Finishing Touch Landscape Co LLC

We purchased a foreclosure and the areas that had grass were bare dirt. Tom came out and not only gave an estimate, but some ideas. He understood that we had a number of other projects on going and just wanted to get the backyard sodded so that it wouldn't be a muddy mess for our dog all winter. We had the estimate done in August to get things scheduled for October. Tom's crew was great. They started on a Friday and had the existing soil removed and all the new mulch in by mid-afternoon. The sod was delivered overnight and they started early the next day. We were gone before they started and came home after they were gone. It was like walking out of the garage into a park. It looked absolutely amazing. We are already planning to have Tom come back in the early spring to do the front yard as he provided a separate estimate for the front when he estimated the back.

Although slow to start (Tom is busy this time of the year) once the team arrived, they finished quickly in less than one week. The workers arrived promptly in the morning and did a great job cleaning up. I am very pleased with the finished product and plan to use Tom and Finishing Touch for other projects.

Tom is a lot of fun to work with. He knows his business and expects to do a good job. His crew also knows their job and are very hard working. This started out to be a little project to replace a rotting wall, but Tom causally mentioned that he could remove monster yews that were swallowing the house at a reasonable price. I expected to die with these horrible things and I feel liberated to be free of them. This work was done in the extreme heat of last summer so we waited until October to begin planting and have established the bones of a whole new and improved look. There is more to be done and more decisions to be made and a winter to plan. I'm very pleased with what we have done and look forward to a spring adventure.

We ask many questions and got suggestions and several options. WE were also directed to check out the stone suppliers and to pick a pattern. On size and shape of the stones we relied on the company's suggestion.

Unfortunately I had the same experience as most of the others who gave this rating. I contacted Tom because of all fo the great ratings he's received. I had a good first meeting with him on 10/25 and even went and did the research he suggested with Kirkwood Supply that weekend. I then called to follow up on 11/2. Tom did call me right back and told me he had a family emergency, but was working on my bid. I understand family emergencies of course, but it's now about 4 weeks later and still nothing. I just really wish he would have let me know things were too busy for him and he couldn't fit the project in - no big deal - just communicate please. It's not easy getting out of work to meet with contractors and it's really frustrating when it's all for nothing.

Services were supposed to be a spring clean up of my landscaping. Had to call several times. They said they came out and performed the work but it looked like nothing had been done. Tons of leaves still in landscaping and around patios. None of the bushes had been trimmed. Basically paid $165 for them to pick up some twigs. They did come back out upon my request, although they did seem irritated. Not rude, just irritated. Still do not beleive I received $165 worth of clean up much less the full amount the deal was supposed to be worth.

I called Tom because of the large number of positive referrals listed on Angie's List. His company had more referrals than any other listed. I interpreted that to mean than he would provide quality work and could tell from his responses that he was interested in pleasing his customers. Tom suggested the steps leading up from the lower level to the upper level. From that I could tell that he had creative ideas and was eager to make suggestions. That suggestion convinced me that I wanted to hire his company. I had only asked that the original wall be reworked to prevent further erosion that was occurring in my yard. I also wanted to replace the landscape timbers with more landscape timbers and Tom rejected that idea. His explanation for that reaction made perfect sense. Upon receiving his bid I immediately accepted it. I found his work crew to be hard working, professional and open to communication. Their work was done in a meticulous manner. The experience was a good one and I would recommend this company to anyone. They even did work that was not a part of the original bid. I have had work done by other company's but I could not recommend them to anyone. All I can say is that if you want quality work and a company that will go out of their way to please, then call Finishing Touch Landscape Company!

Tom was quick to reply to my request for an estimate, and was prompt in coming out to survey the area and getting an estimate back to me. In fact, he was far more prompt than I was! I had definitively stated that the work could wait until they had time to fit me in -- and that occurred within about a month. (Much sooner than I had anticipated.) Unfortunately for them, it rained a lot around that time, so they were a bit delayed in getting started (compared to when Tom originally thought he would have time for my work). Once the weather cleared, he and the crew came in so he could give them an overview of the project. That afternoon, they started removing the old wall. By the next afternoon, the work was completed, everything was cleaned up, and they even filled some of the holes in the yard left by my dogs! Grass seed was scattered in any bare areas and the area was left as it had been when they started. Even in the period between when they started removing the wall, but before they had finished, they had the area and the tools all covered while they were away -- the dogs and I were still able to use the area as needed!

