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"In September 2024, I contracted with Scott C. McIntyre, the owner of Landscape Solutions to do landscaping work at my residence in Los Altos, Ca. The work consisted of replacing existing retaining walls and steps in my back yard and installing a new patio on an already flattened area on the hill in my back yard. Mr. McIntyre declared the work completed on November 4, 2024 although there remained issues with incomplete and substandard work and failure to adhere to rules imposed by the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB). I have filed a complaint (currently not resolved) with the CSLB. I paid Landscape Solutions $56,385.41 of a Total Contract Estimate cost of $58,790.00 (with a not to exceed clause of $60,000) with final payment to be made when the project was completed to my satisfaction. The project was never completed to my satisfaction with some (not all) of the outstanding issues described in this review. ISSUES WITH WORK QUALITY - NON-CODE COMPLIANT, SUBSTANDARD, NOT COMPLETE 1. The Guard Rail over the lower retaining wall is not building code compliant. The most serious issue with the work that Landscape Solutions did was that the guard rail built over a retaining wall does not meet building code and is not child safe. A picture of the guard rail is shown in the review I posted on Yelp (posted with a one star rating on January 20, 2025), but I am not able to show a picture on an Angi's List review. The guard rail is made up of vertical posts spaced approximately 45 inches apart and two horizontal rails between the vertical posts. The upper horizontal rail above the surface of the newly built patio forms the top of the guard rail. A second horizontal rail below it is halfway between surface of the patio and the top of the guard rail, leaving two large gaps between the horizontal rails, each gap approximately 19 inches wide. Code dictates the maximum gap in the guard rail is 4 inches. A child could easily fall through the large gap in the guard rail to the level below. A baby crawling on the patio could plunge head first off the patio to the lower level and be seriously injured. I emailed a picture of the completed retaining wall and guard rail to my city's Building Code Enforcement Division and inquired if it was building code compliant. A Code Enforcement Division representative replied with an email message (Client can provide the actual email message). Following text is from the email message: "The rail needs to be 42" high and there needs to be a maximum of 4" between the horizontal rails. The fence as shown does not meet the standards and intermediate rails need to be added." -----End of quote from email message sent by city's Code Enforcement Division------- NOTE: ALLOWING A CONTRACTOR WHO DOES NOT KNOW THE BUILDING CODES TO BE LICENSED PUTS THE PUBLIC IN DANGER. 2. Incomplete and substandard work i. There are areas with no pavers, just dirt, adjacent to the lower retaining wall. Contractor fixed some but not all areas along the newly built lower retaining wall. A picture showing an example of this issue is shown on my Yelp review but I am not able to show a picture on an Angi's List review. The picture shows where paving stones should have been installed next to the retaining wall. ii. Gate not installed in lower retaining wall. The retaining wall that was being replaced had a gate. I called this to Mr. McIntyre's attention in a reply message to his message that the project was complete. He replied in an email message that he would replace the gate. iii. In doing the work, Landscape Solutions workers moved items (e.g., wooden glider bench, other patio benches, chairs, patio table, an umbrella stand) from the flattened hill area to other parts of the back yard. I requested that the items be returned to their original locations. Mr. McIntyre, in an email message, agreed to do so. This was not done. Returning items moved to their original location should be a standard part of Landscape Solutions clean-up work upon completion of a project. ISSUES WITH NON-ADHERENCE TO CONTRACTORS STATE LICENSE BOARD REGULATIONS In items 3 and 4 below, quoted text is from Contractors State Licensing Board publication "Contracting for Success", which was downloaded from the CSLB website. 3. Contractor did not give buyer a copy of the signed contract as CSLB requires. "Before any work is started, the contractor must give the buyer a copy of the contract signed and dated by both the contractor and the buyer." 4. On the day work began, Contractor asked for payment of $15,000 along with the signed contract. "Except for a down payment, a contractor can't demand or accept payment for work or materials until the work is actually done or the materials are delivered. The down payment may not exceed $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract amount, whichever is less." Contractor gave following reason why he asked for $15000 at start of project. Quote is directly from an email message he sent client. Client can provide the actual email message. Text of email message from Mr. McIntyre, in quotes: "My son is out of state at college and it is very expensive. My cash flow and bank account funds do not allow me to pay for your materials before delivery and pay my payroll in advance of getting paid by you if this is what the CSLB requires." --------End of quote from email message sent by Mr. McIntyre-------------- 5. Contractor made additional changes not in contract without a change order being added to the contract. Contractor's office manager then billed client for the unauthorized work. The Contractors State Licensing Board publication "Terms of Agreement A Consumer Guide to Home Improvement Contracts" (downloaded from the CSLB website) states the following: "Extra Work and Change Orders become part of the contract once the order is prepared in writing and signed by the parties prior to the commencement of any work covered by the new change order.""

