Overstream

The project started as a refresh to an existing in-ground gunite pool that needed new plaster. Bill and Greg from Overstream were one of three companies that quoted the project and they offered to take us to see some of their work. Seeing some of the designs they had done opened our eyes to other options that we could have. There was no pressure at all to do more but they offered a lot of ideas to enhance the pool area and open up the available space for other outdoor activites including sitting areas, walks, a stone fireplace and grilling area. They laid the entire design out on paper with detailed costing information and gave us the option to do as much or as little as we wanted. The final design made the pool part of the space but not the "focus" and gave us a great area for relaxing with family or entertaining. As soon as construction started, their team stayed with the project almost everyday for about 6 weeks...and they put a lot of effort to get the project done by Thanksgiving even though the weather did not cooperate. The people who were there everyday were very professional, courteous and did quality work. There were only very minor issues encountered during the whole project and these were quickly corrected. Bill and his team answered calls quickly. One of the nice things about their approach is that they stay with a project everyday and are not moving from job to job. Weather was the only thing that prevented them from showing up. Overall, we were very happy with complete project.

Bill's crew did a fantastic job. The project took about 3 1/2 weeks to complete. Our backyard has difficult access and plentiful landscaping that the crew took great care not to damage. The old concrete pool coping was removed with only minimal tile damage (5 tiles) that was easily replaced. This was a tedious part of the job because we were not replacing the pool lining or tiles, so they had to take great care not to break tiles. I thought this part was very well done. Our backyard was transformed when the job was complete. The pavers are beautiful. We have received numerous compliments from friends and neighbors. On a side note, Bill and I had a minor issue when we were invoiced for an irrigation line repair about a month after the job was complete. After several emails with the office contending that this should have been included in the warranty (irrigation tune up was included in the job), Bill called me to discuss the issue. After learning some of the details that he didn't previously have, he agreed with me and told me to disregard the invoice. He showed respect and professionalism that I don't often see these days. I was impressed with how he handled and resolved our issue.

They showed up on time, quickly diagnosed the problem and fixed the leak. No problems

Our experience with the Oversteam team was outstanding. First, they did a great job of listening to what we wanted and designed an offering that was more beautiful than we imagined. The project was very large and very detailed and the team did an outstanding job managing all the aspects. Any issues that came up during the process were handled quickly and professionally with outstanding communication. You expect that there will be some drop off of "enthusiasm" about your project "after the sale", however, I found just the opposite. The Overstream team remained just as excited about our project as we did throughout the whole process.They did a fantastic job staying within my budget. Any deviations from the original estimate were fully discussed and agreed upon prior to any action and were mostly initiated by us. A huge advantage for Overstream in our decision process was their ability to handle the "complete job" from design through install of stone, spa and landscaping. This total solution forcus led to a very easy decision for us. We would highly recommend the Overstream team.

Professional, punctual, responsive, quality. My sprinkler system works like a charm now!

The Act of God was nothing more than 2.5 inches of rain over 36 hours. Certainly nothing that should have damaged a well constructed slope according to the engineers I invited over. Bill Zemak did not seem knowledgeable in addressing erosion issues despite Overstream being listed under Yahoo under "soil and erosion" companies. Since the slope was not left in good condition the first time, I did not sense confidence that another $3,000 was going to fix things when the solution itself did not seem to be a good one (the solution was to re-spread existing soil around). I was unimpressed, disappointed with the lack of follow up, estimates etc. (He never got back to me with a written estimate). I hired Anthony Everitt of CLD who finally repaired the slope for $17k. While this was more expensive, it turned out be a good long term solution.

The estimate was $7,000. We need to rethink the plan to fix the drainage first, then add plants back later.

We are adding on to the back of our house and we had to cap off and cut some irrigation lines. Overstream did a great job and we will have them back to readjust the lines when we are done with the addition.

It was very good. There were no complaints. They were pleasant and easy to work with. They were punctual. We were very happy with the results and we will use them again this year.

