Hinkle Hardscapes

Nothing to tell as nothing was done.

The overall experience was good. We wanted to replace our sewer line which runs under the patio between the demolition of the original patio and the terracing. KC Lawn was very accommodating and worked with the plumber's schedule. KC Lawn gave us the most expensive bid we received for this work. We thought that given their experience the extra cost would be warranted. In the end, I think we may have overpaid, but the concrete and grading work appear to be well done. Two complaints, as part of this patio re-design we contracted with KC Lawn to place sod in an area where a planting bed was removed - and that sod was laid. However, some sod was laid over old stepping stones that should have been removed with the bed. A portion of the sod died because there was no soil to grow into. Additionally, KC Lawn failed to tell us that another, rather large, portion of our yard would be ruined by the bobcat and earth moving activities. Had we been aware, we would have had sod laid in that area as well. We did ask that seed be placed in that area, and KC Lawn accommodated that request.

I had a great experience. The people who answered the phone were extremely friendly and easy to work with. They showed up right on time and got the job done in a timely manner. I feel like they respected my time and my home. They listened to what I said I was wanting and made suggestions to give me the best possible outcome. Very professional and courteous staff. They were great to work with and did high quality work. I couldnt be happier.

There were a few items that we discussed, but the communication over those issues important to managing our expectations.

Zach and his team completed a huge job for us this year (May 2012). When we bought our 50 year old home just over a year ago, We had a mess of a backyard, with an inground pool. While the pool itself was in reasonable shape, the entire pool deck was caving in, and needed to be removed and repoured, and we needed a retaining wall installed around the entire pool, in addition to tree removal and landscape installation. We had a yard full of weeds and scrub trees. KC Lawn and Landscape installed a beautiful stamped concrete deck, a firepit with seating wall, a tumbled stone retaining wall, and lots of beautiful landscaping. Any issues that arose during the project were handled professionally, and the end result is beautiful. The project moved a little bit slower than originally anticipated but the crew was here daily working on it, often until late in the evening. They were prompt, dependable, and made sure that the job was done to our satisfaction. There were no surprises with changes to the budget, even though there were some unexpected issues that Zach and his team had to manage during the project. He is ethical, fair, and takes pride in his work. I will definitely use them again for future projects - top notch job. Our backyard looks like an oasis!! Thanks KC Lawn and Landscaping!

KC Lawn and Landscaping was not the lowest bid that we received for our backyard project. However, we felt the most comfortable and confident with them as their professionalism and level of knowledge was top notch throughout. Zach was extremely professional and thorough through the entire process. He met with us multiple times before-hand and provided us with computer generated renderings, all to ensure we were clear with what we were getting. Zach was very helpful in providing creative ideas and suggestions, and was very respectful in maintaining our vision and keeping within our budget for our patio. It rained the entire week they were to install the patio, but they made us top priority, keeping us at the front of the line and finishing our job before starting the next. The patio was installed quickly and turned out beautiful. We were a bit surprised at the amount of damage done to our lawn from the use of large equipment - in their defense, they did lay down wood planks as it had rained the entire week before and the ground was considerably soggy. But they came back out and threw down grass seed to help build the lawn back up. That was very much appreciated. We highly recommend KC Lawn and Landscaping!

Our appointment was for 4PM. At 4:45 called and talked to Zack, who called back & said someone was on the way. ThenToby called to say there had been a computer glitch and showed up at our house a little after 5:00 p.m. After explaining what we wanted, he did a very quick survey of our backyard & patio area, offered some suggestions & said he would call the next day with an estimate. If we were satisfied with the estimate, he would draw up a plan/design. That was 15 days ago and we have not heard a thing! Because our intial experience was so disappointing, we have not bothered to call K.C. Lawn & Landscaping back, but have called other landscapers for bids.

Zach was very professional and met with us several times before the project started. He made a CAD drawing of the project which we were able to review to make sure there was no confusion on what needed to be done. My husband and I usually do all our home improvement projects ourselves, and have trouble turning anything over to an outside service. With KC Lawn and Landscaping, we had no need to worry. The crew did show up a few hours later than expected the first day, but this seems to have been a miscommunication. They did excellent work, which they obviously take pride in. They work very hard and are not interested in cutting corners or getting by with good enough. The quality of work for the price simply cannot be beat. We have already been recommending them to our friends and family.

