A & J Retaining Walls Co

I wanted to level our front yard to use it more often. I found A&J retaining wall on Angie List. A&J had the most positive reviews so I chose to go with them. After sending A&J an email, we set up an appointment quickly. I met Jaswinder from A&J to go over in details what I want, and I was pleased that Jaswinder walked me through the process very well. He showed me different choices with pictures and price ranges, and also offer his own recommendations based on his experience. We did some rough measurements. After that I received an estimates very quickly. The project went quickly and well. They came in, worked hard for a few long days. In less than 3 days everything was done and in order. After the rain washed away the concrete powder, the yard looked very good! All my neighbors were praising our new yard and asked about the contractor. I was very please. A few neighbor even thanked us for making our neighborhood looking much better! Aside from that, it was nice to work with these guys. They were kind, and worked very hard. After seeing their laborious deeds I was extremely glad that I didn't do it myself. Above all they were very friendly. I recommended their service to all my neighbors. I was so pleased that I offer to have them leave their signs & brands next to the wall.

Our house is on a downhill slope with a fairly steep driveway and had only a small drain to capture all the water flow not only from the driveway, but also from the gutters in the front of the house. That small pipe would commonly get covered with dirt / leaves and the flow from the down spout was undermining our driveway. This was doubly worrisome because the place it was undermining is in front of our door, so the buckling paving stones were a hazard to our guests. A&J Retaining Walls cut away the undermined concrete, replaced the (tiny) drain with a much larger one that wouldn't get covered as easily, buried the downspout in the front of our house and connected it to the drain, then re-poured concrete and reset the paving stones. It was a thoroughly professional job, completed in less than a day, and I would be happy to hire these folks again.

We have used them twice. They came to give us an estimate and it was very reasonable. The job was well done and they were very quick.

From the very beginning of this job when Jas came out to give us an estimate he put us at ease with his reasonable, thoughtful approach, intelligence and obvious experience. The job was started and finished on time and on budget. At the end of work each day the jobsite was left clean and safe. We were on site each day and Jas welcomed our input and questions. When we added the stump removal to the job Jas and his crew stayed for hours after their planned departure that day and finished a very difficult job with grit and determination. (Based on estimates for stump grinding I had gotten I believe we also saved about 50%) Jas was able to add the stump removal to the job on the fly because he owns and controls all the equipment he uses. After the stump removal, dirt work, drainage and wall construction were completed it took about two weeks for the wall to "cure" and become dry enough to apply the stucco. Jas came out twice to consult with us about color selection for the stucco. He made sure that his crew had prepared the stair sidewalls correctly for the stucco application. Upon completion of the stucco application (the "finishing touch" of the whole job) my wife and I were thrilled and completely satisfied with all aspects of this project. The cost was fair. The execution was timely and professional. The final result was an outstanding functional and aesthetic success. I would recommend this company with enthusiasm and without hesitation.

Jas and his crew were great to work with. The work was done on time and came out excellent.I had some concerns as to whether the hardscape could be done due to the slope of the ground but Jas made it work fine. They also reworked the gutter downspout drainage lines to get them out of the way. I would definitely recommend A&J Retaining Walls. In fact, I'm already thinking of having them back after the beginning of the year for another job. Thanks.

The job was completed quickly. Everything was cleaned up before the workman left the job. He even gave a finish coat to areas I was not expecting to be done. We are very happy with the job and will recommend A&J Retaining Walls to anyone who asks.

I found A&J's Retaining Wall Co on Angie's list. I was attracted by the number of positive reviews... I later learned he gives a discount after the fact if you write a review, so that may account for the number of reviews, but the positive comments were completely accurate. Jas (owner) handled the estimate and all details himself. He told us it would be about 3-4 weeks before he could get started, and that was exactly right. Once they started, they finished the project in a day and a half! Everyone involved was very professional. The finished product looks great, exactly what Jas and I discussed. We got estimates from a couple other companies, and Jas's came in right in the middle. Overall, I think we got high quality at a very fair price. Would use them again!

Jaswinder came out promptly after our call to see what we wanted done. They started work on the path soon after we learned we might need to use it shortly for wheelchair access. The next working day they started on the steps. They came back to make the beginning of the path more accessible to the wheelchair and to finish work on the steps.

Went very well. They showed up when they said they would, did what they said they would and were willing to make changes.

