Do NOT hire this guy. Ray Martel is the most unprofessional and sleazy contractor we have ever dealt with. If he in fact does get back to you expect a run around for months until he actually shows up. When he finally came to do our driveway he completed only half the job and then claimed that it was all we discussed. When I asked him if he was going to do the rest of the driveway (fair question!) he immediately became belligerent and frightening. I had to close and lock the door and called my husband to come home. His quotes are also extremely high and he pads everything far more than other quotes we received. The work he did complete is a mess. My husband met him the next morning to give him a check for material cost for the shoddy work that was completed ( only so the loud brute and/or the scuzzy girl working with him wouldn't come to our home and scare our family further). He also became belligerent and angry and continued to hurl personal insults at my husband and myself although he was lucky we were paying him anything. The guy is a complete ******* and you will be sorry if you hire him.
Description of Work: Driveway Repair, Grading, Gravel
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
1.0
value
1.0
professionalism
1.0
responsiveness
1.0
punctuality
1.0
$1,400
Hal W.
08/2014
5.0
landscaping
+ -1 more
Ray and Daughter are hard workers. Completed both areas quickly and with great attention to detail, Areas were left clean and other than a new and fresh look, the improvements looked very natural to existing landscape. Glad to have meet Ray and Daughter they are true Vermonters all the way!! I would recommend him to everyone.
Description of Work: Replaced RR ties in back basement entrance with new timbers. regrade and added drainage stone and fabric.. Raised front walkway, removing field stone and raise and resetting stones.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
5.0
value
4.0
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$3,460
David F.
09/2013
5.0
landscaping
+ -1 more
Only an estimate so far.
Description of Work: Just got an estimate for a wall so far. When I consider doing work I will probably us Artistic landscaping.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
professionalism
5.0
responsiveness
5.0
punctuality
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
susan D.
08/2013
2.0
landscaping
+ -1 more
Actually, I hired someone into my house and it worked out very well. The landscapers, quite frankly, they were professional. They probably did not get back to me until it had to be at least 2 months. And in that time, we did the landscaping ourselves. So, we never used. They had no response and nothing. It happens than anything with any pacing yet. I will not call them again. I will not hire them. Because they did come and look around and we discuss what I wanted done. and then I did not hear from them for 2 months. It was ridiculous. We will not use them again.
Description of Work: We used Artistic Landscaping for landscaping services.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
professionalism
1.0
responsiveness
1.0
punctuality
1.0
Sue B.
02/2013
5.0
landscaping
+ -1 more
We figured out there was a problem with the drains late in the year, and because it was raining a lot. The whole area was a muddy mess, which makes it very hard to work with heavy equipment. Ray dug out the muck, found and repaired the pipes, trenched it properly and filled the whole area with gravel to promote drainage. While digging we accidentally found out where the septic lines are (the sketchy records of this old house said they were elsewhere) and of course they got broken. Ray quickly repaired them, and now at least I know where they are! He had to wait a few days until the ground had dried somewhat, then he built retaining walls on either side. Ray is cheerful, professional and a pleasure to work with. He has an excellent sense of design and of the mechanics of hardscaping. His work holds up very well over time. He often brings assistants (sometimes his adult children) all of whom have been competent and friendly. His work has held up well over the years and looks great. Because this is an old house and full of little surprises (like the septic lines), I always work on a time-and-materials basis. Ray's bills are always quite reasonable for the work done and I am always satisfied with the results.
Description of Work: Ray has done a lot of work for me over the years. This latest was repairing perimeter drains around the walk out door to the basement of my hillside house. The work included removing washed in mud, resetting the pipes, retrenching the outflow, building two retaining walls and graveling the area. He also re-dug the ditch on one side of the driveway where it had filled in and was increasing the water flow into the work area. The year before, we added a garage and Ray did all the hardscaping, including: filling in a failed pond, removing trees, excavating the garage foundation, grading and drainage. He recommended a foundation guy who was also terrific. In prior years he has built another retaining wall, laid gravel entry paths, and built a rock staircase up the hillside.
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Service Categories
Landscaping,
Asphalt Driveways,
Stone and Gravel
FAQ
ARTISTIC LANDSCAPING is currently rated 3.7 overall out of 5.
No, ARTISTIC LANDSCAPING does not offer free project estimates.
No, ARTISTIC LANDSCAPING does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.
No, ARTISTIC LANDSCAPING does not offer a senior discount.
No, ARTISTIC LANDSCAPING does not offer emergency services.
No, ARTISTIC LANDSCAPING does not offer warranties.