Schmitt's Landscape Co

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Schmitt's Landscape employees replaced the patio drain, built the new patio and re-graded the yard so that we have no more flooding.  I believe Schmitt's hired an outside contractor to rebuild the deck which was actually up by mid-December 2013. However, the contractor  did a terrible job of cleaning up.  We had extra large pieces of  lumber on our lawn until the beginning of March.  We found many, many smaller pieces of cut lumber all over the yard along with a ton of nails to totally fill up a paper grocery bag.

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Overall the process went very well. They came out in a timely fashion to initially quote the work, and their price was very reasonable compared to other quotes I was getting. I was also given an option of installing a dry well but was told I may not even need that. I liked that they weren't trying to get me to do more work than necessary. I was initially told their lead time was about 3 weeks, and it did take a bit longer than that for them to come out, but I think part of this was due to weather at the time. Once the workers came out to perform the work, they were very efficient and did a good job. they were also very polite. I would highly recommend using them for yard drainage issues and would also consider using them for other landscaping needs.

Very good. They showed up when we were told they would be there. They did everything we agreed on and did it well. I will use them again.

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Would have thought for the price quoted that pictures would have been provided.

They came out and gave an initial esitmate of $3000, and I decided to cut out some work and they came down to $1500.  I initially booked them in August and they didn't come to do the work until October b/c they were busy on other jobs, which wasn't the worst thing, though it would've been nice to have it done sooner.  The quality was good, and the sodded grass looks nice.  They three down some seeded grass in some other areas for free, though that hasn't grown at all.  They also should've donw sod in another smaller area instead of seed.  Overall it was decent, though for $1500, I might do more of this work myself in the future.

Everything went well.  They were very personable and really listened to what we wanted out of the project.

The service was okay, it wasn't great. The gentleman came as he had scheduled, and he looked around, and he put together a proposal, and brought it back, but I found  that he was kind of indecisive, and I was looking for a professional to give me advise on what I should do, and I didn't feel like I received that.

We have been using Schmitt's for a number of years.  Our patio and firepit were put in by Schmitt's and we have been very happy.  They tend to be a bit more expensive than other landscapers however the end product is worth it!  And Mark will service any issues that arise because of the project.  Very trustworthy and helpful!

They did a good job. I would use them again.

Initially our project manager came out promptly and did a thorough job of understanding the situation and compiling a quote.  He listened and had good suggestions for how to approach the situation.  We got multiple quotes and Schmitt's quote was exactly in line with the others.  The biggest hang-up we had was contacting our project manager and receiving the quote.  It took at least a week to formally receive the quote and any follow-up conversations most had to leave a message with someone at the office who would then relay it and wait for him to call us.  Ultimately, the other landscaping firms could not schedule us as quickly as Schmitt's did and we are please with the outcome.  The guys who showed up to do the work were on time, and worked hard and fast.  Overall, the experience was a positive one.  We will likely have Schmitt's back out in the autumn to grade the back yard as well.

Received two landscape designs of front yard plus estimate on paver patio in backyard. Each design showed different front walk locations. Designs and estimates were very detailed listing specific plants and costs of installation of each planting. The estimate seemed a little high but since I never dealt with a landscaper I'll have someone give me their opinion. Brad, who made the designs, was good to work with.

The initial consult was great - Brad was easy to work with, he had good ideas and he listened to our ideas and concerns.  The plans he gave us to keep were very helpful. 
When it came to actually getting to the actual install there was some confussion with making sure everything was approved - the township had to identify ground lines for the new trees.  Wasn't  necessarily the fault of Schmidt's landscaping but it could have been planned better and that pushed back the instal date. 
The finished results were OK.  Decent enough but I ended up putting in a lot of extra labor  (10-20 hours) to make my own alterations.  I did pay approximately  $300 in separate labor charges to move existing outcropping rock based off of a newer design in addition to labor charges to install new outcropping rock.  After inspection I found that really only a few manageable rocks were relocated that I easily could have done myself in 10 minutes which was probably the most disappointing aspect of the job.
The size of the autumn blaze maple that was installed was suppose to be 3.5-4 inches based on the contract which is huge and was why I chose to overpay.  But what was put in the ground  was more like 2.5-3 inch from what I measured.  Brad said it was 3-inch and  I asked for a price adjustment and they took $100 off.   If I would have  just gone with a the local nursery I would have saved another $100 and got a bigger tree.   I later realized all the "1 Gallon"  perennials quoted in the contract that were put into the ground were more like 1 quart which I didn't want to fuss over since they were already planted but when you go to a nursery or home depot and see the size difference you realize what you are paying for.  I understand that there is the labor involved but don' t quote "1gallon"  when they aren't. 
Overall, I felt that Brad was great to work with from a design point and is the only reason I would work with this company again.  I have used other landscaping companies in the past that go above and beyond expectations.  I don't mind overpaying for landscaping labor because it is difiicult, time consuming and messy if you try and do it yourself.  But I don't like knowing
where I may have been taken advantage of. 

