SALENS LANDSCAPING

Was chose because of glitzy YP ad. Wish I had belonged to AL back then )-:
Salem was very professional when giving us a quote for the work
It all went south from there

1. Used what had to be undocumented worker
The finished surface looked as if it was their first time laying concrete. It looks even showier today
F

2. Sump pump instalation.

3.
Electrical work
A

Broke a high-end low volt like but just placed the broken part on top
Noticed after work completed and contacted Salen
First said they didn't; break it but then agreed to replace it
Toldme it was unavailable
We agreed to an amount for breakage
Later looked it up online and found it with a price far more than what we agreed to.
Salen obviously lied because of cost
F

3. Cheesy. Just a few sprayers with out stakes that missed a fair amount of area
I tore it all outand replaced it myself because I was warn with haggling
FFF (if there is such a grade)

We received an job estimate from Salen the owner.  He called the day before his people were to do the job.  He and his employees arrived and he told them in a foreign language the job that needed to be done.  He left.  Three days later the three slow moving employees left without a word at 3pm each day.  The place was a mess with dirt from the patio to the street; it was obvious the dirt would wash down into the drains and clog them again unless it was packed down and rocks or gravel was placed to prevent erosion.  They did not return on day 4, I called Salen and told him I was not happy.  They returned to clean up the mess, place some rocks, reset some of the stepping stones level, remove the dirt that covered one step on the patio and do some general clean up.  They replaced one of the 3x3 ft stepping stones with a drain.  Now I needed to hop over the drain to get to the pool equipment.  They said that was the lowest point so it had to be that way. 

I turned the sprinklers back on.  The next day I noticed my back lawn sprinklers did not work.  Approx. 4 feet from a sprinkler pipe they broke had water coming up through the ground to the surface.  I let Salen know of the two sprinkler problems.  The sprinklers worked just fine prior to his people breaking several sprinkler pipes when they were digging the trench for the drain.  He maintains the pipe problems are due to root growth and this caused the pipes to compress and lose pressure.  He agreed to come over and look at it but he would not change his mind.  Common sense tells me, if I patch the pipes but the sprinklers no longer work correctly, then the damage from digging is beyond just a quick pipe patch or they have compressed one of the other pipes below the one they cracked.  They covered it up and said nothing.  Once I complained about the ground leak and sprinklers not working,  they put the blame on the roots and not their work.

We contracted Salens for a complete backyard landscaping, including irrigation and a lawn. They broke my gate and the concrete patio when they drove over it with a bobcat. The repaired the concrete, but did not replace the whole block, so there is a huge crack in it now. They splattered concrete all over my house and did not clean it up. When I had them come back, he offered to "paint over the splatters". The lawn is shoddy, full of weeds now (1 yr after install). The drainage is mediocre, it works in some places and not in others. I had a large area of my lawn under water this winter, because of bad drainage. When I contacted them, I was told that the warranty was expired. The built a ne gate, but made me pay $500, even though they broke it. The gate does now not close, it hangs crooked and one of the boards is split. I had a large wrought iron fence in the back that I wanted moved. They cut it up and placed it against my deck, which looked ridiculous. They also cut out one section of the fence to accommodate a ramp to the deck, which I asked them to remove ahead of time. They then removed the ramp, AFTER the concreted the iron fence in place. The fence became useless, a $3500 loss. I asked to have topsoil added around the edge of the lawn, so I could plant, they gave me 1/4" of dust.... I could go on and on... Please do not use them!

We went with the middle bidder on this small landscaping project for our backyard, and while the workers showed up when they were supposed to, the work took about a week longer to complete than promised. Also, the workers didn't speak much English, and my husband was having to watch them very closely, because they were constantly trying to cut corners. The drainage system was mediocre, the exposed aggregate patio and walkway were not level, the weed block was not laid so that it overlapped (leaving large gaps in between where we now have to deal with weeds), and the sod was not laid properly (the rows did not meet each other closely, so we have gaps in our lawn). We're glad we finally have the backyard landscaped, but it wasn't a very high quality job.

We went with the middle bidder on this small landscaping project for our backyard, and while the workers showed up when they were supposed to, the work took about a week longer to complete than promised. Also, the workers didn't speak much English, and my husband was having to watch them very closely, because they were constantly trying to cut corners. The drainage system was mediocre, the exposed aggregate patio and walkway were not level, the weed block was not laid so that it overlapped (leaving large gaps in between where we now have to deal with weeds), and the sod was not laid properly (the rows did not meet each other closely, so we have gaps in our lawn). We're glad we finally have the backyard landscaped, but it wasn't a very high quality job.

I was sucked in by a fancy Yellow Page ad. The sump well was good and has been effective. The cement finish work done over the installed drain, is of an inferior quality. They damaged an expensive outdoor light and tried to hide the damage. They wouldn't replace the light. They gave me a discount. The entire transaction felt ''oily'' I had reservations when Salen came out and did the estimate, but didn't follow my gut feeling. There was a language barrier with the sullen foreman. I blame myself for the work because I authorized it. I've had nine contractors doing indoor and outdoor work in the last 16 years. This was the first time, I was dissatisfied with the work done. I just wanted them finished and gone.

I THINK THIS COMPANY DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB. I HAVE BEEN USING THEM FOR A LONG TIME NOW AND THEY HAVE NEVER LET ME DOWN. I ALSO THINK THAT THEY OFFER THE BEST RATES IN TOWN.