Felker Landscapes

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Great

Felker Landscapes was hired to prepare my lawn for 15 pallets of Bermuda sod. He was very helpful in coordinating the work with the sod delivery. They used a bobcat with harrow rake to disturb the soil approx 2" deep, then hand raked the dead grasses and rocks out of the way and removed all debris. The edges were scraped low to allow for the sod to lay even with the sidewalk. Attention was given to the sprinkler heads so none were damaged. I was very happy with the work. I didn't buy the sod from them, nor did they lay the sod as It had already been contracted with another company.

I met Andy Felker of Felker Landscapes in December 2009. I had asked him to provide direction on assisting with drainage issues in my yard. My neighbor's water flowoff drains directly through my front yard, so for most of the year, it was standing water or muddy. My goal was to remove the water from the yard Andy is very personable and had a good pitch, noting his degree in landscape architecture. While our first visit was in the rainy season, he was adamant that this wouldn't affect his work. In fact that it was a slow period, and there were a lot of "deals" I could get. We discussed options for drainage - main water flowing into a catch basin. This would feed into a drainage pipe. smaller pipes would be installed to feed, like branches, into the larger pipe, in an attempt to alleviate water coming up from the highest point in the yard. This is as opposed to a T or curtain drain, which I suggested. Felker being the expert, convinced me this wasn't needed. The length of the main pipe is about 120 feet to the street, so it was an expensive project in materials alone. As one may imagine, dredging through the mud and rain was nearly impossible for them. What should have taken a few days at most, took 2-3 weeks. Their bobcat couldn't get traction, so they put OSB down, some of which is still there. Because it was too wet, they didn't have any way to install a proper concrete catch basin, so a makeshift one was built (and concreted after several requests). this was supported by river rock, which he collected from my yard and stacked in front of the catch basin. they did unearth a portion of a tree which was hauled off, as well as a rock measuring approximately 6x2x4ft, which was left in the front yard. Initially, he was to run one 12" pipe to the street, but I didn't think was enough. (It was already being fed by a 30" pipe!) He put in an additional pipe. They laid the branch pipes, covered with gravel, threw down seed and straw and left. They did come back periodically to check on it, but never finished the project. End result - This project was beyond Andy Felker LLC's level of expertise. He left a lot of loose ends. The branch drains don't work so large springs continue to flow directly into the yard. Most of the smaller springs (which probably would have been diverted by a curtain drain) were never stopped. Though he claims to have brought in loads of dirt, my yard remained valley shaped by a continuous water channel. Straw was initially piled so thick no grass could grow, so after calling and no answer, I removed a bunch of it. They didn't shore up (concrete, etc) the area where the drain pipe attached to the street, so that has continued to erode along the street, showing exposed gravel and landscape fabric. Landscape fabric drapes into the street drain. Loose rocks on catch basin wall were left that way. Areas of branch pipe left with gravel exposed. Gravel remains everywhere. Because the water was never controlled, any grass seed, and the subsequent seed which i also purchased, was carried off by the water. On the plus side, the large pipes do carry away most of water from the neighbors yard. I had asked Andy Felker to sign a performance agreement, which he took and stated he would do. Unfortunately, he did not do this. Nor did he even finish the work and clean up. I asked him for a portion of my money back or some sort of arrangement to make up for the difference, to which he refused. You can see pictures of his finished work here: dontusefelkerllc.shutterfly.com/pictures/31 In summary, I felt like I was the victim of a con artist. I paid $10,800 for a service which was never completed to what had been agreed and certainly not to the level that any competent person would consider complete.