A & J Retaining Walls Co

When we had our backyard done last year, Jas had completed the 3 steps which turned out great so with this work we were happy to work with him again. He provided many suggestions and online references for the types of color and stamp we could use. He also told us what would not work well as guidance. We wanted a border on the steps which Jas said would be difficult to do but he was able to make it work and it turned out great. Overall we were very pleased with the result and Jas was very helpful and professional to work with.

The initial meeting was timely and professional. Jaswinder asked the right questions and was thorough on explaining what his company offered in product and service. I would only suggest that maybe he carry around samples from Mutual Materials, his preferred supplier of brick/stone material, as Mutual Material isn't open on weekends which makes it difficult for some people to see firsthand the color of the product. Of course MM has a website with the materials pictured but because some larger projects are very expensive, it would help you more accurately match the look you want for your project if you could see and choose from them firsthand. They had an open time slot immediately after we came to terms with their bid and they started work next day. They were very fast and efficient. The project took just four days. They worked from 8am to 6pm, including Saturday. The area was cleaned up every night, and the workers were very pleasant and communicated well. If there were any questions they were more than happy to answer. Jaswinder was not on site, but was easily reachable via his cell phone and was approachable with any questions and eager to accommodate if he could. All of the proper materials were used for building the walls; drain pipe, matting and gravel. Highly pleased and proud of the project and the choice I made with using A&J Retaining Walls Co.

I would not use this company if you are looking for a professional service.

Mr. Singh and his crew were professional, friendly and did the work in an efficient and timely manner. As we are planning on installing the fence portion ourselves Mr. Singh gave us some much needed advice on types of product to use. When his crew was finished with the project they cleaned everything up and left us feeling that if we needed anything else that we would definitely call on them again.

From the moment I contacted Jas, he provided great service. He came a few days after I called to look at the situation and provided me with an estimate. His estimate was detailed and quite competitive. His workers came on time and in a few days replaced the railroad ties on one side of my yard with a beautiful retaining wall. I liked the retaining wall so much that I had them put in a quarter circle of a short stone wall around a bush in the back of my yard.. A number of my neighbors have been by to look at this work and are quite impressed. In fact, they have asked me for A & J's phone number. A & J does awesome work at a reasonable price and is extremely professional.

The bidding process went smoothly; the boss, Jaswinder ("Jas"), visited and measured the space, and e-mailed a bid with several options: concrete cobbles or stone, the terrace wall, and a stone stairway we decided not to have done. We had another company bid on the project too, and they visited to do the estimate, but never delivered a bid. Because we only had one bid, I marked "n/a" on price, because we don't really have enough information to judge the bid. If they charged any mark-up on the materials, it was negligible; we priced out doing the job ourselves, and their price wasn't so high that they overcharged for the materials. The payment schedule was a scheduling 10% deposit, 40% upon start of work, and the balance upon completion of work. We paid by check in each case. After we gave up on getting a bid from the other company, we accepted their bid and paid the 10% deposit. Jas scheduled the work so the job would be finished before the Seattle rainy season began. He said the work would be done by Luis and another worker. I'm not much of a morning person, so I was pleased that the workers arrived fairly early in the day, but not _too_ early. (Some construction workers start well before I am accustomed to waking.) Jas arrived with the crew and introduced us to the foreman, Luis, and their laborer. (If they told us the laborer's name, I didn't hear it.) He accepted the start-of-work payment and turned the job over to Luis. Luis discussed the details of the job with me and my wife, working out options that weren't completely spelled out in the bid. The main question was whether bend the herringbone pattern of the cobbles at each angle in the path, or maintain the same pattern throughout the entire path; we chose the latter. A smaller question was how to build the transition between the driveway and the end of the pathway. Luis spoke fluent English with us, and fluent Spanish with his co-worker; the co-worker spoke only fragmentary English. They unloaded the equipment for the entire job and started the excavation, which took up the first day of work. On the next work day, they were a bit late due to traffic (which was terrible due to a road construction project near us, plus a bad day on the freeway), and continued later into the evening. I don't count that as points against punctuality because the later start didn't delay the project; working into the evening it was probably their longest work day. They brought a load of gravel and a load of sand in the same truck, dumped it at the end of the driveway, and hauled it to the excavated trench. They leveled it (with a slight planned grade) by stretching cords between stakes, measured to grade with a laser level and surveyor's poles, then matching the gravel and sand to the cords. They set most of the cobbles, cutting the edges with a concrete blade on an extra-large circular saw. They tamped the gravel and sand with a power-thumper. After the cobbles were set, they double-checked the grade, and did a little re-work to correct a cobble that ended up slightly askew. The portion finished by the end of the day looked great. On the final work day, they arrived early again, but not inconveniently early. They brought the stone for the terrace wall and bags of concrete mix to set the curbs of the pathway. They finished the pathway quickly, and set the curbs, mixing the concrete in a wheelbarrow. (They didn't need enough to justify bringing a large cement mixer.) I pointed out a few little details, which Luis resolved quickly. They set to work on the terrace wall, stacking the basalt slabs, filling the space immediately behind them with gravel, back-filling the space further behind them with excavated soil, and repeating with additional tiers of stone, gravel, and fill soil. It went quickly. The pathway looks great. All the cobbles are fitted neatly in a consistent pattern, and none wobble. The curb is nice and straight. The terrace wall is neat and very solid. Although the stones are generally flat and rectangular, they're irregular enough that the top tier has a little space to wobble, so it's not a good idea to walk or stand on top of it. That's OK; it wasn't designed for that. We were so pleased with the work we asked about re-working a cobble path on the side of our house. Another company had done it a number of years ago, and hadn't put down weed-control mesh, so weeds are coming up between the cobbles there. Luis measured the space and passed on the measurements to Jas. We decided against having that done. We're very pleased with the work, and would recommend them for similar jobs.

