L & L Landscape

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L&L spent approximately one day digging out and contouring the gulley. After they left for the day, I checked the slope by running a garden hose from the driveway "start point" to see if the water flowed all the way to the sewer. I found that there was an area of high ground (15 to 20 feet long) approximately 25 feet out from the driveway (start point of the gulley) which hindered the flow therefore, not allowing drainage of the water. The issue was that not enough ground (soil) had been removed from the elevated area, which resulted in water pooling in the exact area that it was prior to the work being done. The next day, I asked Larry (the owner) if the plan was to remove additional soil and the reply was "no, we are ready to lay the sod". I turned on the hose to show him that the water was still pooling and was told "it would be taken care of". Larry said they would add dirt to the low area - I replied that this would only move the pool closer to the driveway (start point), and the high ground needed to be removed to allow the water to flow. I was then presented an elaborate explanation of using alternating elevation similar to that used along highways to prevent turf erosion - the idea being to slow the flow of water so the pool can slowly diminish as it trickles past the higher area. This didn't make sense to me but gave Larry the benefit of the doubt since he was the expert. The same week that the job was "completed", we had a moderate rainfall which produced a large puddle which did lessen over a few hours but never drained completely. Even after over 2 weeks without rain and the area was still "squishy" because the sod was full of water - to the point that a 21 inch push mower sunk into the ground leaving 2 inch deep wheel ruts. I contacted Larry and left a message on his cell phone outlining the issue. Larry stopped by that evening and I showed him the water logged area . Larry accused me of overwatering the lawn. I told Larry that I had not watered in 3 days (this was in July), he responded "well someone is" which basically suggested I was lying to him. When I reasserted that the lawn had not been watered, Larry made up a steady stream of excuses from: "it is the clay soil type which is the issue" to "the pre-existing drain isn't low enough" to the fact that I knew that the area was a problem when bought the house - basically he claimed no responsibility for the fact that water was not draining. I informed him that I had laser leveled the site the previous summer and found the sewer to be 8 inches lower than the start point but, it was as though he didn't hear me - no response. At one point he asked if I had ever considered that I might need a drain pipe underneath the ground to drain the area. I asked if he had considered that since he was hired to drain the water off the property; I also added that if there were unforeseen issues with the job which may have added complexity or cost but, would have been necessary to complete the project the "right way" this should have been raised while the work was being performed. He indicated that he would add dirt to the low area - I reiterated that this would only move the pool over and that the high ground needed to be removed. Larry said that the area was clay and that he could not get a front loader over there because it would tear up the grass. Later that week L&L did return and add dirt to the low area. As expected, this only moved the standing water closer to the start point. Two - three weeks later I ran into Larry doing work in the neighborhood and asked if there was anything else that could be done about the standing water problem. I was provided the same list of excuses. I tried to suggest a plan which could minimize the amount of work - make a trench through the high area, line the trench with landscape fabric / gravel, cover with fabric and a sand / dirt mix and lay the sod back down. However, I couldn't even offer this to him. Larry did not want anything to do with taking ownership of completing the work that he was hired to do. He indicated that I was the problem with statements like "I know your type, you're never happy" and "you need to grow up". I stated that I'm ready to report him to the Better Business Bureau to which he said "go ahead' then at that point, he started up the zero turn mower and rode away from me. Clearly L&L did not complete the job they were hired to do, did not take responsibility for correcting the issue and do not treat their customers with respect .