Get matched with top retaining wall installation pros in Chaska, MN

"I was in emergency need of replacing a timber egress window well and an adjacent paver patio that chipmunks had tunneled into and destroyed. I needed it replaced before it caved into the basement window and now was the time. Secondly, I hoped for finding someone who could install a concrete pad attached to my garage’s slab for a future 3-season screened porch. I was having a struggle finding anyone for either. Patio installers didn’t want to take on replacing an egress window well. Concrete people said they were not comfortable drilling rebar into a 75-year-old garage slab. Greg was able to do all of this! His crew was able to relocate a large stone step used in the old patio and integrate it into a new extension of the newpatio. Greg’s crew was able to masterfully cut the replacement pavers tightly around the existing pergola posts, I was really impressed! The concrete slab was poured within the frame of an existing low-height retaining wall, but the edges were dug out deep enough below the ground for structural support of the future 3-season porch. We needed a railing around the egress well, and while such work is outside the scope of what he would do, Greg referred us to a metal smith who built for us a new railing and metal ladder into the well."

"Alan came out in 2012 and gave me some honest suggestions.  We connected again in 2013 and decided on how to proceed.  The work was scheduled for August 2013 and completed in a few days.  Both walls are holding up very nicely now.
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"Pros: Decent work (some good, some bad) Cons: Poor communication, doesn't fix issues (per contract), a number of poor installations, lack of customer service, etc, etc Hired to install front patio, retaining wall, landscaping. I should have known based on the first meeting after signing contract that we would be a second thought (despite spending +$100k)...initial meeting to pick bricks and stone, the lady was confused with who we were as she shuffled through her many layouts for other customers ("sorry, we just have so many"). Was told initially work would start once ground was ready - started a month later due to them having to 'take care of previous year work'. That's fine, just tell us during the winter so we can plan our interior house remodel accordingly. Just got a note one day out of the blue saying that work will start that day despite numerous calls prior trying to get a start date with limited feedback. After working for a few weeks, just stopped showing up for a few weeks. Because they had torn up the front door entrance, it was kind of a big deal to us. Only after a number of emails did we get a note explaining that they were waiting on a permit for the retaining wall. In the meantime, they would not have a crew work on our entrance until they could work on the retaining wall at the same time so as to 'maximize crew efficiency'. Thanks, I'm glad someone else is getting their work done while we (and now our interior contractors, because you started late) have to go in a different entrance because you couldn't get your permitting done correctly. When work finally was resumed, there were issues that became evident. They ripped through a big root on the main locust tree in our yard (how do you miss that?), threatening its survival. They installed a bench against one of our walls without our approval, despite it not being in the plans! We go away a couple days and come back to an unplanned bench. Only because it worked for the space did we accept, but what if we didn't?? There must have been a drop dead date for the job, because all of a sudden one day there were a whole group of workers on the site trying to get it done in a day. When cramming it all in a day, the quality was lost. Hopefully you can tell from the pictures where the patio seems to not be graded right, so water just sits on the patio; downspouts they installed were installed improperly and fall off all the time (and leaves get caught in all the time - what kind of dumb design are the drains?); electrical wires aren't buried correctly and are sitting above the ground us to trip on or animals to chew on; electrical tape on downspouts, etc. Communication was horrible. Only time they would be proactive in reaching out was the day after they issued their invoice asking for payment (sometimes before the work was even completed). We paid promptly each payment, but you wouldn't think so with the emails/calls we received (we won't pay final payment until job is done!). Received zero updates/feedback on a daily or weekly basis from the site foreman, so no idea where the project stood more than what we could see. I believe there was a language barrier. Once job was finished, took them until following year to fix steps that were installed poorly and broke - I'm guessing only due to our constant request for status. They put a 1 year warranty on plants, but when a few of the plants died and requested replacements, they never returned communication despite multiple attempts. Way to do the right thing...they got their money, why would they want to uphold their contractual responsibilities. Leaving overall C grade because a good portion of the work was done well - the retaining wall, facing on the wall, back patio. Left such a poor taste in our mouth with the terrible customer service (communication, follow-through) that it offset any goodness associated with the work. We got the impression that unless you are a super big project (more than the +$100k we spent) that you will be put at the end of the queue (if at all). Would not recommend."

"I hired Clark Companies to replace outdated timber lawn retaining walls with more contemporary block construction. I chose Clark on the basis of the detail estimate provided by Josh Clark and his willingness and ability to answer my numerous questions. I was impressed with the work effort and friendly, customer-oriented attitudes of Adam, Dylan and the rest of the Clark installation crew. They were creative in adjusting the wall designs to best fit the terrain, and to listening and adapting to my ideas. Most importantly, I was very happy with the end results. I felt I received very good value for my money."