Jaswinder showed up on time, walked the area, gave me a price a follow up estimate and some good advice. I will in all likelyhood work with A&J as the need arises.

Received four proposal. One other was near A & J's price, but their proposal was not as complete. Two others were considerably more. Recommend getting several proposals for this type of work as prices vary widely. A & J Retaining Walls did an excellent job and the wall looks great. They set the wall for curved entrance stairs, but we had someone else do the concrete steps (in order to match front porch steps previously done by others). Therefore, we cannot comment on their concrete work. However, we would highly recommend them for retaining wall projects.

Jas and his team arrived at the job site on time, were very professional and ensured that the work was done to our satisfaction. They even redid a section of the retaining wall so it blends better with the neighboring walls. I was impressed with their work and professionalism and would hire them again.

They were okay and were on time. They were fair and stayed to their estimate.

Jas Singh had previously quoted on another project for me a year ago, so he was familiar with my yard, and did not need to come out to house. By email, I submitted a diagram of how I wanted the planter to look with measurements, and photos of the area. He provided a quote, and we discussed specific changes, types of materials, etc. by phone. His crew started the work weeks earlier than originally planned due to some changes in their schedule, which was great for me. His crew worked SO hard, on a very hot day, removing sod, dirt and completed the multi-level planter in one very long day (they finished work at 7:45 pm !). It looks beautiful and was exactly what I wanted. They came the second day to undertake the pathway, and had to work around a lot of tree roots as well as not damage the tree. When completed, it had a grade that what not quite what was needed for the area, so the crew came back the next week and corrected that issue. Everything is exactly as I envisioned for the section of the yard. I have already planted all my shrubs and flowers in the planter and it adds so much to my landscaping. Jas' crew did an excellent job. At least 10 of my neighbors have made a special point to comment on how much they like the planter. One has indicated she wants one like it for her yard, and asked for A&J's contact info which I provided (along with my glowing reviews).

No details since he never called us and we stopped trying.