It was a good experience. They built the gradient but one portion of the gradient water still runs toward the house. They are watching it for right now to see if they need to fix it.

Casey met with me promptly to discuss what should be done. We agreed on the design (lights on the front of the house and garland on the yard pole). I asked the company to supply the lights and garland. Workers came out on time to install the lights with a timer. The house looked beautiful and the lights came on and turned off automatically at the proper times. They used an LED version of the traditional lights I had requested, so while the lights looked like old-fashioned ones, they don't cost less in electricity. I asked for an additional design change; this was accomplished promptly and was just what I wanted. In addition, we agreed to add lights to the yard pole. I was very pleased with the look of the house. I even posted a picture on Facebook and got several favorable comments! But the best result was when the wife of the unofficial mayor of our neighborhood made a point to come out of her house, early on a cold winter morning, solely to tell me that my lights "looked gorgeous." That made my year! I was also impressed by Casey's attitude toward customer service - he was open, honest, straightforward, and fair. I was so impressed that I asked him to give me an estimate on lawncare - my current contract with a company is expiring and, while I'm not unhappy with them, I'm open to changing companies.

Even though K.C. Lawn was NOT the low bidder, Zack prepared the best estimate using pictures he took at the time of the bid of the area to be landscaped and then enhanced them with a computer. This gave us a good idea of what the finished product would look like. From the moment his bid was accepted Zack was in continual contact with us both by phone and e-mail. He gave us two dates that he planned the work for and after we chose the time frame that worked best for us, he and his crew arrived when they said they would, completed the work as we had pictured, and did an excellent job. It is one thing to hold numerous professional certifications and quite another to be qualified. Zack is not only highly certified, but highly qualified in landscaping, as was his crew. Because we planned on doing our own planting of trees, scrubs, and ground cover we asked Zack for suggestions. They were excellent recommendations which we followed and are pleased with the result as all the planting has been completed. We recommend K.C. Lawn & Landscaping without reservation.

I was very please with the process. It all went very smoothly.

They were very professional. They were very pleasant to work with. They answered all my concerns. And did a very professional job.

I was pleased with their work. They had one girl come out to do the drawings and estimates. Then I had a hard time getting back in touch with her. They put me in contact with the owner. I kind of think they got rid of that girl because from that point forward my contact was with the owner. He came out and talked to me directly. The drawings really met nothing because she hadn't heard a word that I said. We went through the yard and he did exactly what I wanted. I don't think she knew what we needed. It was more a drainage project rather than a beautification project. It is a new process that they installed. I am pleased and will probably have them come back next year to do a retaining wall and decking project. The price was fine and inline with what we were thinking.

We had scheduled to have a design quote. The appointment was at 1:00 p.m. At 1:10, I called into the main office number and told Felicia that no one had arrived and I was on my lunch break and only had so much time to be around. She said she would call estimator and see where he was. I got a call back within five minutes from the estimator. He was leaving a job site that had run long. No real apology for being late. I asked him how long he would be. He said GPS had him twenty-five minutes away, meaning he would be roughly forty minutes late to the original appointment. Honestly, how do I go forward doing business with this being the first impression? I told him not to worry about it, and we ended the conversation... They have good reports on Angie's List. I was hoping they would be the company to handle our job. Looks like I need to go back to "the list".

After I wrote my original report, which was not all that favorable, the owner called me and offered to correct the problems. I was very impressed by his willingness to make things right. He did exactly as he said. Yesterday he and his crew replaced the dead bushes, dug out old stumps and re-mulched. It looks very nice now. He certainly didn't have to do all of this. I think he's an honest business owner who wants to provide a good service to his customers. I would definitely use this company again.

Courteous & professional. Excellent craftsmanship on the patio. Good clean-up.Good analysis and explanation of drainage problem.

We were referred to this company by friends of ours and are so glad we followed through. After scheduling and appointment with their office,a very knowledgeable landscape designer came to the house and helped us decided on a patio that would look great in our yard. After a very customized design plan, that we were thrilled about, the guys quickly got us on their work schedule to get the project completed. The group of workers that came out were very polite and explained exactly what they were going to do for us. They worked very hard and precise, making sure we ended up with the exact paver patio we wanted. We are extremely pleased with the company as a whole and have referred K.C Lawn & Landscaping to numerous friends. We wouldn't think of hiring anyone else for our future projects!!

They were prompt, tidy and worked quickly and the quality was great.

