Princeton Scapes Inc.

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They quickly responded to our initial inquires and we eventually hired their designer to help us design the side yard where the pool used to be and especially the front entrance. We loved the design, but even with nips and tucks it was too expensive to implement. We decided to have the pool removed and would implement as much as our budget allowed. Their designer, and then later their construction crew, continuously worked with us trying to get as much done as possible within budget. As the work on the front entrance began, we had an impromptu design meeting and came up with a front entrance design that met most of our wishes without breaking the bank. The project continued with an understanding that the front entrance would proceed on a "cost plus" basis.
The construction crew did an excellent job of demolishing the pool and hauling away the debris. Fill was hauled in when they decided there was not enough soil available to create a "pleasing grade". Top soil was brought in and neatly spread around. 5 evergreens were planted along the property line. (We did the seeding ourselves to save money, but their pricing was reasonable).
The front entrance slowly took shape with everyone re-assessing the design as work progressed. The crew was very flexible and touched base with us as additional work or material was needed. They walked the property with us to select rocks used for the front terracing. They placed the rocks with the care and precision someone might use to set a table or plan a garden. The final result easily exceeded our expectations and greatly improved the appeal and access to our home. (The neighbors also agree).
The crew was friendly, courteous, and professional. They cleaned up each evening and had no problem making the small adjustments along the way that makes a project "just right".
The only real negative appeared when we got the bill for the work beyond the original contracted work. The cost for the additional work associated with the "pay as you go" front entrance was as we expected. We were surprised to find additional charges that doubled the cost for the pool removal. There was a big additional charge for dumping the concrete since it contained a wire mess along the bottom. We were originally told it might cost more if they found metal in the concrete, but we were never told it might add thousands of dollars. Similarly we were told "we might need fill" without being told how much it would cost. There was clearly a mistake made in estimating the cost of the pool removal and to their credit they did limit the additional charges to their costs.
The bottom line is they were easy to work with, flexible, and left behind a yard and an entrance we love for a lot less than we feared it would cost.

Princeton started about 2 weeks after we put down our deposit. The project took about 8 weeks and it turned out great. They worked on this just about every work day and had different crews of guys for walls vs. stairs vs. landscape. We had done this on a project cost basis and had 2 additional costs (<5% of total cost) for unplanned work to address a knotweed issue and add in an errosion mat for our steep hill. The stone wall is beautiful and seems to be extremely well built. The yard is much different than we had before and has tranformed it into a place we can really enjoy.

Great. Rud's staff kept us notified of the schedule, let us change plans along the way, and helped us make design decisions.