Habiscapes

We tried getting few quotes from different landscaping company and had hard time getting commitments on their calendar for over a year until we found Michael from Habiscapes. He was very professional, knowledgeable, organized, trustworthy and easy to work with. [*** Link removed ***] After reviewing the landscaping design in September, we got on his calendar for first week in June and he was spot on to start the work as planned. Michael gave excellent design suggestions to work on our project with native plants, habitat, steep slope design and keeping the budget in mind. Michael’s entire crew was very professional starting with his team supervisor James and rest of the crew Taylor and couple other guys, Who all did an extraordinary job. They all were always sharp on time in the morning at 8:30 am and packed up sharp at 4:30 pm giving us heads-up on the work planned for the next days and where we were on the schedule. This helped me and my husband plan our work schedules etc. They all worked hard moving huge boulders from the front to the back slopes, setting large few feet wide stepping stone slabs steps carefully so they do not damaged out front driveway. They did complete sprinkler work and setup vegetable beds. They completed our project as planned and updating us as they went where the sprinklers were and how to maintain the new landscaping for long term. They left our property and our neighborhood clean without leaving any mess. Couple of our neighbors were also impressed and already have started to work with Michael on their landscaping projects. Writing reviews is not my thing, but this crew were fabulous and deserve highest recommendation that anyone would be looking in a great landscaping company. I am already planning to work with them on my back patio paver project next. Thank you Michael and crew!!

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We purchased our home sight unseen and after a few outrageous quotes we chose Habiscapes primarily because of Michael's easy going demeanor and commitment to stay within our budget. Our builder grade backyard turned into a beautiful oasis and we really enjoyed learning from him about which plants would thrive in this area - how respectful the team was of our dogs & neighbors (being sure to clean up any rocks, dirt, etc. on our street) and for making our home a pollinator friendly spot Huge thanks also to Kim, James & crew - it's so beautiful guys!!

The first time the year before was fine. The 2nd years,they put in the wrong shrubs. They left the water on and drown some of the plants. When I tried to work it out with the owner. He was to come out and I was to show him. My wife was there and he made a big deal about me not being there. Very unhappy with the work and his attitude.

Planning for the project was thorough and done to ensure my expectations would be met. Michael worked with me and his employees together during the entire project to make sure all was being done according to plan, making changes as needed when asked. The work started and finished on schedule. His employees were very professional and enjoyable to work with and even though the work was very extensive, they always kept both the front and back areas neat and clean so as to minimize the impact on us and our neighbors.

Very well. Owner and crew were very professional. Work was done as agreed and for price quoted.

Habiscapes did an excellent job for us. They got on the job and stayed on the job till it was done. They were a pleasure to work with on our project. They also follow up on their work to make sure everything continues to be satisfactory. They did a beautiful job. The Habiscapes owner and crew are very hard working and pay attention to every detail. We really appreciated them and do refer them to friends and family!

Would I work with Michael Wiegand again? Yes….In a heart beat. I’ve worked with contractors my entire career and Michael gets an A+. The work he and his crew completed included renovating the front yard to improve the builder standard grass and ugly plants, redoing the entire side yard and installing an entire new backyard. Michael was great in giving me a solid estimate, making recommendations to improve the concept plus cost effective alternates, extremely knowledgeable in making my ideas become reality plus working to maintain my budget. I appreciated his constant communication during the project to keep me informed. Some of the issues with my yard were do to my neighbors and Michael and his crew even solved those to help improve my yard. Talk about going the extra mile. The completed project is the envy of the neighborhood and one of my friends even said it looks a an HGTV showcase. Great work Habiscapes.

This was the most professional and efficient company I could’ve ever hoped for they did the fast affective job exactly what I had asked for and encouraged a lot more ideas that I seriously plan to Consider.

