Kemora Landscapes

In the end we got we wanted but not without some difficulty along the way. The crew that removed the old concrete slab where the new patio was to be installed was sloppy and unprofessional. They caused damage to existing structures and failed to clean up. Wet concrete dust left on the lawn was tracked all over the newly installed pavers requiring several visits to clean up. Installed pavers were chipped and broken beyond acceptable limits and needed to be replaced. Installed planting of immature plants in the middle of summer resulted in several plants needing to be replaced. The owner's reaction to our complaints was essentially that this was all to be expected and that our standards were unreasonable. They have a great online presence and their work that they show off looks really nice. I don't feel that our experience with them reflects their presentation.

As a general contractor I hired them to do a fairly sophisticated project designed in detail by a landscape architect and surveyor. They claimed emphatically that they were very well qualified to do the project but in the end failed miserably in regards to time, budget, quality and teamwork. They, clearly had little idea of what they were doing and when confronted with their shortfalls, not only tried to blame me to the client, (who laughed it off knowing that that wasn't true,) but failed they to correct their mistakes so I had to hire others to do so. Maybe they can plant you a flower bed but beware of anything more.

Very good. Really approachable and very fair. They gave me ideals and they take of my lawn. I just enjoy working with them.

Overall, the project went well, and I am happy with the results. The project manager, Keegan McGuire, was pretty responsive by email, but not by phone. Once I agreed to use Kemora Landscapes, the company scheduled the job, but I was not alerted about the start date. Luckily, I followed up with them and found out on a Friday that they were coming on a Monday. Communication could have been better. Juan and his team worked diligently planting the boxwoods, parkway plants, and sod. They even replanted some of the boxwoods when I wasn't happy with the placement. They could have done a better job of removing weeds in the parkway before planting the new ground-cover. They also made a mistake of planting some of the ground-cover in the boxwood beds, which I later had to dig up and replant in the parkway. The team was flexible, and worked over 3 days, due to rain. I like that Kemora guarantees their sod and shrubs for 1 year, however, you must buy the it from them. They charge more than you could buy it on your own, but at least they give you both options. Kemora also gives Angies List customers a 5% discount.

I got a handrawn plan from one of the owners which included recommendations based on the conditions. Unfortunately, it would have been extremely costly to have Kemora do the work.

Though weather related delays made nailing down the date difficult, they were good about communicating in advance. They came in the afternoon, finished the front lawn and returned the following morning to finish the back. The uneven lawn and dips, especially in the front, were all levelled and the sod looked good. Approximately two weeks after following watering directions, several patches of sod in front and back were dead. Upon emailing them, they returned within four days and completely replaced the dead areas. Three months later, the grass looks good!

Very fast, friendly and professional staff. There were some communication issues around the subcontractor doing the gates which was a bit of a headache but the work done turned out beautifully!

From quote to the completion of the work Kemora was great to work with. They showed up on time, worked hard, provided quality work, answered all of our questions, and cost was reasonable for all the work they did.

First off, they gave a great price and still added an Angies List discount. The installation went quickly however there was one small section that was installed opposite of the others and the grass laid differently and looked different. I was fine with it but still mentioned it to Keegan. Because the way it was cut it could not just be turned around. He ordered a whole new piece and had his crew reinstall the same way for no additional cost. I am glad they did it because now it looks great but I wasn't expecting all that extra material and labor for free. Thanks guys!! Great Job!!!

The figured out problem and did an excellent job of repair

I had a great experience with Kemora. The two man crew did a nice job re-sodding and cleaning up in a couple of hours. Junior, the foreman, dropped off the materials before the crew arrived, and checked in after they got there which I appreciated. But most of my interaction was with DeAnna, who helped me get an estimate, arranged the appointment, and generally answered my questions. She was a great communicator and I think that was a key part of why it was a such a good experience. The job itself ultimately matters the most, but good communication can prevent problems and alleviate uncertainty. She let me know when to expect the crew to show up. When the sod was delayed, she let me know that, and what the revised arrival would be. She also sent me good instructions for how to care for the sod when I first made the appointment and then again on the day. Overall, the whole experience felt very smooth and I am happy with it.

Very well! Marissa was very responsive and came out quickly to give me ideas and a quote. For some reason it took a little time for them to get me booked but once we had a date the crew came out, worked hard (especially in the summer heat), and did a beautiful job! I even asked for a little more sod than I had originally and they were able to bring some the next day.

They're wonderful. They originally put the bushes in and do a beautiful job.

It went well. Guys came when promised, worked quickly, and cleaned up afterwards leaving the yard better than when they found it.

The plans were great and we used it as a basis for our landscaping. We did not use Kemora for the work that was done.

Kemora Landscapes did a wonderful job and were a pleasure to work with. They patiently worked with us on revising the plan and estimate to work within our budget, scheduled the work in a timely manner, and got the work done in an amazingly short amount of time. Best of all, our yard looks amazing! It's such a pleasure to sit out and enjoy our new space.

