions was too busy to give us an estimate, or did not want to work for us for some other reason, they should have said so upfront.

The work was top quality all the way. No problems at all, the patio looks amazing. It was worth every penny!

First the good stuff. They did an excellent job on the craftsmanship. The wall and walkway look amazing. The wall is a short sitting wall curved to follow a broken paver pathway. The wall has 8 lights and covers about 40 linear feet enclosing a garden. The walkway is especially well done with nice thin mortar joints between the stones. Arranging the irregular stones is like assembling a puzzle and they did a great job. The price was reasonable, neither low or high. One thing to note in dealing with them. Make sure you write down exactly what you expect. The contract contained minimal description and I added a couple written paragraphs and a drawing. This became an issue when they originally built the wall incorrectly. To their credit the didn't argue much and fixed it up. Would also suggest that telling the site manager anything verbally does not mean its getting done. Write it down. Again nothing deliberate, they just don't write it down and forget.

I wasn't sure if I wanted the stamped concrete option verses the pavers when I first started my search so I decided to select a few specialists for both the stamped concrete and the pavers. I quickly decided against the stamped concrete option. It offered far more patio for the money. Yet, the warranties were the worse of the choices. Of the remaining choices for the paver patios, Mike's quote was the highest...and to be quite frank, First Impression Hardscape offered the lowest of square footage for the cost of the possible contractors for the job. Here were the deciding factors for choosing the company that offered a little less patio for a little more money: *I wanted high quality work over considerable size *We decided on Nicolock pavers and the Nicolock manufacturer performed extensive screening prior to deeming the company a recommended contractor *HomeAdvisor also perform extensive background checks and screening and deemed the company a recommended contractor for the job. *First Impression Hardscapes uses many of the suggested techniques the Nicolock manufacturer suggests as "best practices"...So, we got to watch videos on the Nicolock site and knew exactly what steps would be taking to install our patio prior to the actual installation. It was fun knowing the different stages in advance and watching it play out. *First Impression Hardscapes' technique was slightly more extensive then the other contractors. Neither of the other possible choices used edge-restraints. FIH also used something a bit better than the usual poly-sand for insect and weed control. When spending thousands of dollars on a project for the home...of which I have little prior experience with soliciting help...the above mentioned factors played a significant part in my decision!!! Of course, after any huge purchase decision, a given buyer tends to have a bit of buyer's remorse...Such the case with me...Well, Mike, our primary point of contact, is great with handling buyer's remorse. He's confident about his products and services. Yet, he will let you brainstorm and question EVERYTHING until you've got it out of your system. He endured many many inquiries. He endured so many long-winded emails about the cost, process, color choices. (By the way, I strongly advise against making a color choice from the Nicolock catalog, very deceiving...Best to visit a stone store and see for yourself. Well, I went to two stone stores...I didn't speak with a representative either time. I found a color I loved at one store...thinking it was the same as the color I saw in the catalog. Then I went to another store, assuming the display was exactly the same and the same color looked awful. So, we left it up to Mike to choose something he thought was suitable to our taste as well as resale value, and...as life would have it, he ended up choosing the original color that we saw and loved at the first stone store we visited. About the actual process. The pavers were laid perfectly. The guys arrived on time each day. They WORKED!!! Great attention to detail. They clearly knew what they were doing and had some training in "professionalism" as well as the actual job at hand. The clean-up effort was as superb as the actual installation! They met my expectations...I chose First Impressions because based on the Angie's List reviews as well as the endorsement from highly reputable companies, I felt like I couldn't lose. I felt like I greatly optimized my chances of getting the best quality patio possible by selecting First Impression Hardscapes. The company didn't let me down!!! My neighbors fell in love with the workers! My neighbors are extremely particular about the upkeep of our cul-de-sac and antennas go up at the thought of anyone getting major work performed to the outside of the properties. Yet, all were pleasantly surprised, and the installation itself, the speed, as well as the clean-up efforts far exceeded their expectations!!! The neighbors are ecstatic! I think FIH is going to land another sale in my neighborhood very soon!!! Mike and John...We LOVE your crew!!!! Thanks for everything!!!!

They were great. The guy that came out was great and very professional. They thoroughly explained everything and showed up when they said they said they were going to. They completed the work within the time frame that they indicated and the result was absolutely beautiful. I couldn’t get happier. They were in the middle of the road on price.

Finished work was excellent and once started went very quickly. There was some delay in getting the job started because the original rep went on vacation. This work was done under the River Smart Program and they handled all the paper work required.

It didn't go- was hoping to do business with them

Very beautiful results. Professional job. On time and done when promised. Quality work.

I called and left a message on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 around 11:15 am. My call was returned the next day around 10 am. When I spoke to the provider, I was asked for the location and the size of the patio. I was told that they would not be able to help me because of the small size and the far location. I was looking forward to working with this company, based on all of the positive reviews!

IT WAS PLEASENT I SPOKE WITH HIM AND HE GAVE SOME GOOD IDEAS. WHEN I'M READY I WILL CALL THIS COMPANY BACK AND USE THEM

While they were the highest of the quotes I got (but not by much), they definitely seemed more professional and quality-driven than the competition.

