Aesthetic Gardens

This contractor is an absolute disaster - please proceed with extreme caution. We signed contracts in 2014 and after 2.5 years and a total wreckage left our my back yard, we finally fired this contractor and are moving ahead with an alternative supplier. To date, we have spent more than $180,000 with this company, and after 2.5 years and a long and difficult process of trying to get them to finish the work, we stopped. During this time, one of the partners was bizarrely arrested and disappeared from our project, we were 'Red tagged' by the City of Morgan Hill due to their incompetence (and this too ONE YEAR to remove, and then only after I threatened legal action). This company does not tell the truth about when they will do anything; they fail to respond to constant emails and phone calls, and cannot see that all we want is for them to finish the project and leave. The current status is that our backyard looks like Beirut - there is mess and garbage everywhere, abandoned tools and a porta-potty, unplanted plants and dying plants that were previously planted. Our hot tub has been unused for TWO YEARS despite pleas to connect it. We have been presented with 6 separate project plans since 2014, none of which were delivered against. This company is simply not competent at landscape, hardscape, design, electrical or landscape projects. They are economical with the truth, they lack basic project management capability and perhaps most disturbing, are appalling communicators. We are now considering our next steps in seeking restitution, but I strongly advise anyone reading this project to ask them to explain how they handled the project for Mr. [member name removed] at [member info removed] - sign a contract with them at your own peril!! DANGER! The final straw was discovering that he hadn't paid invoices for work delivered/supplied to our house. We had a desperate concrete contractor knock on our door one Friday night demanding money. We have settled out of court with two suppliers already for invoices we had previously paid him to process, and which he didn't. At one level, this is theft, but when you personally are faced with a lien on your property because he didn't pay the bills, then you knida don't have much choice. Finally, this company also operates as 'Aesthetic Garden of Willow Glen/San Jose, and the principal is Mr. Marc Bauman.

This work happened several years ago, but I remember everything going very smoothly. Marc was extremely friendly and easy to talk to, he kept us updated about plans and progress, and he and his subcontractors were very courteous and professional. If we ever had a question, we could always get in touch with him, either by phone or email. The complete overhaul of our backyard took about 5 weeks (there was some delay with certain materials that could not be predicted or avoided), and we were very happy with the outcome. At one point, Marc didn't like the work that one of the subcontractors did regarding the wall of the raised planter (made of stone), so he made them re-do it. I really appreciated that.

We had a number of miscommunications along the way as to what materials would be used and what the exact scope of the work was. This project dragged on for 5 months and the majority of the time there were only one or two guys working here. It took them almost two months to lay the flagstone. The two worked admitted that they didn't have much experience with flagstone. The painters only painted half of the fence and it took them seven weeks to come back and finish. It?s only been a few months since the job was finished, but a number of the plants are dead. There are also plants that are noticeably unevenly spaced, a piece of flagstone is cracked, the flagstone grout is crumbling in places and there are much larger than normal grout lines in a few very visible areas. When we initially met with the owner, we stated that we had spent many hours cutting out weeds by hand from our back patio and were assured that they could solve the problem by redoing the sand and applying a sealer. When they were done and weeds were growing back everywhere he insisted that we had to use an herbicide. If we wanted to use poison we would have just done it and saved the 4K, as there is nothing wrong with the pavers themselves. Then they suggested using organic weed killers that clearly state they aren?t for use on concrete and brick as they could stain. When we complained about paying for work on a patio that is once again full of weeds, they alleged that our dog bit several of the workers. Our dog has never bitten anyone and I think I would have heard about it at the time if it happened.

The project went extremely well. The existing roof was removed, cleaned , covered for rain protection, framed and roofed the next day. The siding, windows and shingles were installed on the third day and by the fourth day of construction the electrical, insulation and drywall were installed. The job was completed on the fifth day of the week. They were clean, fast and respectful. Real Boy Scouts! I couldn't recommend them more.

After working with Aesthetic Gardens to create a plan for our backyard, Bauman Builders was brought in to carry out the work. Marc Bauman was responsible for overseeing the project, scheduling the contractors, ensuring their progress and quality, and communicating with us. He is really a nice guy with a sound work ethic and good attention to detail. He is excellent at communication, and from what I can gather, a very trustworthy individual. Most of the work went according to schedule, and when it didn't he kept us informed via email and phone. He was patient and understanding when answering any questions we had (no matter how simple), and we enjoyed working with him. In addition, we are very happy with the work that he and his company performed. (At one point during the construction, the stone planter had been finished, but when he inspected it, he found some places where he was not happy with the quality. He had the crew come back and redo certain portions, recutting pieces of stone so that they would fit better.)

I contacted Rick to discuss redoing our backyard and get a feeling of how he and his team worked. At our initial meeting, he talked about how the kinds of things we could do in our backyard, but he mostly talked about how he works. His approach is to listen intently to what people say they want/need, to assess how they will use their space, and then give his input. He wants to first listen to the client, and then come back with ideas. I appreciated this, especially after having talked with several other landscape designers who did not work like this. Throughout the planning stage, Rick worked at our pace. He didn't have a specific timeline to stick to, and he wanted to make sure we were getting out of the project what we wanted/expected. As we narrowed down our thoughts, he went with me to see different kinds of stones for the hardscape, all the while fielding my amateur questions about plants, umbrellas, pests, etc. He is very personable. After several meetings with him and his team members, we were ready to get started on the project. He worked closely with Bauman Builders on the construction of the plan, which could not have gone more smoothly. Rick was always accessible via email and phone, and the team was quick to keep us updated on the progress of our backyard, as well as anything that wasn't going according to plan. They were very easy to talk to - something I appreciated since I tend to dislike any form of confrontation - and I always felt like I could ask them questions about anything happening. We are very happy with the outcome of our backyard renovation and would definitely hire them again for other projects in the future. The reason I gave them a "B" for price is that I don't think they are the cheapest. However, the fact that they were so easy to communicate with, really listened to us, and worked at our pace made me hire them to begin with and made me less occupied with the price.

Got an estimate for re-landscaping of front yard. Seemed very knowledgeable, but very expensive. Out of our price range, so did not use.

Overall, Rick Evans, was personable and his excellent project management skills meant that I didn't have to worry about anything "falling through the cracks."

Mark and his guy's were great, they were on the lower side of the bids we got. We did a kitchen and bath remodel, the demo was done and they covered everything so we had almost no dust in rest of the house. The guys he has working for him are really nice and no foul language. It took about eight weeks but he brought in proffesional plumber, electrical and drywall people. The job looks really good i would use them in a heartbeat. Jason is the coordinator and does most of the calls, he always got right back to us with any questions we had.

Bauman Builders was great to work with. They were extremely detailed oriented, wonderful to work with. I would definitely hire them again. The general contractor was there supervising and building right alongside his crew. He oversaw all details to make sure the project was completely perfectly.