They were very easy to work with and we are likely to use their services to implement the design in the spring.

Purchased an Angie's List Big Deal - Landscape design for $99. Contacted Schmitt's Landscape, they were prompt in responding and scheduling the landscape design architect - Brad Taylor, to come out to our house.
Brad came on time on the scheduled date. We reviewed several ideas and issues - we had large dying/dead Ash Tree (Emerald Ash Borer) a dead pine tree and 2 other pines trees that needed removal. All of which resulted in major loss of shade and character for the front of our house. We also had a gutter drain issue that created a sidewalk icing hazard in cold weather. Brad listened to our ideas, created a plan, and presented it. The plan included: tree removal, stump grinding, plantings, mulch, sod, a tree, landscape stone, re-positioning of some existing plants, and gutter drain tile installation under an existing side walk (near the stump of the dead ash tree). We made a few modfications to plant types, added additional landscape stone, agreed on a reasonable total project price & moved forward.
Our only difficulty was Schmitt had to rely on an outside contractor for the tree removal & stump grinding which resulted in a few days delay (there are lots of dead ash trees being removed in our area so the tree contractors are very, very busy). 
Once the actual installation began the work proceeded smoothly with only one modification. We had requested the installation of a birch tree and we wanted a tree at least 10-12 ft. in height. Brad advised us that since it was late in the season it might be difficult to find a quality tree at that height. He recommended we wait until Spring 2013 to select & install the tree. We agreed, the cost of the tree was removed from the original proposal and based on communication with Schmitt office we are on the work list for Spring. The plantings are guaranteed, so check back with me in the spring and I will tell you how they held up against a Chicago winter. And I'll finish the saga regarding the planting of the tree.
Brad was on site much of the time to oversee the work except for the tree removal & stump grinding. Which also went very well. The sub-contractor was very careful & competent in the tree removal.
We would recommend Schmitt Landscaping to our neighbors & friends and a couple neighbors shared positive comments on the final result as well.

Brad from Schmitt's presented an initial, attractive plan that hit on our key requirements at a reasonable price compared to other landscape companies.  He was very accommodating and met with us at least 7 times to modify the plans, add new elements, change shapes/designs, modify plants, and help us select stones for our walkway and patio.  He was very collaborative and came up with creative ways to address our feedback.  He respectfully shared his opinion but also listed closely to ours -- the result is a yard that we love! 
Brad kept us well informed leading up to the installation work and was on site to monitor progress.  He quickly addressed any concerns we had and even proactively had the workers re-do some of the paver work on our walkway that he thought could be done better.  The patio installation was amazing to watch -- the process took about a week, and the patio turned out great.  Schmitt's also installed lighting on our patio and replaced a light that we ended up not liking at no additional charge. 
Most of our work was done right before the high heat of the summer hit, and we spent most of our summer watering.  Despite our efforts, we lost a few bushes and perennials.  Schmitt's replaced the bushes this fall at no charge and indicated that they'll replace any others that don't make it through the winter in the spring. 
Overall, we were very pleased with the high level of service provided by Brad and the Schmitt's team, as well as the quality of the work.  We've received a lot of compliments on our landscaping and patio, and we couldn't be happier!

they did a really nice job.  we had purchased a plan for $100 via Angie's List.  they worked with us to finalize the plant selection, make some changes to bring the cost down a bit, and then completed the job in about a day and a half.  it looks great.

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They sent us a detailed drawing and estimate for the different phases of the project. Was very professional, and prices were very reasonable. We may not be able to take action this year, but the plan and price is, at least  for me is good.

The crew came out and fixed the problem at no charge.  The patio li level and looks as good today as when it was first installed.

We had problems with the output of our sump pump.  It kept sucking and pumping the same water.  Mark came out, checked the problem and installed a French drain which went to another part of our yard.  The result is that we have no muchy parts of our yard and our sump pumps only "new" water.

Our neighbor had a problem with their drainage.  He came out and diagnosed their problem.  He did this at no charge.

Schmitt's is a great company.  I will always go to them for my landscaping needs.

Best price, of the 3 quotes I got, Schmitt's came in at the lowest, and I still got the best work, and it's warrantied for 5 years!

We worked with a landscape designer from Schmitt's to develop a plan to renovate our front walk and the landscaping in our front yard. The designer listened carefully to what we wanted and developed a creative plan that incorporated many of our existing plants. The installation took approximately 1 week. We were very impressed with the quality of the work on the hardscaping. For example, our hardscaping design involves several circular areas and the men who cut the pavers took great care to ensure the stones fit perfectly. We have received many compliments from our neighbors on how well the project turned out. When we first met with Mark Schmitt to discuss the work we wanted to have done, he mentioned that his company is not the cheapest place to go to get new pavers installed, but that they pride themselves on the quality of their work. We have had some bad experiences with landscapers in the past so we decided to go for quality and we are glad we did. We also greatly appreciated Schmitt's willingness to reuse our existing plants, which some landscapers refuse to do.