I thought the price was reasonable. They followed up very well with me. They were always on time, and if not they called to let me know why. They do charge a five percent fee if you want to use a credit card which I thought it was a bit much.

We hired Overstream to design and install a landscape plan. We hired them based on our perceived reputation of their company and because we had seen some of their work. Additionally they are an "approved" contractor for the types of pavers that we planned to use for two patio areas. They were quick to set up the appointment and the designer delivered the plans within the time frame that they specified (1.5 weeks). However, I was greatly disappointed when we received the plans and saw that some of the items I had specified (i.e. relocation of an existing Japanese Maple to center of patio area, etc.) were excluded from the original plan. Also, when we were presented with the plan, rather than provide the plan to us in color or with pictures of the plantings, our designer told us to go "Google" the names of the plants and to "study" the plan to see if we liked it. Our plan was pretty complex with over 15 different types of plantings and would have cost $15,000! You would think that since we are not horticulturists and for that kind of $$ we wouldn't have to "Google" to discover what plants the designer was thinking about. Additionally, I sent a very detailed e-mail to the designer after receiving the first plan which outlined specifically what it was that I liked and disliked about the plan. I was further disappointed when the designer showed up at our next meeting with very little knowledge of the information I sent as well as missing TWO photo attachments which were critical pieces of information required for our meeting. The final straw with Overstream came when after our meeting I was sent a contract with the only text in the e-mail saying, "Have a great weekend!" No explanation as to what the document was AND I didn't even have the estimate the contract referred to. I followed up with another e-mail saying we didn't have the final estimates. I then received some random estimate that didn't include a part of the project. I had to send yet another e-mail requesting the estimate that included the entire project. Finally, after one final e-mail to obtain all of the estimates, which I never received, we decided we were done with Overstream. If the company cannot effectively manage the design process and the paperwork associated with it, how could I possibly trust them to install our entire landscape plan. Oh, but there was one piece of paperwork that they were very quick to deliver: the final bill.

We hired Overstream to design and install a landscape plan. We hired them based on our perceived reputation of their company and because we had seen some of their work. Additionally they are an "approved" contractor for the types of pavers that we planned to use for two patio areas. They were quick to set up the appointment and the designer delivered the plans within the time frame that they specified (1.5 weeks). However, I was greatly disappointed when we received the plans and saw that some of the items I had specified (i.e. relocation of an existing Japanese Maple to center of patio area, etc.) were excluded from the original plan. Also, when we were presented with the plan, rather than provide the plan to us in color or with pictures of the plantings, our designer told us to go "Google" the names of the plants and to "study" the plan to see if we liked it. Our plan was pretty complex with over 15 different types of plantings and would have cost $15,000! You would think that since we are not horticulturists and for that kind of $$ we wouldn't have to "Google" to discover what plants the designer was thinking about. Additionally, I sent a very detailed e-mail to the designer after receiving the first plan which outlined specifically what it was that I liked and disliked about the plan. I was further disappointed when the designer showed up at our next meeting with very little knowledge of the information I sent as well as missing TWO photo attachments which were critical pieces of information required for our meeting. The final straw with Overstream came when after our meeting I was sent a contract with the only text in the e-mail saying, "Have a great weekend!" No explanation as to what the document was AND I didn't even have the estimate the contract referred to. I followed up with another e-mail saying we didn't have the final estimates. I then received some random estimate that didn't include a part of the project. I had to send yet another e-mail requesting the estimate that included the entire project. Finally, after one final e-mail to obtain all of the estimates, which I never received, we decided we were done with Overstream. If the company cannot effectively manage the design process and the paperwork associated with it, how could I possibly trust them to install our entire landscape plan. Oh, but there was one piece of paperwork that they were very quick to deliver: the final bill.