A&J retaining wall came out to view wall on short notice. They gave a window of time of when they were coming to view the wall and arrived a little early. At that time no one was home but were 5 minute away. They arrived and looked at wall then called to let us know they thought it was ok and did not need any immediate reinforcing. They would not wait 5 minutes for us to meet them and talk in person. They said that the squeezed in time to do the estimate and did not have time to wait. This was unfortunate but I would consider contacting them again in the future. I imagine if they think there is a job to be hired for they would spend the time to go over estimates with a customer.

Jaswinder came and discussed the project with me at length, took preliminary measurements, and sent an estimate. He provided me with estimates for three types of wall, including block wall, block wall with poured concrete cap (to allow fence installation on top of the wall), and poured concrete wall. Although the grade varies greatly along the perimeter of my yard, I wanted a wall that would follow a single level at the top rather than having ups and downs. So that I had future options for changes or additions (such as steps) to the wall, and significantly lower price, I chose the block wall. The A&J crew began work early and worked late into the day. They completed the wall in 2.5 days. They had to back an enormous dump truck into the narrow opening of my driveway and did so many times with ease (they might disagree). They had to direct traffic on a treacherous road while Mutual Materials used a forklift to unload the pallets of block from their truck and deposit it in the driveway. They kept material to one side so that I could use my garage. The wall is exactly what I wanted and as I envisioned it. Jaswinder took great care to ensure that the wall was built within my property line and did not encroach on neighbor property. He was perfectly agreeable when I changed my mind about the ending point of the wall. The crew did extra hauling of concrete and wood debris from my yard that was not even connected to the construction of the wall. The job involved a good deal of excavation at the property line and they were careful to leave my neighbor's yard completely undisturbed. The combination of grade variations and the change I made to the end point after the estimate had been made resulted in the need for additional material to complete the project. It was worth it to me to pay a little more ($220) for a job so well done and with so much extra effort applied. I could not be more pleased with their work.

Patio looked great. Was installe on time with no delays

We remain truly impressed and satisfied by the whole experience of meeting and working with Jas and A & J Retaining walls. His estimate was was the lowest, he and his crew were punctual and professional throughout, everyone worked swiftly and with exacting care and attention, they took extra care to minimize the impact of the work, and they were professionally and aesthetically knowledgeable. The completed courtyard/patio exceeds all expectations. I give A & J my highest recommendation. I recognize that a uniformly positive review can be suspect, but I have chosen words carefully. This is a thoroughly professional company, and I respect and admire its people.

I loved Jaswinder. He was willing to come out and give us a quote on a Saturday morning. (when we were both home) He was punctual, professional, had great suggestions to help us achieve what we were trying to do, gave us some realistic expectations, and asked us all the right questions to get out of us exactly what we wanted. He provided a professional quote electronically within a few days of meeting us, and scheduled our work to be done right after that. they were backlogged with work for 3 weeks but then moved us up on the schedule when another job he had finished early. we were so excited! Amazingly enough, all our work only took Jas and his crew 2 1/2 days to complete. we were blown away by how fast they worked. Our neighbors even commented on how they barely stopped to take a lunch.I only gave A&J a "B" on quality because of three teeny tiny things: they left some of the landscaping trash behind, they covered up our sewer access after we asked them to leave it exposed, and they forgot to raise our water vault to the meet the sidewalk level. These were our ONLY complaints. Those small things aside, the work was REALLY really well done, and his crew was kind, professional, and respectful. Jaswinder runs a quality business and we would (and will) hire him again in a heartbeat!

I contacted J&S based on reviews on Angies List. Jess met me at my home and we discussed the project. He's a friendly, knowledgable professional and I enjoyed talking with him. I selected a product called "Montana Flagstone" shown in the photos on the J&S website. A few days later he emailed an estimate to me. After thinking about it for a few days, I emailed Jess back and told him to go ahead. There was a delay in getting started due to some issue that required Jess to go out of town for several weeks, unexpectedly. However, I wasn't in a hurry, so it wasn't really a problem for me. Eventually, Jess got back in touch and we decided on a start date. I sent him a 10% deposit as a commitment. I gave him an additional 40% on the start date. Unfortunately, Jess informed me that the product we selected was not available. This is my first minor criticism. It seems to me that they should have figured this out well before the start date of the project. I also question displaying photos on your website without being aware that the product displayed isn't available. In any case, we managed to select another flagstone product, albeit at the last minute. On the first day, the J&S team completely demolished and removed the cinder block wall and hauled in and positioned the flagstone. I was actually kind of shocked at how fast they moved. I thought it would take longer to demolish and remove that wall. The team proceeded with mortaring the flagstone over the next few days. They made one final trip back to the house to clean everything up. My last minor criticism is that I wished Jess would have stayed in touch with me more while the work was in process. I never felt that I understood the status unless I called Jess,. I don't recall him ever contacting me during the course of the project. So, my advice, FWIW, is to give routine status updates to your clients during the course of the project. Anyway, this is small potatoes since we're happy with the results. The patio looks awesome. My wife and I love the colors in the flagstone. It's very attractive. I recommend J&S to anyone considering a new patio or walkway.