Our medium-to-large project took two weeks and involved landscaping the back yard of our brand new home. Michael and his crew at Habiscapes do amazing work! The team is skilled and meticulous in everything they do and really went the extra mile to make sure we were satisfied customers. The team is helpful, flexible, and collaborative when minor design tweaks were needed and offered helpful advice. They show up on time and are thoughtful, considerate, friendly, and hardworking. We had quotes from other vendors for our work, but went with Habiscapes because of their reputation on Angie's List and because we really enjoyed working with Michael. He is clearly passionate about his work and is a fair business partner. Michael and his crew focus on one job at a time, which was important to us. In the end, the little extra we paid was well worth it. We are very happy with the quality of the final end product and feel we got a tremendous value. We plan to use Habiscapes in the future for our front yard. You will not be disappointed with Habiscapes!

We were so excited to find Habiscapes for our backyard paver project. Michael Wiegand came on site in one day's notice to review our space and listen to our ideas. While he provided excellent design options, he didn't try to change our plan or give us something beyond our scope. He gave us catalogs to review so we could see photos and select the stone products that would work for our space. We knew we wanted to award Habiscapes the job, as it was clear Michael and his team were experienced and educated in every facet of landscaping, from plant selection to stonework and water features. Once we hired Habiscapes, Michael and his team of dedicated workers prepared the backyard area for a patio floor, a sitting area, and a propane fireplace. The workers arrived early as scheduled and removed existing plant materials and a large grapevine and arbor. The lawn was protected with wood planks before any equipment was brought in for dirt removal. Every phase of the project was planned, organized, and carried out with precision. They even removed some existing debris and concrete we had left in the yard from a DIY project--at no extra charge. The Habiscapes team worked tirelessly each day, and we were given plenty of options and feedback along the way. Michael kept us apprised of the progress and any changes that could possibly affect the bid, and his Foreman, James, was engaged and informative for every task. Michael is down to earth, competitive, and has an amazing team of professionals working for him. We loved that Michael works as a hands-on manager--getting in with the guys to perform the work rather than telling them what to do. The project took only one week, and we are so pleased with the outcome. We have a beautiful, custom flagstone paver patio, a custom seating bench and wall, and a cozy and functional fireplace to enjoy. The entire experience was so positive, and we can't wait to have the team back to repair a stone wall and build a custom water feature for us. We highly recommend Habiscapes!

Michael Wiegand of Habiscapes is the very best in town. A+++++. Having experienced a nightmare scenario with a previous landscaper, I was in desperate need of a reliable replacement company late in 2017. With winter coming, Habiscapes jumped in, and did a tremendous amount of hardscaping in just 2 weeks. They then returned this spring to complete the project over the last 2 weeks. The project was quite involved, with several retaining walls, a new patio, fire pit, complete water sprinkler system, terracing the land into usable space, and planting the entire yard. Here’s what you need to know about Michael – completely honest, reliable, and fair in pricing. He always explains, in detail, the different options and the cost of each option. He provides a lot of flexibility in working with your budget. He also noticed mistakes made by the predecessor landscape firm and fixed them. His estimates were very accurate, so you don’t have any surprises at the end. His crew are a good group of hard working guys - guys that stick with him, not different guys showing up all the time. I was frankly amazed at how much would be accomplished each day—I would come home from work, and think, “Wow, they did that entire geo-wall in 1 day”. Along the way, Michael communicates with you regularly by phone and by text— he shows up when he says he’ll be there and works on your project until completed. I could not imagine a better experience. Thank you, Michael Wiegand and Habiscapes. Well Done.

When they planted the trees in 2017, all the trees the planted were at least 4" too deep . The most expensive tree was planted a full 6-8" too deep and it is causing problems. and that needs to be dealt with. All in all the crew who did the plantings lacked knowledge and experience. On the plus side, the stone layer was very skilled and took great care. The person who built the raised bed boxes was also skilled and designed a great box.

