GREEN WITH IVY

I do not believe Mike Cicero continues to do business as Green with Ivy but may have another business name at this time. Like the other reviewer for this company, we were very impressed with Mike when we worked with him. He was very punctual with our meeting, drew up a beautiful landscape plan and changed things at our request, and had his team here as scheduled with work done in 2 weeks as promised. He renewed my faith in working with contractors, as I had trouble even getting them to show up for projects on my previous home in another state. He had given us several references of recently installed yards, and we did go and look at a few of them and even had a chance to speak with homeowners before we selected him to do the work. A couple of plants died relatively quickly, and he responded with replacements immediately. I think the landscaping was done well and actually would recommend him for that work, but he misrepresented his skills in the deck-building area. There is one area of the yard we have trouble keeping plants alive in, so it may just be a drainage issue, but the majority of the trees and shrubs he installed are alive and well.The first issue with the deck was that hardware used to secure the deck to the house actually punctured a pipe leading from our garbage disposal in the kitchen. We had called our home warranty folks about the issue, because we just knew there was a leak, and the fellow who came out actually fixed it, so we only informed Mike about it after the fact. About 3 years into use, the deck started showing signs of warping. I researched and found information online about problems with some Trex batches during the time period of our install, so I thought it might be a product issue. We took an observation approach. Now, it has been almost 6 years since install, and the deck is having obvious serious issues. I had a deck specialist come out and assess, and he was sure the deck was not permitted from what he was seeing - lack of support in some areas, incorrect splicing of support beams, incorrect hardware usage in framing and in deck boards, incorrect gaps in deck boards, some support beams upside down, lack of soil impaction in some areas, etc. I researched and found the deck permit and 2 inspections done by the town. I think there is a 2-fold problem with Mike and his crew's lack of expertise in deck building and the building inspectors not completing their tasks accurately either. The quote we have to fix the deck is about the same as we paid to install the deck in the first place.

When we first met Mike, we were very impressed. His detailed artistic sketch of our backyard layout was impressive. Furthermore, we felt his price was reasonable, and he guaranteed his plants for one year from the date of install. We were eager to get started. We hired him in May, and he stated he would begin submitting permit applications immediately. We were very pleased that he volunteered to handle this process. About three weeks later, after hearing nothing from Mike, we checked with the city and our homeowners association to see if our applications had been approved. Mike had actually not submitted any applications to anyone. This should have been our first sign that we chose the wrong guy. We asked him for a status, and he assured us that he had indeed submitted them. He quickly submitted the plans, and they were approved. He told us he would be starting our yard in two weeks. Fast forward three weeks. Still, no word from Mike. I contacted him, and he stated that they would be starting very soon. Finally, about two weeks later, the project started. In total, it took about 7 days to install. Although we had waited for three months for him to begin, the yard looked beautiful! We were so pleased, and thought that perhaps it was worth the wait. After going through the winter season and into spring the next year (about 6 months later), we found that all of our bushes had died. Despite our attempting to water them with the rootfeeder he had installed, they simply would not be revived. Furthermore, a couple trees were not coming back either. We immediately contacted Mike, certain that he would enforce his guarantee. After a week, we still never heard back. A couple of months later, our patio stairs began to cave in and break loose. Again, I called Mike and left a message. Again, a week went by with no response. I tried sending him an e-mail with no response again. After repeating this process several times, I left a final message with Mike stating that I would like to get things taken care of, and although I was not threatening him, I was indeed seeking resolution. A couple of months ago, we saw Mike's truck in the neighborhood, apparently performing an estimate for a neighbor in his shiny truck with Green With Ivy emblazoned on the side. We tried phoning his cell again, which he sent straight to voicemail. Another e-mail sent, another e-mail ignored. Mike has proven to be unreliable, unprofessional, and unfortunately, almost unhuman. We are not a wealthy family, and feel we have been scammed for a large amount of money. Mike's ethics are almost non-existent. I could not recommend Mike or his company, Green With Ivy, LLC, to anyone. His business practices show a lack of integrity and conscience, which is appalling even in today's world.