Raintree Landscape Construction LLC

This project was completed over a year ago but just now getting to the review. Sean and Ben were great. High level of communication, planning and overall the project turned out better than expected. We installed multi-tiered limestone boulders across the whole backyard. Built up the area on the back of the house that had eroded away, redid the blocked gutter pipes underground, added ground cover on the remaining hills and also put in decorative curved parking pads to the end of the driveway. Overall extremely happy with the end result. Would definitely use them again.

We were extremely pleased with both how Raintree worked with us from initial inquiry to the end and the excellent quality of their work. Sean and Ben provided quick responses to our many questions (particularly during the design) – even if to tell us when to expect detailed answers. They also did great job of transitioning from design/planning (Sean) to execution (Ben) so we knew who was the primary contact at all times. All time commitments /schedules throughout were always met. We had an issue where a bit of the design needed to be adjusted because it just didn’t work in ‘real life’ - Ben patiently did extra work to show us options and willingly made the agreed upon adjustment. The crew was great – very pleasant and patient, for example they in let us choose specific placement of particular natural stone steps so it had the best look. And the guys really worked hard and efficiently – we could tell they really took pride in their work. Raintree is not the cheapest hardscaping contractor – but their results were well worth the investment: Beautifully done stonework on the patio/walls/steps. Importantly, they ensured proper drainage away from house of both new patios and rebuilt patios. The project required extensive yard reconstruction (probably about 1/3 acre, with slope etc). The grading of our yard is excellent and grass planted is growing in beautifully. In summary, we strongly recommend Raintree for anyone with hardscape projects.

We'd worked with them before and they did a great job on our patio, very professional and willing to work with us. So we hired them to plant spruce trees on our property. They were prompt and got the job done in a day, but a couple of the trees were planted at an angle. Those trees subsequently died, one right away and one within the year. All of the other trees look great and show new growth. All of the trees were watered the same and were watered as recommended. Initially I called Sean and, after a couple of calls, he came out and staked the tree that was dying to straighten it but most of the needles were already gone. Since then I've tried calling Sean as well as the Raintree main number several times, left messages, with no reply. Add to that our neighbor liked the look of the spruce trees and, on our recommendation, hired Raintree around that same time to put in two spruces for them as well. One of the two trees planted died right away. They've tried to call Raintree several times over the past 6 months and have not gotten a return call. We liked Sean from our previous experiences with him but now know that they do not stand behind their work.

They did an awesome job. Very professional and high-end work. Everyone in our neighborhood mentioned about the quality of work. Our walkway had a curvy design and they executed that so well. They pay a lot of attention on every minute detail. I would strongly recommend them.

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I had an awful experience with them. They did minimal work and did something really hideous and charged an enormous amount of money for it, unlike anything I've ever seen. I explained what I wanted and thought they understood, but they put huge boulders down. They were hideous, like something you would put in a huge industrial building. It's a delicate little property, a very small space, with small flowers and the boulders looked absolutely ridiculous. They advertise as being design experts. They were put down when I wasn't there and they're too big for me to get rid of, so they're still there. I would absolutely not recommend them.

Excellent job. Very impressed with the quality of the work and the creativity of the design. Whole team was friendly, hardworking and professional. Far exceeded my expectations.

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Their price was high, but I generally don't try to negotiate down a price because I believe that contractors should get a fair price for their service. But likewise when I am paying a premium price, I feel that I should expect high quality and I should not be "nickle and dimed" over the little stuff. In my business I rely on clear communication, so I also clearly communicate all my needs up front and expect the contractor to listen and act accordingly to minimize surprises on either side. I thought both of these were clear up front, but I was disappointed at how many times I had to repeat myself and remind them of previous discussions. And I was shocked at how many times the phrase "that will be extra cost" was tossed at me when asking for things that had already been discussed. Oddly enough, on the several occasions when I negotiated things in their favor to reduce or avoid work for them, they NEVER said "we will credit you for that". I will say that in most cases they were (often grudgingly) accomodating to my needs and that I got about 95% of the job I expected. But I had to work a lot harder than I expected to get a decent job. They showed up approximately when they said they would (I ended up staying home a couple days when they said they would or might come but didn't). But in general they worked fairly steadily when weather permitted and completed the job in a reasonable time. I had originally intended to only be home the first few times they worked there, but it seemed like just about every time I left them unsupervised for more than a couple hours that things went wrong. Usually nothing major, but always something (like dumping topsoil into the woods rather than keeping it for later damage repair, or "replanting" bushes above ground rather than at proper planting height). If you are the type that can describe in writing exactly what you want (e.g. not "a drain across the driveway" but rather "a 12 foot drain across the entire driveway, slightly recessed to prevent damage by snow plows") and be happy if they perform to that document, then I would guess that you will be happy contracting with Raintree. In my case there were too many unknowns to create a description of the level of detail that they require. And I did not confirm their measurments so there were some disputes about exactly what was to be delivered. Again, nothing major, but lots of little issues (a wall stopped a few feet short or one course too low).

Overall, we are very pleased with the work - they did exactly what we asked for, at a great price, and with no problems. Sean and Ben were extremely professional. They gave us a very realistic but reasonable bid to rip out a concrete driveway, grass the area, and install a fence. I don't think they typically do fences, but everything worked out great - they seem to have a very diverse set of skills, and take a lot of pride in their work. Because the fence went so well, we actually hired them again in the winter to do some indoor construction in our basement. Again, it went very well - they are extremely meticulous in their work. I would highly recommend Raintree.

I chose Raintree because they are local, and I like to support local businesses. Unfortunately, they were unreliable. When they did come, they did a poor job. Sometimes the grass didn?t even looked like it had been cut. Overall, they did more damage to my lawn than help.