We chose A&J because from the very beginning Jas was very prompt and professional. He showed up five minutes early for our estimate appointment, which is a lot more than I can say for other companies we had come out and bid. The crew worked quickly; mostly while we were gone at work and consequently the entire process was pretty noninvasive. The job was done for the cost estimated, and in the time quoted (less than 3 days).

The front stairs to our house were wooden on a very step hill they were also parallel with the sidewalk. Very dangerous during the colder months when there was frost on the ground and very dark.. A&J did a great job with new retaining walls and stairs going straight up to the house, including lights in the stairs. I just love the job they did. It looks wonderful. So much better then I ever thought possible. There were very professional and did the job in half the time they said it would take. I would recommend this company to all of friends and family. They even came back and fixed a small portion of the sidewalk leading up to front door. I ask if they could widen the sidewalk leading up to the door and they did an excellent job using bricks to incorporate the old walkway. An Execellent Company to do business with. Absolutly love the lighs. Thank you A & J for a GREAT JOB!

From our first meeting for an estimate through to today's clean-up after the project was completed, working with Jaswinder and, today, his crew, was a pleasure. With the estimate, he sized up the project readily, and quickly had a detailed proposal to me. A few promptly-responded-to emails later, we had a project date set. Jaswinder and his crew arrived right on time this morning and set to work. Everyone pleasant and seemed to work well together. The job was relatively small but completed with care - I was pleasantly surprised at how great the finished wall looked and impressed with the quick, thorough clean-up. The wall is a retaining wall on the property line - the crew worked from the neighbor's side and on both sides of the wall the yard areas were tidily cleaned up. The crew took care around our mature plantings - no damage. My neighbor is now considering A&J Retaining Walls for other work they'd like done. I know we'd definitely hire Jaswinder's company again and will certainly recommend him. We've hired many contractors over the years - in our experience, Jaswinder and his team are among the very best.

It went great. Jaswinder was very communicative, keeping me appraised of all comings and goings. The work was completed more or less on time despite really bad weather. The driveway looks great

Jas did an excellent job working with us. We had our objectives in mind and a rough idea of an approach. Given the price of the project we wanted to get bids from three companies, however it is hard to align costs to compare when there are multiple approaches to fixing a problem. This meant we had to go back to Jas on multiple questions. We were a little thrown off by Jas at first because he didn't seem to really measure much or write things down versus other companies that had to come out twice and take a lot of time measuring and assessing. He seemed to be doing a casual once over. The interesting thing is that even looking at details like square feet of soil estimates he was right on with the other company. Jas is just really good at sizing up a situation quickly. The work was done when Jas estimated they would start and within the estimated timeframe. We only had one change order that we agree was not something that he (or the other companies) would have caught ahead of time. It was $2,000 for the change order and we were happy with his proposed resolution and how quickly they implemented the change. My husband & I both work, so we were not around to supervise during the day. Jas was in touch with us continually during the project to let us know progress and any questions that needed answers. We were very comfortable that they were doing a good job and we would not have an unpleasant surprise at the end of the day. The finished yard is far beyond what we expected. We were looking for a place the kids could play. What we have is beautiful. The fence (which is very attractive) makes it look like a large deck rather than just a backyard. Now that the rain has started we are happy to report - it drains! I no longer have to tell the kids they are not allowed to go back there 10 months out of the year.

It all went very well. I found company info on Anjie's list, talked with Jas on the phone, described him our requirements, gave our address. He stopped by, checked our backyard and gave us an estimate. We talked couple times on the phone and exchanged several emails to clarify details. They came as scheduled and did a good job.

The crew showed up on a Monday morning when prepared to work with expectations to be complete by weeks end. Each day workers arrived on time and went straight to work. The crew worked from 8:30 to 5 PM each day and progress was easily seen each day. Jas and his crew installed three 50 foot retaining walls and stairs using Manner Stone northwest blend block tied into and existing patio surrounded by a walking path with pea gravel. After the winter rains we look forward to planting much green and enjoying our back yard once more. A&J Retaining wall were very patient over the multiple times Jas came to review the job and our long time in making a decision to go with Jas and his crew. The team was very professional, on time and cleaned up as they proceed in the project. We looked at many companies but Jas gave us great sense of dedication and pride in his work. I highly recommend A&J Retaining wall for the outstanding quality work they completed for us.