I was very pleased with him. He came out immediately. They did everything I asked. I would recommend him.

Tom Watson provided me a quote in a timely manner. The quote was competitive when compared to others I had received and based on the reviews in Angie's List decided to give him the job. The work required to be completed in 2 Phases since I had to get my gutters and painting completed before the landscape could be finished. Tom had absolutely no problem with this approach. In Phase 1, the trees and shrubs were cleared. In Phase 2 the Retaining wall was built and planted 2 Pyramidal Boxwood trees. The bare areas were covered with grass SOD. The quality of the work was very professional and i would have no hesitation in recommending Finishing Touch Landscape for all your landscaping needs.

I contacted Finishing Touch earlier in the summer but decided to hold off on the work until the fall. Tom came out and inspected my property, was punctual and professional and gave me his honest opinion on what would work best in each area. His bid was slightly higher than another landscaper I contacted, but it was still very competitive and I went with him because he provided a much more detailed plan, showing exactly what plants he'd be putting in. I could tell he was a perfectionist - very detail-oriented. Tom and his crew completed all the work in just two days and were extremely professional. (i.e. when I came home after the first day, I could tell they had cleaned up thoroughly, even though they were mid-project). The results were better than I could have anticipated - he was able to take my vague requests and turn them into exactly what I hoped for. He even went above and beyond, spreading mulch in another bed. I would thoroughly recommend Finishing Touch to others and would definitely consider using them for future projects.

We contracted with Tom at Finishing Touch early this year to do this complete landscaping job. He advised us all during the summer about whether to do the project and we delayed it until this month because of the extreme weather. His crew of 6 came out and in one day stripped the whole front yard of grass, plants and tons of rocks to prep for new plantings. We had our own design and Tom worked with us to fulfil our vision of what we wanted by way of low maintenance plantings with very little grass ( less water, less mowing) when we wanted to add natural rock edging he sent us to his supplier and we chose what we wanted and the additional charges were very fair and it turned out so well that people have stopped their car to tell me how beautiful it all is. Tom communicates very well and that adds to the good experience. To add his "finishing touch" he even planted more plants that I bought myself! I highly recommend this company for whatever your needs are.

Tom Watson, the owner, was very responsive in coming out to look at, and bid, the job which consisted of hauling away some planter box timbers and clearing some small trees and brush away from the side of the home. He contacted me by email a couple of days prior to doing the work and gave a date that the team might be out to do the work but couldn't say for sure due to a pending job being finished. Therefore, when they did come out later in the day on that date, I was at work and not present during the work to do an initial walk through to ensure we were on the same page as to the work being done. When I arrived the team was already done and had left for the day. Some of the front planter tie wood was not hauled away and some of the roots were not cut completely to ground. When I contacted Tom I found out there was a mis-communication about the wood being hauled away. Tom went ahead and removed the remaining wood at his own cost even though he understood (and bid) the job to NOT include that wood in the removal and would have to pay a second charge to dump it. That is probably why Finishing Touch has such a high rating on Angie's List - he follows up to make sure the job is done right - and, in this case, he did so at his own expense. I would use Finishing Touch again for any landscaping work we have due to the follow up results of the job.

When Tom came to our home to give us a bid on our job, my husband and I were immediately impressed with him. He was enthusiastic and had some really great ideas. After visiting with one of his previous clients and viewing his work we decided he was the person to hire. Tom was really great for me. I can be very difficult to work with because I change my mind often and require lots of communication. He always answered my calls and messages and didn't seem irritated as I changed the plans numerous times. I really appreciated that Tom pushed me to do some things that I wasn't sure about but he knew from experience were important to do. My project turned out beautiful and we couldn't be happier. I highly recommend Tom and his crew!!