It was really good. I felt like he listened to what I wanted to accomplish. It wasn't something I really wanted to be doing, but a decision had to be made because of my neighbor's retainer wall. We can't get the equipment back in the yard because of the existing hardscape so we broke the plan down into three stages. They came up with solutions to our problems. We have not hired them for installation-only to develop a plan for our situation.

It went great, it was a good experience. They were on time and professional in doing the job. It was a big project but they were able to finish it in just a couple of days.

In sum: results were very problematic. Overstream was okay as long as we held onto the final payment. As soon as that last payment was made they're attitude changed and seemed to not care about their workmanship or customer satisfaction. Every single aspect of the project had to be fixed or repaired twice an and in some cases such as patio, downspouts, drainage it required multiple return visits before Overstream finally got it right. The first morning they started working in 2007 they were about to install an upright post for the pergola directly in front of a glass patio door. Due to the fact they waited until the evening before to lay out the design. When the patio was complete, water was accumulating by the house during rainstorms due to an incorrect patio pitch which sloped TOWARD the house instead of draining water away. (*See photo of water accumulation problem). From there, each phase resulted in more problems. The crews rushed. They don't seem to care about returning for multiple repairs (I wouldn't if I were paid hourly for my time) even though multiple visits were becoming a huge inconvenience requiring multiple days off of work. To be fair Overstream has some strengths. They are: 1) large crews 2) professional dressed/uniformed workers 3)own their own vehicles/equipment 4) can tackle large jobs in short time frames (*I urge hiring a civil engineer or landscape architect to supervise their work however). The downside is: 1) crews rarely had managerial oversight while working 2) one crew's work one day would destroy the previous day's work 3) lack of overall planning 4) Poor quality "designs" which were little more than blue print sketches with little detail that was actually to-scale. 5) few workers spoke English forcing me to speak Spanish to make myself understood. The second phase, this spring 2008, was left in a complete state of utter disaster. The "high-nutrient top soil" we spent thousands on to spread over the yard to accelerate lawn growth was little more than clay with 20% additives. It was spread in a manner that buried rain spouts and re-pitched the yard creating drainage problems. The slope in the rear of my yard drops down 1ft for every 2ft for a 25 ft length and we asked for "a solution" to address the slope. Despite providing Overstream ideas such as a) retaining walls b) landscape fabric (to control erosion on the steep slope; etc. they insisted none were needed. There was a mudslide within days of their finishing the work. And a complete collapse 90 days later after final payment was made. I am now engaging and paying another landscaping contractor what will be tens of thousands to redo the slope correctly using retaining walls, proper drainage systems and landscape fabric as I had suspected was necessary all along.

In sum: results were very problematic. Overstream was okay as long as we held onto the final payment. As soon as that last payment was made they're attitude changed and seemed to not care about their workmanship or customer satisfaction. Every single aspect of the project had to be fixed or repaired twice an and in some cases such as patio, downspouts, drainage it required multiple return visits before Overstream finally got it right. The first morning they started working in 2007 they were about to install an upright post for the pergola directly in front of a glass patio door. Due to the fact they waited until the evening before to lay out the design. When the patio was complete, water was accumulating by the house during rainstorms due to an incorrect patio pitch which sloped TOWARD the house instead of draining water away. (*See photo of water accumulation problem). From there, each phase resulted in more problems. The crews rushed. They don't seem to care about returning for multiple repairs (I wouldn't if I were paid hourly for my time) even though multiple visits were becoming a huge inconvenience requiring multiple days off of work. To be fair Overstream has some strengths. They are: 1) large crews 2) professional dressed/uniformed workers 3)own their own vehicles/equipment 4) can tackle large jobs in short time frames (*I urge hiring a civil engineer or landscape architect to supervise their work however). The downside is: 1) crews rarely had managerial oversight while working 2) one crew's work one day would destroy the previous day's work 3) lack of overall planning 4) Poor quality "designs" which were little more than blue print sketches with little detail that was actually to-scale. 5) few workers spoke English forcing me to speak Spanish to make myself understood. The second phase, this spring 2008, was left in a complete state of utter disaster. The "high-nutrient top soil" we spent thousands on to spread over the yard to accelerate lawn growth was little more than clay with 20% additives. It was spread in a manner that buried rain spouts and re-pitched the yard creating drainage problems. The slope in the rear of my yard drops down 1ft for every 2ft for a 25 ft length and we asked for "a solution" to address the slope. Despite providing Overstream ideas such as a) retaining walls b) landscape fabric (to control erosion on the steep slope; etc. they insisted none were needed. There was a mudslide within days of their finishing the work. And a complete collapse 90 days later after final payment was made. I am now engaging and paying another landscaping contractor what will be tens of thousands to redo the slope correctly using retaining walls, proper drainage systems and landscape fabric as I had suspected was necessary all along.