As we'd worked with Habiscapes in the past we had nothing but high expectations. The unusual winter/spring didn't help with any work that had to be done outside this spring -- and even meeting to walk the job was delayed by the deep snow this winter -- but Michael did a wonderful job keeping us updated and letting us know when they would get to our project. When they did it was great with a professional team that jumped in and cranked the job out in about a week (again the weather even then had to give us some challenges).

The work was very well done, and beautiful. Michael and his crew worked a total of 7 days on our property. Where possible, they used materials such as pavers and flagstones left by previous owners, always minding our budget. We let Michael have free reign on the design to rejuvenate our front xeriscape and redo the backyard. The crew was friendly and worked hard each day. We've gotten lots of compliments from neighbors. We went from being a neighborhood eyesore to a home that shows pride in ownership. Also, maintenance has been simple because the sprinkler and drip system has kept plants and grass healthy. Michael has checked in with us, and has been responsive in follow up questions. We are extremely happy with the result of the crew's hard work!

Our project w/Habiscapes went very well. Michael and his team were easy to communicate with, worked collaboratively, had good ideas and performed quality work. In addition, Michael was very willing to help us blend cost-saving "do-it-yourself" ideas w/his services. To get his team into your yard, which I definitely recommend, make sure to plan ahead. Have a clear idea of the work (from a designer, which he can steer you to, or from your sketch pad) before reserving your spot because he has a packed calendar in the key gardening months. We're thoroughly enjoying our updated landscaping!

Before contacting Habiscapes we'd gotten estimates from several other local companies. In many cases it was difficult even getting a call back from the company. More than once appointments were missed without even a word. None of this happened once we started talking to Habiscapes. We met in the fall of last year and looked at the yard, plans, and ideas. The plan we'd had drawn up was a couple of years old and our needs had changed a bit. From the first meeting to the follow-up afterwords Michael's outfit was a class act. We modified the plans at the start and made tweaks as things went along. Along the way we were well informed as to when certain decisions would need to be made, what the choices were etc. If the changes would result in a change in costs (up or down and there were both) we'd get an updated estimate the same day so we always knew where the project stood. Some of the work was done while we were out of the area and I'd asked for some extra supplies to do some additional area the Habiscapes team wasn't working on. When we got home that extra area was also done completely. I very much appreciated over the parts of 3-4 weeks that the team was here how the whole team was cordial and went above and beyond to keep the site clean and things picked up. Every day tools were neatly put away and things picked up without leaving it for some "future" time when it might be picked up. When there were options to save some expense by re-using plants and making modifications to the plans we were given those options. Since the work was completed we've received no end of compliments on the work. As with any major project I was a bit apprehensive that it might disturb our neighbors. We only got one "complaint" after the work was done -- a neighbor came by to "complain" that our beautiful yard was going to cost him a lot because his family now expected the same!

This job took 5.5 weeks.  The crew was here on time every day.  Everyone on the team was courteous and friendly.  The owner and supervisor were extremely knowledgeable about a great variety of trees and perennials, and which perform well in this climate with current soil conditions.  Respect for nature and her creatures was evident in all they do.  The owner did his best to provide the quality of work we expected, while saving us money along the way whenever he could.  He made solid recommendations.  I would use Habiscapes again in a heartbeat and highly recommend them for your landscape needs. 

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Michael, with Habiscapes, was on time and his bid to install a paver patio and drain, while not detailed, was fair.  I specified that I would like the copper downspout to go into a drain line under the patio and then into a drywell buried in the front lawn.  Without discussion Michael decided that he would run a perforated line 15 feet across the lawn buried about one foot deep  instead.  My concern is in heavy rains the lawn will become overly saturated with the roof runoff.  Time will tell if I have to dig it up and redo it.  I would have expected to be consulted before he changed the scope of work.