Looks great. Nice design and included my wife in design idea's.

OK, the conversation was full of good ideas but no drawing

They tore up the old patio and put in pavers and landscaping. I really enjoyed working with them. The price was what I expected. Their quality was excellent. They had to delay it because of some problems with weather and receiving materials. They called to let me know that they had to change it. There's another section that needs to be redone and they plotted that out and I will probably have that done next year. I've gotten several compliments on it. It looks nice. I have been out there enjoying it practically every day that I can. It think it only took them about a week which surprised me. They had to do it in several pieces because they had to have some trees taken out, so they came in and tore up the patio and then the tree guys came in and then they came back and completed it. The communication was very good. There were a couple of things that I asked them to do that wasn't really part of the whole project. Like there was a hole in the front yard that I asked them to fill in with some dirt and they were very responsive. They cleaned up pretty well though they left one piece of equipment back here. A small piece.

I wasn't happy with them. I just recently found out that one of the trees they put in was diseased. One of the Oak Tree's has oak gall which I haven't heard of.  I have done a lot of research asking people, they said there's nothing you can do about it, "cut the tree down." That really makes me unhappy. That means they don't know what they are doing. They replaced one bush. That was it, said nothing wrong with the tree and walked away. I will replace it myself so I am not too conserved about it. I wish I had never used them in the first place. When you hear someone is a landscaper you assume they know what they are doing. Other things went fine, but I assume they would know oak gall when they saw it. I didn't it, but I assume they would. They came and id the work, and landscaping is a hard job. 

It took us 1 1/2 years to find a landscaper that could and would install the engineer recommended system. Finally, a local, reputable gardening center recommended Kemora, which was the only firm, of the few that would respond, that seemed to understand our problem, take it seriously, and had experience installing systems that would solve it. They were willing to and did work with our structural engineer to ensure that their proposal was consistent with the engineer's. The engineer slightly tweaked and approved Kemora's design. Kemora kept to the appointments and provided an accurate estimate of effort and materials. They provided us with recommendations re permeable paver choices and paver design and with information re warranties and ongoing maintenance. They installed to design with one exception. During the project they determined that a surface drain included in the estimate would send yard waste to the catch basin that probably should not go there. They decided on their own to substituate a swale for that catch basin and then let us know, with the proviso that if the swale allowed rainwater to pool on the patio, we could call them and they would install the surface drain. We have experienced several heavy rains over the past 2 months and all have been handled well by the new gutter, downspouts, and drainage system. For the first time in over 3 years, none of us has had to stand under the back stairs in the middle of the night, for hours, bailing water in sometimes unsuccessful attempts to prevent flooding. What a relief! (Picture below shows the drastically reduced amount of storm water flowing into the exterior basement drain.) The new patio and sod instantly provided great improvement to the looks of our back yard, so not only did Kemora know how to propose and install the right underground system for us, they knew how to install aesthetically pleasing solutions for what covers the system. If I have recommendations for improvements, they are these: - Communication during the project needs some tweaking. The person supervising the work often came in the afternoon, which meant that if the crew had any misunderstandings about the design, the misunderstandings would not be caught until several hours later. There was one such incident that I happened to catch early and correct through text messages so that the work did not have be done twice. The weather was not our friend on this project, which pushed the finish date back, but the effort was also underestimated, so the project estimated at 2 days, took about 5 - 6 days, not counting weather delays. This did not hurt us except that we were coordinating day parking of Kemora vehicles with a neighbor's parking lot and the extra, unplanned days of vehicle parking dance were beginning to annoy them. - We were grateful to Kemora for their work and wanted to pay them on time, but had to work through several iterations of the invoice to arrive at the correct list of parts, which we need for proper warranty coverage. Kemora had always intended the correct list, and were always responsive to making the corrections, but in future just need to pay greater attention to the paperwork details. Again, we are so grateful to have had Kemora's assistance, expertise, and resources provide us with the first collective peace of mind we have had in years!

It went very well. The owner, Marisa, gave me suggestions on the plant material to use based on my preferences. She broke the project down into separate sections as requested and was patient and responsive as I requested cost estimates for various combinations of work. The work crew arrived on time. They were responsive to my concern about making sure the work didn't extend into my neighbors' property. They marked the lot line and made sure I was comfortable before proceeding. When I returned home at the end of the day, the work was completed. They cleaned up the work area; no dirt or debris. I've gotten several compliments on how it turned out.

We got the landscaping done in June, but I want to say I started talking with them in February. He designed it for me and they were fabulous. They showed up every day on time. We have plans to use them again. What stood out was their attentiveness. He followed up quite a bit to ask more questions about what really did I need. He did a layout of the design, examples not only of what he had done in the Chicago-land area, but he did a drawing for me for future projects. Two patio areas are the first phase. He is going to do the landscaping and probably install a concrete area for a basketball rim.

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