Retaining Wall Solutions, Inc.

Owner is a professional civil engineer who designed, permitted, gained all approvals, including HOA and oversaw the work. On the downside, it took from July to the end of November to get the work started.There was some confusion early regarding the final elevation of the wall, but Chris Suljak took action to make it right. The team of Brian, David and Matt were outstanding in every way. They were punctual and worked steadily throughout and kept me informed about issues before they became problems. They minimized invasion of the surrounding terrain and after seeding and strawing, left the site looking almost undisturbed. I hope to have occasion to use Retaining Wall Solutions in the future and I will specifically ask for the same crew to perform the work.

I did not accept their proposal because it was twice the price of three other companies. Even after considering the minor contract differences, I could not explain the high-end price. I did meet with their estimator who was prompt, professional, and knowledgeable. Since I did not use them, I have no basis to judge quality or workmanship.

I gave them a C simply because I they did not actually do any work for me. I called them to get an estimate for doing some retaining wall services, but when they came to review the site they determined that the work required was more extensive than they could do. They suggested I contact a Civil egineering company.

The work was very well done. It was not a small project, and Michael knocked it out of the park.

I spent some time performing the survey of the land and designing the wall with the intent to complete myself. I hired a Professional Engineer to review, revise, perform calculations and stamp the design drawings. This was money well spent. All of the contractors were held to the same standard. If not for this, a contractor may have bid a lower wall at the corner and taken other short cuts. They were all on the same playing field. The contractor that got the award came up with a better design in terms of constructibility and costs. After I reviewed his plans and verified that this met or exceeded the original specification, he was awarded the contract based on price and overall reviews of his previous performance based on the BBB. At that time, there were no reviews on Angies List and this may be the first. As the project progressed we recognized a couple of changes that would make significant improvements from the original design. I had a Tand M price in the contract and the additional costs were very reasonable. My neighbors have commented on the improvements and I am very satisfied.

They were very good and I recommend them to others. I think their price was very fair.

The project started out great. Mike Yount is a very amiable fellow, and the crew was led by Bobby, who showed experience and thoughtfulness. It was made clear at the start that they should only excavate of the old retaining wall what they could replace quickly. Instead, they excavated two tiers and it was left due to rainy weather. I have an extensive 3 levels of decking that threatened to break away now that the underlying dirt was removed. I kept a photo journal of the grade pulling away from my deck piers of at least 4"!!! I found out after having a dinner party on the uppermost deck, that indeed the danger of it pulling away was present. It caused daily angst and upset until the wall was replaced weeks later. Since the wall construction, a section of decking that I had rebuilt within 6 months of this project is slightly sloping sideways. We took no definitive measurements of how high the retaining wall would eventually be, and as it turned out, I had to fork out another $8,115 to make it high enough. Mind you, the grade inside the wall is still steep even after the 4' added height. Bobby was careful separating good soil from bad clay and rock, and I was at least hopeful that it the end, I would be pleased. However, the project dragged on for so long, that another operator was used to replace the dirt excavated, and I was left with the crappiest rock strewn clay/soil combo on the top! This operator went dangerously fast and carelessly. I was certain he was going over the edge. When they left, the fabric was draping over the last 8' of wall, the finished surface was about 18' above the wall at just 1' away, and I've had washout over the top of the wall ever since. The lawn was roughly graded, rocks everywhere and seed and straw were thrown over. I would call Mike at the office to complain , but my calls would be intercepted by Tommy, the supervisor of the job who came out at least once with little or no effect. I called Mike on his cell phone, asking him to come out and tell me that he was happy with the work. He said he was upset with the rock mess they left in the lawn along the driveway, but thought the wall was perfectly fine. I am confident that the wall won't be going anywhere, but it is necessary to contract for another bobcat to regrade the area inside the wall, and finish grade the lawn around the wall and up the side of the house to the driveway which they used for access. My lawn looks horrible with the erosion caused by runoff because the seed could not take on all the rock left behind. Irrigation heads were buried or pulled, and the irrigation main line near where they stored their material was broken. I have since paid a lot of money to repair the irrigation, replace the driveway drain, clean up the soil and sod the areas visible from the road and the front of the house, as well replacing the driveway itself. (The driveway was in need of replacement before the wall work). The wall was finished in May, and Mike has promised that Bobby would return to regrade the area within the wall, but months have passed and he has not appeared. My bill was paid in full in June, and my request for lien waivers was immediately fulfilled.