Very competitive prices; wonderful owner & VERY hard workers!! I definitely recommend this company and will do so with family & friends!! I requested bids from three companies for removing an old railroad-tie retaining wall & replacing it with a stone wall. Tom Watson, owner, came to our home the next day after I called. We have a concrete patio outside our sliding basement doors with a grassy/weed filled area of about three feet next to it with the old retaining wall right at the chain link fence. I indicated I wanted it removed & replaced with a new stone wall in the same place. Tom said he could do the job as requested but suggested building the wall to butt-up directly tol.the concrete patio and angling towards the chain link fence, filling it in with top soil, thereby making a large bed in which to plant flowers/shrubs. The description of his construction method of the new wall was more involved than the other two companies but it made sense that the wall would be much sturdier. I also discussed a drainage problem where our deck downspout poured water into the area in front of the concrete patio making it a very mushy area when we had any amount of rain. Tom suggested installing an underground drainage pipe from the downspout leading out to the middle of the yard and capping it off with a pop-up connector. Tom provided the bid in the time he stated and it won our business. I had other outside work being scheduled to the house and Tom recommended we wait until that work was done before starting his project. While waiting for the other work to be completed, I found another type of stone that I liked better than the original one I had requested. Tom promptly re-did the bid with the new stone. Once Tom received my deposit check for the work, he and his crew were out within a week to complete the project. I have to say, I was so impressed with Tom and his crew on the work that was done. His crew worked through that brutal 100+ degree heat and was able to complete the job in a day and a half beautifully! Tom and his crew were so respectful of my wishes that they avoid running the wheelbarrows over a newly sodded area that I was trying to keep alive which I truly appreciated. Their clean-up surpassed ANY company that I have ever used for any project. You would not have known anyone did any work in the yard at all. After completion, I noticed a couple stones on the wall cap needed to be cut a little more. Even though Tom had numerous other jobs in this terrible heat, he managed to come over himself & make the corrections.

Tom came out and we talked about what my wife and I were wanting. Tom had some ideas that sounded pretty good, so we agreed on 4 jobs that his men could do. Tom told us he would be able to start in about 3-4 weeks. Well little did either of us know, it was going to be such a hot hot summer, but Tom and his crew showed up just like he said he would on July third and it was a scorcher and I mean it was really hot! It made no difference; his men went to work despite the heat. On the July fifth the crew was back and were ready to start another one of my projects. They stayed on the job until all the work was finished. Now let me tell you his men were like a colony of ants; they all had something to do and they worked in such harmony and professionalism. We was very impressed. We would hire them back without any hesitation! In fact, we are talking about another job for Tom in the near future.

From my first contact with Tom I had a positive feeling. He was courteous and showed up at the scheduled time to review our backyard and the drainage issue. He was knowledgeable and suggested a French Drain to help keep the yard from being soggy all the time. He explained that his team would come and dig the trench for the drain by hand, then install the drain and refill the trench and apply sod to the work areas. Another group I spoke with planned to do similar work, but they were going to use some sort of trenching machine and their estimate said their price did not include any repairs for damage they might do to our in-ground sprinkler system. As noted, Tom said his team would dig by hand to avoid issues with our sprinkler. We were in no real hurry, and Tom informed me it would be about 4-5 weeks before he could send the team over since they were pretty booked up (understandable for the time of year). We agreed he would contact me on that time frame, and I paid a 50% deposit for the work. Like clock work, Tom reached out to me 5 weeks following our initial project planning on a Monday. He informed me that the team would start work on Thursday or Friday of that week. Wednesday, a large flatbed dumpster was delivered to the front of the house and the various utilities showed up to mark buried cables in our yard. Thursday morning the team arrived and started digging (really felt for those guys since it was 100+ degrees for a good part of the day. After the first day they had a trench half way across the yard. When they left for the day, the cleaned up all the work area and placed their tools and equipment neatly underneath a bush. You could hardly tell they were working their except for the trench. On Friday they came and completed the trench and installed a large portion of the French Drain, refilling the trench as they went. Again, at the end of the day, they straightened up after themselves nicely. They returned on Monday and by the end of the day everything was installed, reburied and sod had been applied to all the work areas. They even put sod down on an area in the yard that didn't have grass because of another project we worked on. Finishing Touch and Tom Watson delivered exactly what we requested. We've been sprinkling liberally to keep the sod green due to the extreme heat. Normally, this much watering would make the entire back yard soggy. I can already tell that the French Drain is doing its work and pulling the water off the yard. Tom's group even dug up the drain lines on a couple of the drains in our backyard and made repairs to a previous installation that another group did for the previous owner. They did that without requesting additional compensation. We've worked with a lot of contractors and Tom and his company fall right at the top in terms of follow through, price and professionalism. We entirely recommend him to Angie's List members.

