We hired DSLD about a year and a half ago to do some landscaping, hardscaping, and repair of damaged sidewalks and curbs. We needed some plantings on a hard-to-access hillside because we had a problem with weeds on the barren landscape there. The bid also included cutting down a couple of small trees on the hillside. We had a 3-feet diameter transient pool of standing water in the backyard, and had some broken sidewalks and curbs. We thought his price was high, but we were rather desperate to get our problem solved efficiently and thought he would deliver. We didn't do our due diligence, which is entirely on us. I should have recognized that we were not off to a good start when I stated I wanted a day or two to think about the proposal and he added pressure to sign the agreement that day, which we ended up doing. His team of workers for the landscaping portion, which included at least one of his sons, were efficient, pleasant, responsive, and professional. They did what was proposed, and some of the work was ultimately very helpful (the subterranean drain eliminated a 3-yard diameter pool of water in the back yard) and/or structurally sound (e.g., storm drain covers no longer fall into the drains). However, some of the work didn't accomplish what we stated we wanted. For example, they cut down a couple of small trees at ground level; the trees almost immediately grew back, requiring us to spend even more time on the precarious hillside to deal with them. David suggested we chop it up, add root killer, etc., but the whole point of paying him 50K was for him to get rid of the tree. It was our understanding that he was going to install a weed barrier on the hillside. When we inquired about the barrier during the course of the work, he told us that was not appropriate to install a physical barrier on the hillside; he said he would go back and spray something to help with weeds. This was surprising to us, since there had been a physical barrier there in the past and he didn't tell us he wasn't planning to install one this time. Millions more weeds grew back amongst the tiny plantings he installed; when we inquired, he suggested that we should get out there and weed the hillside for a few years until the plantings fill in and its longer necessary. 1.5 years later, we are still drowning in weeds. While I understand that it takes time for plantings to grow, the frustrating part is that none of this was communicated in advance when we were sharing our problems and the solution we wanted. The sidewalks and curbs were a big part of the job; unfortunately, they don't look good to me. We found out later that David hired someone he hadn't worked with before to do the sidewalk repairs; the job was totally unsatisfactory to us and to David. To address the terrible work, David's team revised the work and did improve the situation, but I think it really should have been entirely redone. I am still not happy with the sidewalk and curbs. I hoped that somehow it would get better over time, hence the delay in posting this review. Also, I was concerned about the bright white concrete he used to smooth over the steps of our historic home. The pictures below show how it looks one and one-half years later, as I hoped it would mellow over time as he said it would. It has, but I still think this job is inappropriate for the setting and I wish I'd understood more about how this would really look. As I walk around our neighborhood and see my neighbors' sidewalks and other hardscaping, it underscores my belief that DSLD did poor work on the key hardscaping elements, and failed to either understand or know now to adequately address some of concerns. A couple of months ago, we asked David to come back out to reevaluate the work on the sidewalks and curbs, and the very small hardscape patio where he added concrete between the stones, which were cracked within a short time. He said the curbs were chipped due to cars hitting them, and that he could superficially repair them but that the problem would recur and the color wouldn't match. While I believe that cars hit them, I don't believe the damage had nothing to do with the way the curb was built. I could be wrong about this; I am not a curb builder. In the end, we spent $50K of our hard-earned dollars for what I think is worth about 10-15K at the most--I'm really glad that a few parts of the job were helpful. I've had lots of work done around our home that was performed by a wide variety of contractors, including a large interior remodel. In the case of DSLD, I believe that we overpaid for suboptimal work. Going forward, I will require a line-by-line proposal, with each item very clearly defined and I will obtain at least two bids read less
Martha Anne R.