I requested estimates from several different companies for this job, and First Impressions Hardscapes was both the most responsive and the most helpful. The designer, Mike, was quick to respond and happy to come by and offer his ideas and thoughts. He helped me come up with new questions and ideas, as well as offered suggestions to keep the costs down. The price was a bit greater than some of the other estimates I received, but the professionalism and excellent warranty on the work made it more than worth it. The project went extremely well. Despite a few hiccups ? some due to the weather, some due to my changing plans, and some due to the trickiness of the site ? the project was completed in a reasonable timeframe and in a most professional manner. The foreman of the job, Jon, was quick to raise any issues that came up during the construction, and was happy to explain them ? and the options for moving forward ? in a clear and concise manner. The end result looks absolutely fabulous, and as of months after the end of the project, there have been no problems to report. As a bonus, the company submitted all the paperwork for the rebate due from the DC government for the permeable paver project, which helped lower the cost by $1000.

Wow!!! This was not an easy project to describe and bid, largely because what we were trying to accomplish is quite unique. The property had a tricky change of elevation and undulation, and as far as materials, we wanted to blend the stone into an already existing stone garden design already on the property and adjacent to the to be installed fence. We wanted carderock stone that was identical in size and color pattern to what we had already - this is not as easy as simply going to the same quarry, which First Impressions gladly did. It is really a job that requires great skill and attention to detail to match the new wall perfectly, which they did. From start to finish, there were no issues. I was most impressed with four things - 1) the finished product, which completely blew us away, 2) the professionalism and integrity of the entire crew - from Mike the very thoughtful designer and primary point of contact who figured out how to make our vision work on the property (he brought a few very good suggested changes as well), to John the onsite project manager, to the stone layers, the wood workers and the lighting installers - they each wanted to make the customer happy, and obviously took great pride in their work, 3) the price, which was around 10 percent less than two other real bids, and 4) the reasonable time to completion, clean/tidy work site, and respectfulness toward our neighbors throughout the few week project. For us, this was our first sizable home project - Mike and John made use very comfortable throughout that our personal investment in our property was being taken very seriously by each of them - we felt that they wanted it to look even better than we did, which is a great feeling. When you get a better product than you could have imagined, that is hassle free and reasonably priced, it is tough not to be happy with the experience. I have nothing but positive impressions of First Impressions, and would very happily work with them again.

Mike was courteous, prompt, and really listened when we described our ideas. He gave us a very good price on the work. He made the extra effort of getting our documents ready for approval by our homeowner's association in record time so that we could meet their deadline. REALLY appreciated that. His crew came on time, and were careful of our lawn - and tidy. Mike was in touch by e-mail throughout and had a very knowledgeable manager on site. Cutting fieldstone is noisy, messy work, but they kept it under control. Their work is beautiful and very professional. All in all, we are so pleased with the results. We definitely recommend this company.

Mike Walters was the person who consulted and provided a bid on the work - he was responsive and I thought the price was fair given two other estimates I had received from well-rated companies. First Impressions was in the higher range but I felt more comfortable with what they were proposing and their familiarity in working with the RiverSmart program -- which provided a $1500 offset for this work. Although we were a week delayed due to weather delays on other jobs we are really happy with the work. The crew was courteous and consulted us on some decisions (e.g. style of privacy fence on side of deck, etc.) which I appreciated because often contractors will assume you want something one way and you don't. I would highly recommend this company and will use them again when we're able to redo the front walk and stairs of our house.

Their service was great! They came promptly each time. They gave an estimate and the foreman was on top of everything. The workers were always nice, respectful, and professional. I don't think we will ever have problems with the work they did. They were not the cheapest but the quality of the work was worth it.

Mike Walters was quite professional, courteous and punctual. When we met, he did a design on the spot and was able to draw what we had in mind. He also gave us quite a few useful pointers and advice. I would highly recommend him!

The estimator arrived promptly and gave me a number of options for the materials to be used. Once the selection had been made, we scheduled the work. It took two days to complete the work, which was the estimate I had been given. They used natual stone and it came out even better than I had originally envisioned. They filled the area behind the wall with topsoil. They did a thorough cleanup after the job was over. I highly recommend this company.

I will provide details of the construction after completion approx. Sept 20.

After getting a number of estimates, we decided to go with First Impressions - Mike came out quickly and well, made a great First Impression! He drew up a plan on the spot, and gave us an estimate right away, and raised some questions and had ideas that no one else had thought of. For instance - we wanted a brick patio that could double as a driveway, and Mike was the only person we spoke to who raised the fact that regular brick might crack under the weight of a car, and that we'd be better off with concrete pavers (which also comes with a warranty!). We wanted our gate replaced, and he gave us a lot of insight about maximum width of the gates, etc - he seemed as interested in the longevity of our project as we did, and I really appreciated his insights, even before we had signed a contract. His rates were competitive or lower than everyone else we spoke with, and he was the hands down winner in professionalism and knowledge. Once we signed the contract, we had a minor weather delay, but once the guys got started, the project was finished on time, and beautifully. Over the course of the week's work, there were a few things we noticed, that we wanted done slightly differently, and Mike was incredibly responsive and helpful, and his guys addressed every issue. We are thrilled with how the patio came out, and I would definitely recommend First Impressions to anyone looking for a new patio.