No service or quote was provided as he did not call back

We obtained estimates from a number of contractors to have a 14x27 patio built from architectural slabs (large pavers), with a raised bed around one corner for an herb garden. We also wanted an existing 4x8 foot raised bed made from pressure-treated wood clad with matching materials. We ended up seriously considering three contractors with similar estimates. Jaswinder Singh was especially helpful in suggesting local stone suppliers we could visit to determine the materials we wanted to use. He was also the most helpful in explaining to us how the patio and raised bed should be designed to take the best advantage of the blocks we selected. For example, the block sizes made it possible to expand the existing raised bed by about a foot in two directions to make it possible to use full-sized stones for a better appearance. He also came up with the best idea to deal with the slight slope of our yard and what seems to be the simplest way to deal with our drainage issues. During the bidding process he was patient in dealing with our questions and concerns, and he arranged for us to see a patio he was currently constructing from the same pavers. We chose A&J for these reasons and because they would remove the sod and do the excavating entirely manually to avoid damaging the existing lawn and plantings. Once we agreed, A&J was able to start work within a week and finished the patio in six days. The two-man crew was friendly, knowledgeable, and extremely hard working. We had pouring rain one day and then several days of heat in the 80s; they just kept going. When there were options as to how something would be done, the foreman explained the options and let us make the decision. Jaswinder came by to check the work and had them redo one edge that he didn't like, even though we hadn't noticed anything wrong. When we had to change another side to deal with a larger drop than we had anticipated, Jaswinder came up with a solution that was even better than our original plan. They cleaned up thoroughly after they were finished, and our lawn and flower beds came through with minimal disturbance. We are delighted with our patio and raised beds. We are also delighted that having it built was such a satisfactory experience and that when we sit out there we have good memories of the people who built it for us.

We called them to set up an appointment and he kept his first appointment. He came out once to see the job and said he would write out a bid. We didn't hear from him after 10 or 11 days and so I sent him an email to follow up. He said he took a few days off and would get back to me with a bid in a couple of days. That was 10 days ago. We tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, because he said he was busy. But 20 days should be more than enough time to get a bid out or at least give a courtesy email.

I have 700 square foot vegetable garden. It is on a slope. A & J built a beautiful retaining wall so that we have four large garden beds. It looks amazing.

The only reason we did not use this contractor is because I actually won a paver patio at a home show entry. Jay was great. He was willing to accommodate all of our needs in the his plan. Would definitely use them in future plans and would recommend them to others

Jaswinder provided the estimate, he was very professional and polite and was able to answer all of my questions. I appreciated his calm demeanor and eye for detail and felt very confident that he had the experience necessary to do the job well. Throughout the project, he was very responsive to both email and phone calls. Jaswinder's crew was punctual and also very professional - they worked long days to get the project done in the number of days originally estimated. The crew even carefully moved a few young plants I had growing near the fence that would have been uprooted during the soil cut-back work (I had asked them to try to protect the plants if possible but did not expect this level of care). They cleaned up the work area once they were finished and the wall looks great. It is very straight and even. So far the wall is functioning perfectly well and seems to have no problems with drainage (our soil is often saturated when we get a lot of rain).

The representative I spoke with at A & J is awesome! He was very helpful and knowledgeable. I appreciated his time. He spent quite a bit of time with me on the phone to understand what my problems is and to offer his insight and guidance as to what the problem may be. IIf I ever need an additional retaining wall or my retaining wall fixed, I would definately use their services. I appreciated the honestly, thoughtfulness and professionalism. This is the type of people I prefer to do business with.

Working with A&J was a pleasure. This was a big spend for us, but Jaswinder and his crew were very professional. They took the extra care to make sure everything looked just perfect. Their communication was great, their demeanor was excellent and their work looks fantastic. We are very happy with our new wall! Don't hesitate to give this company a chance at your business, you will be impressed with their prices and the end product.

We highly recommend A&J Retaining Walls of Seattle for a practical and no-nonsense approach to delivering solid, quality results at affordable cost. Our project entailed the construction of a few critically important retaining walls to shore up a backyard hillside and upper walkway that became unstable due to decades of erosion. Within minutes of meeting Jaswinder (one of the company?s two owners) for the initial on-site inspection, we were convinced of his professional knowledge. While presenting a sketch of our basic ideas, we left the final determinations to his expertise. The scheduled project started on time and the friendly, skillful crew proved to be extraordinarily hard workers. Jaswinder was present to direct each day?s progress and soon delivered a finished result far beyond our expectations by incorporating artfully designed stairs for easy access to the terraced hillside and lower yard. Not only did A&J Retaining Walls solve all the crucial objectives of the project but they provided a polished design greatly enhancing the landscape while sticking to our strict budget. Eminently honest, professional, friendly and easy to work with, Jaswinder and his company, A&J Retaining Walls, deserve our highest praise and appreciation! Bruce and Nanci Froemming Lake Forest Park, WA.