A & J did an excellent job. The project was described to Jas by phone and email, and it was executed with perfection. This is a company, and a man, that you can trust completely. We couldn't be happier with the quality of the job, and it was completed within budget.

Jas was the only landscape professional we interviewed (out of about 6) who didn't seem bewildered by our backyard and what we wanted to do with it, and who actually submitted an estimate. He was positive, LISTENED to what we wanted to accomplish, and had ideas we had not thought of ourselves. He seemed smart and to be thinking creatively about how to make it work. For example, we do not have good access for heavy machinery to come into our backyard, and he was the only contractor we met with who realized if we took our back fence down, a Bobcat could be brought in from the back, down a neighbor's driveway. When we first met with him, his price seemed rather high, and his specialty is retaining walls and "moving dirt", so we interviewed several other people, hoping to find someone cheaper that we trusted who could also do landscape design and planting. But we didn't find that person, and our initial impression of Jas was very positive, so we hired him. It turned out to be a very good decision. Jas's team was the hardest working team I've seen. They arrived punctually at 8:30 each morning and stayed until late in the day, sometimes as late as 6 or so. Four guys were at our house every day, and they really worked non stop, except for a short lunch. Most of this work was very heavy labor, placing heavy concrete blocks, carrying buckets of gravel and dirt, and digging. The foreman did most of the wall building and things involving the most skill. The crew was courteous and able to answer questions about the project themselves, or phone Jas for clarification. After 1 day of seeing them work, I felt comfortable enough to leave for a camping trip with them literally tearing my backyard apart. That says a lot, I think. Another compliment I have for this company is they worked very hard to have minimal impact in the urban neighborhood I live in, where houses are very close together. They worked as quietly as possible, and tried not to inconvenience neighbors by where they parked and where materials were set (in parking strips). One piece of constructive criticism I have was that I wasn't fully aware of my color choices for materials until the week the project began. I would have liked to see the choices in person, rather than doing an internet search for the materials and trying to imagine what they might look like in my backyard. However, Jas was good at coordinating the delivery of materials, and when some of the delivered stuff was the wrong color, he quickly had this corrected to start the project on time. Though the project was finished in less time than originally estimated, it was more extensive than the original estimate, in terms of work done and cost. However, some of this was because of decisions we made (such as enlarging the patio). $1700 worth of work and materials was given to us complimentary. We are very pleased with the end result, and would hire this company again if we had another hardscaping project to do. I would definitely recommend them to a friend. I have listed the price as N/A, because unfortunately we didn't have any other bids to compare it against, even after meeting with 5 other people. UPDATE: 9/2011 I am updating my report a few weeks after the job has been completed. After the project was finished, I realized that a nearly vertical slope of dirt/rock/earth up top near the garden (that they dug out) is likely to erode over the winter if we don't build a small wall to support it. When I questioned Jas about this, he seemed somewhat dismissive, and thought that just digging the area in question so that it was a less than 45 degree angle and planting it would solve the erosion problem. 2 other contractors I asked about this, said that no, a wall must be built or it will likely erode. I gave Jas the benefit of the doubt and he sent his workers out to dig out that slope. When his workers returned, they did not dig out much at all, and it remains quite steep and unplantable. In the end, I think we will need to build a small wall up there, after all. In conclusion, I was very happy with the project overall, but a little disappointed with the follow through at the very end.

First they came and pulled up all of the existing ground cover and carefully took down our fence for reuse. Then they built the retaining wall, re installed the fence and filled it all in with fill dirt. Next they evened out the whole yard and brought in top soil for the sod and the gravel for the sides of the house. Finally they rolled in the sod, fertilized and watered it. The whole process took about 5 days. Jaswinder was very easy to work with, we got 4 or 5 estimates and he seemed the most knowledgeable and competent, and when his estimate came in slightly lower then the other company we were considering, we were elated. He and his employee's are very hard workers and incredibly efficient. We live in a cul-de-sac with many kids running around, they were very interested in what was going on, the A&J employee's were courteous to them and didn't seemed to be bothered by them at all. Overall my husband and I were quite pleased with the whole process and very excited to now have a usable backyard!