When I first spoke to Mr. Watson to schedule the bid walk thru, he had obivious hesitation due to us being located in Jefferson County and his office is located in St. Charles. But he went ahead and made the appointment with us. Mr. Watson was pleasant and professional and didn't show any further concern with the distance from his office to our home. He said it would be about a week to receive his bid. On 7/11/12, I received an email from Mr. Watson that stated he enjoyed meeting me and my husband and walking our property. But at this time, he would like to respectfully not bid on this project. It would have been nice to have received an explanation. Is the job too large? Is the distance a concern? Was there concern that we weren't serious about this large of a project? I'm not sure how someone can afford to turn away work but we will remember the time that was wasted for us both and not to consider this company in the future.

I called Tom the owner and he came out the next day to look at my deck and to discuss plans for a patio. He gave me great suggestions and told me he would have a bid ready soon. I got the bid that night. It was a detailed bid and my husband and I decided to go with Tom's company. The next days he had me go and pick out pavers for the patio. When I got to Kirkwood Material, a man was waiting to help me and he said that Tom told him that I would be coming in. After looking at the different stones I called Tom and he helped me decide what would be best for my yard. I totally trusted what he said and he only gave his opinion when I asked him for it. The project started a week earlier than I thought it would. That was great. The men who helped Tom were as nice and respectful to me and my family. I had broken my ankle before the project started so I was not able be outside and watch the progress as much. Every time I did go to see the work, the workers were so kind and excited to show me what they had done. They really seemed to care if I liked what they were doing. These men worked so hard and very long hours in the heat. They finished on time and on budget. (I had changed my mind about getting tumbled pavers instead of smooth pavers. Tom was very good about telling me right away that there would be a change in cost.) All in all, I am thrilled with my beautiful new patio. I would tell anyone who wants great quality work at a good price to use Tom Watson and his crew at Finish Touch Landscaping.

Everything went really well. The job was done in a timely and efficient manner. The job was done correctly and I won't change a thing.

We were looking into landscapers for a couple years to remove a large tree stump and to build a patio in it's place. I knew immediately upon meeting Tom, that I wanted him to work on our yard. I appreciated his ideas, concerns, and suggestions, and he seemed to have the same dream that I had for my space. He severely worked within our budget and was able to quickly add on my request for the front yard to be re-sodded. Originally he quoted 3 days for just the patio, and his team still met that three day quota even with the front sod. His team was courteous and cleaned up after each day of work. The patio looks great and our front lawn is the now the best on the block. Tom even remembered a small conversation that we had that I was thinking of planting flowers along one side of the patio. Instead of completing the sod around that side, he moved that allocated sod to a section of our yard where we recently removed a bush and was just a low crater of dirt. It completely works and is exactly what I wanted. I would definitely suggest using Finishing Touch for anyone's landscaping needs. Thanks Tom! -Lindsey

We called Tom to come look at our landscape and provide us with ideas and a plan. He came out in the evening and was very knowledgeable and friendly. However, he never came back to us with a plan. We contacted him via e-mail a week or so later expressing our interest and that we would like to see his plan. He said he needed a few more days and would get back to us. However, here we are over 6 weeks later and have not received any further contacts from him. I appreciate how busy he is, but in that case he should just tell us that he is not able to perform the job rather than ignore us.

I had this company perform 2 jobs for me over the past year. The first job involved fixing a water drainage issue on the side of our house. Tom Watson was very pleasant to deal with and guaranteed in writing that his work would fix the problem. His initial work did fix 90% of the problem and when I called him to let him know that we still had water pooling in a certain area, without hesitation he responded that he would fix the issue. He ended up putting a french drain in which did solve the remaining problem and did not charge for this. I then had him come out several months later to do landscaping, planting of several trees, spring clean-up and mulching. He was able to do the work within a week and also recommended additional enhancements on the day of the job for which he did not charge extra for. His bids were consistently lower than other companies I contacted. He is easy to work with and flexible, prices are reasonable.

Tom and his crew did an excellent job\. They were professional and timely. Came out did the job and left the job site very clean. I will definitely use this company again.

Tom was very kind and thorough. He oversaw everything. Because he is so busy, it took awhile for him to come, but the job he performed was worth the wait. Everything looks wonderful. I will use him again.