"Frank was great, responded promptly, arrived right on time, and did a great job. Plus, he is really nice guy."

"Our large deck was sorely neglected - no maintenance in at least 8 years - and I worried it was beyond help or would be cost-prohibitive to rehabilitate. Rupert and Michael breathed new life into it! Rupert (company principle) is very responsive, and he was able to give a quick informal estimate based on some photos and I texted. This made it very easy to start working together right away. Now the deck looks beautiful, and they were able to stain our wooden deck furniture to match. Great makeover for our deck and lovely folks to work with!"

"Ox Construction was such an absolute pleasure to hire, easy to communicate with, and did eve try thing I wanted and more, plus he got the project done at a lightning speed at a rate that was flexible with what my needs were. I needed a couple rooms in my house painted, it all looked even, the trim was immaculate. I’m thrilled. Side note; I find hiring different trade workers, getting multiple bids from different companies etc. is at the end of the day quite taxing. But Brandon? He can do it all! Painting, carpentry, welding ALL OF IT! So whatever my household needs and fixes are in the future I have an easy to work with one stop shop to contact! 10/10 would recommend."

"Great results, got the job done faster than expected."

"Amazing work and worked with my budget my bedroom looks exactly how I wanted it. I definitely recommend!"

"Manny is the best you can trust. He provides a high quality service in time. His team is nice, and they focus on details of painting. We're happy after the works done. Manny is honest, knowledgeable and professional you can have faith on him. I picked the right guy."

"I found Melvin by chance after looking for several contractors to paint our townhome (prices were outrageous, between 17k-35k) to paint a 1800sq ft place with very high ceilings in places. Painting was very reasonable at about $9500 plus materials (at about $3000). Their quality of work patching holes big and small, making cracks on the wall look like it never happened, and their attention to detail was unmatched while painting baseboards, door trims, walls and ALL our cabinetry (bathrooms and kitchen). Melvin is a perfectionist! I have never been able to say that about any painter. I know that if you are reading this it will be hard for you to grasp how great this company is. But let me give you peace of mind: YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. THEY HAVE LOADS of pictures of their work for reference. They also have the most awesome handyman (Josue) and the counter top guy (Marvin).. he was incredible and very skilled at refinishing 3 bathroom counter tops. They are very organized and clean up after themselves. I truly feel that I was the luckiest person to have found them and they turn my home into an absolute gem 💎. Please give them a chance. I know how stressful it can be, to be amidst selling your home plus finding the right people to give your place some upgrades. This company was an absolute great find."

"Wonderful! From the estimate of our job, paint choices, to the completion of our work. Communication was clear, job completed in a timely manner, the crew was exceptional, polite, courteous and good work ethic. (We lived in our home while the job was being completed and the crew respected us and our home.) The pricing was very competitive and we would use Diaz Professional Painting for all future painting needs. We highly recommend Felipe and his crew!"

"Great job. Communication was excellent. I received an estimate immediately. I was reminded the night before of the appointment. I had a phone call the day of regarding the arrival time. Would hire again."