Overall experience was excellent. I initially contacted them through Angie's List and received a follow-up call a couple days later from Jaswinder. He met me at our house a couple days later and went through ideas for what we could do with the space in our yard. He came back with a written estimate that was easy to understand and not overly detailed. Over the course of the next few weeks, we went back and forth repeatedly as we worked to finalize what we wanted and how much we wanted to spend. Ultimately, we ended up deciding to go with a 24'x14' patio with 2'x2' paver stones. I gave him the go-ahead on a Thursday afternoon and on Saturday morning he called to schedule the start for that Monday. The entire process was to take 2-3 days max. However, late Monday morning he heard form his material supplier, Mutual Materials, that they didn't have any of the dark colored stone we had chosen for our border and it would be another 10-days. The product was normally in stock but at the time they only had some in Bellingham and it was still curing. This was disappointing but we were in no hurry so they finished up the site preparation (excavation, leveling, crushed rock, and compaction) in less than a day. 11-days later he called to confirm that the materials would be delivered on Friday afternoon, which the supplier dropped directly to us in pallets in our driveway. The next day, they arrived onsite and completed installation. Throughout the entire process Jaswinder and his staff were excellent. We had so many back and forth discussions and never once was he anything but helpful and professional. He ended up adjusting his bid at least 3 times until we figured out what we wanted and he beat out 2 other very reputable contractors also obtained through Angie's List. We're very happy with the end result and cannot wait to use our new patio.

"Jas" came out and gave me a bid for a retaining wall by a deck. Gave me options for rock, paver, and concrete. We chose rock for aesthetics and price. He came back about 3 weeks later on a particularly soggy November day. He and his workman worked all day long building the retaining wall. As it was progressing, I asked for a small change in the shape, and they accommodated this readily. I think they came back a day or two later to finish things up. I paid extra to have them backfill the top of the wall with extra dirt to make room for a planting bed; he recommended a dirt with more sand in it to help with drainage, and I deferred to his experience. However, it appears to me he used only sand, and didn't backfill nearly the whole area I had in mind. Perhaps this was a communication breakdown, but it's not what I wanted, and I'm going to have to do some work to make it look better and get it ready for planting. The overall quality of the wall is decent. It's straight and feels like it'll hold up for a number of years, but the top finish rocks seemed haphazardly placed, and I spend an hour or two afterward rearranging the top row to make it look more finished. We have other rock walls done on our property that cost a good deal more, and look a lot better, but this wall is mostly utilitarian and suits our needs adequately.

Initially I was impressed with how quickly Jaswinder responded to an estimate for a set of concrete steps leading from an existing patio. I emailled photos and he stopped by the house to look at the project. I was very candid in my conversation with him realizing this was a smaller job. He said no problem we will absolutely be able to work with your landscaper to install the steps. I called him to coordinate a meeting with the landscape designer and the company doing the installation to flush out the exact design, size, and placement of the steps. He said he personally couldn't be present but one of his job foremans could. The next day when everyone had arrived, no one from A and J was there. I had to call Jaswinder to figure out what is happening only to find out that I was out of luck because they blew me off. So I was forced to scramble last minute, which was extremely irritating because I specifically asked if it would be a problem for him to do such a small job in advance of scheduling the meeting and I took time away from work and scheduled two other very busy people to meet. Very unprofessional to say the least.

After discussing our requirements A&J Retaining Walls set a starting date which worked well with our schedule and arrived when they said they would. They answered all our questions and made helpful and constructive suggestions in a friendly and professional manner. They completed the job in less than five days which seemed to us extremely fast. We highly recommend their services and would use them again should the need arise.