 

I also asked that sprinkler pipe be run under the patio to the corners to water the planters.  This was not done.  When I asked why he said that the addition of the three foot French drains in the patio “changed everything.”  There was plenty of room to run the half inch pipe under the patio behind the drains.  Then he suggested,” that it doesn’t look any worse than it did before and the pots would hide the pipe anyway.”  I spent over $4500.  The whole point was to improve the appearance of the patio.  Bottom line was there was no reason it was not done other than they forgot to do it.  Instead of correcting the mistake Michael made excuses.  The simple solution will be for me drill a hole in the drain box and run the sprinkler line through the French drain.  Not ideal, but easier than taking up the brick and running the line under the patio as it should have been done.  I would have accepted this solution if it were offered instead I got laughable excuses and another item to take care myself.

 

When I walked the competed project I was surprised that the landscape and drip line irrigation had been trampled into the mud.  I would have expected a landscape contractor to exercise a little care in preserving the plants and lawn.  When I ask Michael about the drip line and landscape he said, “there was bound to be collateral damage when you do that type of work.”  I agree and with the rain I expected some damage, but there was no care or measures taken to move one plant or even mark the drip lines.  A couple of bricks on the lawn with a sheet of ply wood on it would have spared the turf.   I had to dig around to find the drip lines and replace the lines that were broken.  I won’t know until I start up the sprinkler system what other damage was done.   To Michael’s credit he did dump some mulch on the planting beds and bought four potted plants to replace the dozen that were destroyed.

 

Plants can be replaced, the other thing I noticed is a little harder to fix.  The patio actually sloped toward the foundation from the center of the patio back toward the house. This was a problem I was looking to correct with the new patio and an issue that was discussed when the bid was done.  When I questioned Michael on this he said, “They have a laser level and that it did not slope to the foundation!”  I put a three foot level on it all along the back of the patio and it absolutely dose slope to the foundation.  When I hosed the patio off the water pooled against the foundation in the corners.  Water doesn’t run up hill, but Michael insisted I was wrong and raised his voice on the phone saying, “I’m Sick of…” at which point I disconnected the call.  I texted him that I treat everyone with respect and that he may want to consider doing that as well.  Further conversation was clearly a waste of time. I paid his bill in full and I will fix what I can fix and the rest will have to do.  Sure small claims court would be an option, but it is not worth the time and headache.  I believe businesses earn their reputations good or bad.  Things happen, no one and nothing is perfect.   So when things do go wrong how you handle it becomes the most important thing you do as a business owner.  If you take responsibility and do your best to make it right most people understand and are gracious.  I have long standing relationships with companies that I have used for years and years not because they are perfect, but because they do good work and take care of problems when they occur. 

 

I share my experience with you not to bash anyone, but because that is what Angie’s list is about.  I joined Angie’s List in hopes of hiring a professional who takes pride in their work and relied on the reviews from other clients to help me decide who to hire. Most of the Habiscape reviews were positive.  Unfortunately, my experience was not a good one.  I took the time to relay my experience so you can weigh it in your decision of who you will trust with your project. 

EDIT: In response to Habiscapes' response, I was never presented with a bill for these additional charges. He completed the french drain installations but did not complete the installation of the drywell, which was part of the original bid. It seemed to me that the french drain installation was in substitution for the drywell. No additional bill had been discussed or presented, so it's inaccurate to say that I refused to pay.

Michael and his crew once again hit it out of the park!  This is the fourth or fifth job Habiscapes has done for us over the last decade, and all have exceeded our expectations.  The crew is prompt; they work hard and are very friendly.  Many of them are the same crew members that worked on our yard a few years ago, which says a lot for Michael's leadership.  Michael also oversees all work and doesn't hesitate to pitch in.  Because Habiscapes does great work efficiently and at a very reasonable cost, they are often booked well in advance . . . but we are more than happy to wait for their availability.  Highly recommend!

We had a great experience working with Habiscapes.  Michael and his crew were professional, timely and pleasant to work with. 

Michael and his team were extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and courteous. Michael had great communication and got the job done on time and within the estimate. The finished product is ... well, beautiful. The real questions that need to be asked is,"Would we do this again? Would we use Habiscapes again?" The answer for both is an unequivocal "YES"! Highly recommended.

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