Stony Ridge Landscaping

Very well. Careful, quality work. Took a little longer than average because only one worker, but no annoying power tools. Very polite and knowledgeable worker.

     Projects went well overall. Dave Rigero, owner, performed all work himself (except for moving one large stone, for which he employed help from a young tech school student). Careful, neat, meticulous, and thoughtful, Dave worked steadily at removal of exisitng stones and excavating carefully entirely with hand tools--no noisy power equipment. He understood the projects' challenges in trying to match up existing drainage angles and in making the work  blend in with the 200-year-old farmhouse. Dave explained his process clearly and thoughtfully, and he always asked my opinion when he was faced with a challenge. We were easily able to reach agreement on how to handle several issues, such as how to treat the low area under the stairs and how best to manage grade angles from existing work to new work. We had chosen random-pattern granite pavers for the walkway, and Dave was able to find an old granite curbstone to finish the driveway end of the walk. Everything works together very well--the pavers and the curbstone  complement the farmhouse's back entrance. Drainage at the site is much improved as a result of Dave's work--we had no standing water after the hurricane.
     The stone pathway re-set was a relatively simple task, since we wanted to keep the same curve as the original. Dave lifted the stones, set them aside the pathway, excavated and filled to raise the grade, then re-set the stones. He understood the emotional attachment we had to both the stones themselves and the pathway, which had been originally laid about a hundred years ago by our great-grandparents.
     The under-deck patio was the greatest challenge, because Dave had to match up grade angles with two existing concrete pads, one at the base of a second-floor stairway and one at the entrance to the cellar, along with the angles from the newly-laid stone walkway and the  hundred-year-old granite blocks of the back doorsteps. Excavation yielded some interesting family artifacts, which Dave put aside for us and which offered occasions for some interesting conversations. The original plan for the under-deck patio was to use the same random-pattern granite pavers as the new walkway. Dave had some brick-colored random-sized pavers left over from another job, which he suggested using in the patio plan, and the result was a pleasing yet understated variation that set off the patio from the walkway without a stark demarcation.  The patio project was the biggest job of the three and took the most time and effort, especially since there were so many days of rain that prevented work. In general, Dave's work takes time because of his care and thoughtfulness and because he does all the work  by himself.   
     Aside from his neat work, softspoken manner, and understanding of our goals for the projects, Dave demonstrated his kindness and humanity in helping us get my invalid mother in and out of the house in her wheelchair while the back walk was under construction. Honest and reliable, Dave's work demonstrates his dedication to his craft and his appreciation for historic structures.  We were very pleased with all the work he did for us and for his suggestions as the work progressed.