When I called them they came out and looked at my problem. All they said was everything looks good. They would not work with me or help out. They did my irrigation too and I had to ask them why they charged me for it, it was supposed to be under warranty. I had to ask them about what some of the plants were and they couldn't even tell me.

They did a great job installing and east to work with and professional and nice and very knowledgeable. During the process they cut a gas line and were quick to repair the problem.

Mark Hammrick, the company representative, arrived one hour and 30 minutes late for our estimate appointment. Upon his arrival, he seemed more pre-occupied with what the space already looked like, than to ask me for what I wanted in an outdoor space. One week later, I received an estimate from Mark. No costs were itemized, just a lump overall cost. I found his overall concept to be unoriginal, VERY basic. Also, I was not provided with a drawing or design on paper, everything was in words. Overall costs for what I was getting were high compared to other estimates. After sending him a fax of my drawing, he told me he would get back to me the next day. A month has gone by and I have not heard back from Mark, I have hired another company.

I have been satisfied and they guarantee their work for a year. We had an exceptionally hot summer and a few of my azaleas died and they came out and replaced them. They were very attentive to my needs and always made sure I was satisfied.

Bill came out and gave us some ideas and suggestions, as well as listened to both me and my husband and incorporated all of it into one nice design. He also helped us get approval from our HOA. The men show up in force to get the job done. Despite the fact that we continued to add items to our project, the overstream team always started and completed the job on time. And they stand by their work when we have needed assistance after the job is complete. We will continue to recommend them and hire them again and again.

Bill came out and gave us some ideas and suggestions, as well as listened to both me and my husband and incorporated all of it into one nice design. He also helped us get approval from our HOA. The men show up in force to get the job done. Despite the fact that we continued to add items to our project, the overstream team always started and completed the job on time. And they stand by their work when we have needed assistance after the job is complete. We will continue to recommend them and hire them again and again.

They do excellent work, and I have used them twice now. They are great. I would most definitely recommend them to other members.

After they left two of the heads were still broken and water was shooting straight up out onto my sidewalk. I called out several times over several weeks. After I'd taken off the day to wait for them, I was told they were not coming because they were tied up with another job. I've found them to not be reliable. Did not provide good customer service. After they called to say they weren't coming they never called back to reschedule. Because of the fact that the system was not working properly after it had been checked, the flowers outside of my house dried up and died so I had to spend another $150 to have more flowers planted.

Frances came out on Friday, June 2nd and took a look at the areas that I am trying to improve on. After viewing the property, Frances asked me what I was trying to achieve with the new look. I told Frances that I had no idea what type of plants and/or flowers I wanted, but I knew I wanted a clean look with a tranquil feel with colors other than green. As soon as I said that, Frances started talking about a variety of flowers and plants, I could have planted and I instantly was impressed. Very confused since I have no concept of what the names of flowers are (except roses, lillies, and carnations). Frances was very patient and began to explain the different looks that I can achieve with Lisgustrum, Otto Luyken Laurel, Gold Mop, and the list goes on. Frances also took the time out to write down these suggested plants and a few more and advised me to take a look at them on-line.