Designscape, LLC

Description of Work: First a disclaimer: The content that follows is just my OPINION and my opinion only. I had two decorative (and functional) retainer walls put in. One by the backyard patio, one at the top of the driveway. The driveway wall is the first thing you see when you come to my home. The walls are absolutely beautiful. But there were two problems: one was they subcontracted out to another company that was WAY far away (annapolis) and, (and this might have been excaberated by the fact that the subcontractor was WAY far away. (let me tell you how far away they were: Designscape was based in finksburg/reistertown and "Visionpro" or "Visionscape" was based in annapolis. And my house is along the PA border in north carroll county. We're talking around another 75 to 100 miles. I just have to ask: "what is the sense in that??" The answer to that question can only come down to one conclusion: "they are more concerned with the basic cost of the job than they are about the job itself", or saving their prospective merging company. (that is just my opinion) When a contractor subcontracts out a job, there are certain risk that are inherent in such an action. The most common risk is communication. Communication from the prime contractor (Designscapes) to the sub, (Visionpro). There were two problems: One: One of the curves of the wall (on top of the driveway), going into the hill was not aggressive enough and now it doesn't go "deep" enough to define the hill behind it. Two: Designscapes agreed to rip out an old rotten stump behind the hill (behind the wall at the top of the driveway). This didn't happen. The backhoe was removed from the jobsite before I realized they needed that to rip the stump out. So there are two issues which I may be at fault here. One, I didn't realize how the wall curve was going to look until AFTER it was finished. and I didn't realize they needed the backhoe to rip the stump out. But when you hire a contractor, don't you expect them to have the experience to know these things ahead of time? When I tried to contact the people down in annapolis, the guy that was my project manager was busy on another job and he was too far away to come all the way up here near PA, to get a look at the situation in time. I was kinda expecting that, after the stump was removed, the soil behind that would be available to fill in behind the wall thereby reducing the steep slope behind the wall. And there is a significant amount of soil in that hill area. Now Designscapes offered to add 4 Cubic yards (at a cost of $90 per yard of topsoil) to fill in the low level of soil behind the wall. Plus another $125 or so of cost to me to bring the backhoe here to remove the stump. Designscapes is merging with this company in annapolis. But they are sacrificing their reputation (previously regarded as pretty high here in Angies list), in order to feed work to their "associate company". Lets face it, you can't have someone far away be able to do a job as well as the company next door. Which was a factor in me choosing Designscapes in the first place (plus Angies list seemed to have a high ratings from them with previous customers. I would use this company again but only with a statement in the contract that it not get transferred or the work get subb'd out to someone else, AND my advice to everyone about EVERYTHING is that "If it's not in the contract, it's not going to be done" And that last part, is my fault. On the other hand. The wall they put in near the backyard patio is a thing of beauty and cuts into the hill just right.

Description of Work: leveled and seeded back yard.

Description of Work: Complete landscaping of front and back of house, including plant removal and replanting. Removed old tree and reclaimed land.

Description of Work: Complete re-landscaping of yard. Extensive hardscape, stump removal, new drainage system, new patios, new walks, new seating wall, removed all old shrubs, new perennial plantings, new brick border around driveway, new front porch, new planting beds.