They agreed to move some existing plants and put in new plants also. Unfortunately they dug up a shrub that wasn't suppose to be touched, then replanted it. Finally replaced it with a new shrub at additional cost. The plants they moved all died. They way they arranged some of the new plants blocks the sprinkler system from getting to all the plants so those plants have died also.

They started with a consultation -- we gave them the concept and they provided a number of alternatives. We chose to go with a stamped concrete patio with an accent border. They also came up with the idea to reface the existing concrete porch with pavers. Zach gave us a couple of reference jobs to check out and we spoke with a couple of his workers who were at one job site. This clinched the deal. They used a jackhammer to remove the old sidewalk, then hand dug (where needed) to accommodate the shape of the patio. They removed the plants and bushes that were being displaced and they hauled off everything in a trailer. (Very nice!) Next they placed the concrete forms -- the border of the patio has multiple contours and the front yard has a slight grade. I observed closely as they meticulously made sure the forms were set to the correct height to ensure proper slope for drainage (and not just simply the same slope as the yard). They used a laser instrument for accuracy. One of our downspouts drained right next to our old sidewalk, so they installed a drain tile to extend the drain about 10' further out into the yard (a few feet past where the new patio was to be poured). Next came the rock underlay, spread across the entire area where the concrete would be poured. Then they laid out rebar and placed them on risers. I provided the materials for the radiant heat (240v AC thermal heating wires). The crew bored a hole through my garage floor and through the foundation so that the conduit and wire leads could be routed inside to a junction box. I performed all of the electrical service inside, as well as the actual electrical connection, but that as my choice. The crew also worked with me to lay out the path where the heated wires would be installed. Next came the concrete. The crew shuttled wheelbarrow loads of concrete across the driveway (to avoid truck damage to the driveway, and the expense of a pump). It took about 2 hours to get all the concrete out of the truck and over to the patio. The crew spread a layer of concrete along the path where the radiant heat was to be installed, and then they laid out the radiant heat wires as we had planned, then covered it with another couple of inches of concrete. They did a really good job verifying that the surface maintained the correct slope and used an ingenious technique of ensuring the entire surface was finished with a uniform slope (I won't reveal their secret!). Zach is a master estimator, as there were only about two hand shovels of left-over concrete, and most of that was used during the finishing process. No waste there! As the concrete started to set, they started the process of stamping the design on the surface. They took great care in making sure the stamp was "taking" as it should, as this has to be done at just the right time (if the concrete is too wet, it leaves bubbles and loses shape). I could tell they were very experienced and were meticulous about the way they completed this step. A few days later they returned to saw control joints in the patio. They have to do this to help prevent random cracking in the concrete surface. We chose for them to saw a diagonal pattern of 4'x4' squares -- it really adds a nice touch. They also sawed a line around the border appx 1' from the edge. Next they applied a stain to the entire patio, and a darker stain to the border. They let this set a week or so and then applied a sealer to the entire surface. A few days later they returned with pavers for the porch. We are glad we had the porch refaced because it really looked old/bad as compared to the new patio! They glued a row of pavers vertically to the front of the porch. They extended above the top of the porch about an inch. A protective shield was applied around the border of the porch on the siding of the house -- this will prevent moisture/rotting issues. Then they filled the porch with about 1" of sand and smoothed it out level (again, they used a really clever technique for this -- a trade secret I'm sure!). Finally they laid out the pavers in a pattern across the entire surface of the porch. Pieces were cut as needed to align with the back edge of the porch. Finally they applied a polymorphic sand to the entire surface to fill every space between and around the pavers. A final step was to place some topsoil around the border of the patio to cover up the bottom edge. We have more work to do with this (the landscaping part), but that will come next spring. They also covered the downspout drain tile with topsoil and placed a drain cover over the top. The final product looks fantastic!

I called and was put on hold. They never came back to resolve my need.

I was completely satisfied with the solution and the performance.

When they came out to evaluate what we needed done, my husband felt that they had the best solution at the best price. As far as the work they did was concerned, we were very satisfied with them. However, there were many issues getting in contact with them and a lot of unreturned phone calls. That was our main concern with them. Their price was reasonable - it was what we had expected. We probably would not use them in the future.

They did a formal estimate and they were very professional. It was actually the president that came out, and he was very nice. They were prompt, responsive, and as far as the estimate, they were very good.