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Chris, the owner, reviewed my project needs, suggested block style and color, described the process in detail and provided an estimate.  To ensure I would be satisfied with the color choice, he directed me to another project he completed in my area where the same block was used.  The selection was perfect and I hired Artistic Landscapes. 

The crew arrived on time and completed the project as planned. Chris was on site throughout the project to answer any questions I might have and to ensure all was on track.  The effort entailed removal of the existing flagstone wall, digging and setting a base, and removal of left-over flagstone and soil. They also had to accommodate my gutter drainpipe, and I was impressed with their solution. The team was professional, well organized and efficient.

It looks great!  I have no hesitation recommending this company!

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"They do fabulous work, they work great with customers. I would recommend them for any landscaping flat work!"

"Great company. They replaced a large retaining wall for us using 3 foot boulders, about 750 sq ft of face, and also repaired serveral paver installations. They were very professional, had great communications, and a great crew. I can't recommend Sean and his guys enough. Javier, the on-site forman, was fantastic."

"The team did an excellent job on the retaining walls. The work was completed promptly after receiving the proposal."

"We started with just a big lawn and an old rickety deck in our backyard and nothing else, and planned on a massive project with an equally massive total budget of about $200,000 to put in a new in-ground swimming pool, new deck, new concrete patio with outdoor kitchen, vinyl gazebo, planting beds, trees, fence, and revised drainage scheme for our fairly flat lot with clay soil and poor drainage, plus a small home addition to our house as well. Sculptured Earth was to be our landscape contractor and project manager to coordinate all the various other contractors. Josh (the owner of the company) promptly met with us at our appointment time at our home and reviewed our "needs and wants" for our project. He met with us again a week later with 3 rough drawings/concepts for our yard, and after taking our suggestions and noting our likes and dislikes about each, he came back for a third meeting with a "semi-final" plan with an initial itemized contract showing the price. Up to this point, Josh REQUIRED NO MONEY UP FRONT and NO CONTRACT for all that design work (which must have been several hours worth of work), and only when we decided that this "semi-final" plan was what we wanted, did he ask for a deposit and a signed contract. (Ultimately this was one of the reasons we hired Josh, including his impeccable references. We had interviewed 2 other contractors, one who never called us back after the first meeting, and another who wanted a $1000 retainer to just start the design process). He also discussed various scenarios for staging the project in parts so that we could opt to only do portions at a time, in case our budget required it, but fortunately we were in a position to do the entire project at once. He did allow us to modify some items as the project was in progress when we changed our minds about certain details, or wanted to add components along the way. No "hidden fees" or "change order fees" were ever added on, just the cost of the work and materials. We added and subtracted a few things along the 4 months (Apr-July) that it took to complete everything, which did increase the projected completion time somewhat, but we also had a few delays due to the usual weather issues, and also a 10-day delay that was entirely due to an electrical subcontractor (who was hired through the pool contractor) who couldn't keep to his promised schedule dates. This was not Josh's fault. He was always responsive whenever we had concerns. He always returned my phone calls within a day. Josh's business philosophy is that until his customer is satisfied, he will not be either. His crew was always polite and on time each day. A project of this scope can be expected to have glitches along the way, and ours was no exception. Whenever a problem arose, Josh was always receptive to our wishes when a solution was devised. An example: Josh's concrete subcontractor made a critical error in distorting the pool's autocover housing, such that the cover couldn't be installed. The concrete guy wanted to do a "shortcut" fix which was not something that we would have been satisfied with. I emphasized this point to Josh, and he made the concrete guy do it the way we wanted it, which was going to involve removing and re-pouring 3 times more concrete than the concrete subcontractor wanted to, but would result in a much more structurely sound patio. To be honest, Josh and his crew didn't catch all the problems that arose. Not because they ignored them, but because a project of this size is difficult to keep a handle on for anyone. So I did act as my own "general contractor" to keep tabs on things. I caught the electrical contractor accidentally kinking one of the gas lines to the pool heater. This is not something I would necessarily expect Josh's crew to see. I had to make the calls to the gas subcontractor to make sure this was repaired before the gas line was buried. There was another error that Josh missed which I was able to catch when I noticed that it didn't appear that the deck stairs would reach the concrete patio as intended based on where the forms were relative to the partially-completed deck stair landing. Apparently Josh's error was in assuming the deck plans were completely accurate from the deck contractor, but there was a slight variance in the actual deck stairs once built. It probably would've been better if Josh had verified with the decking contractor where the stairs would end at the bottom instead of assuming things by the plans. But again, I know that Josh would've fixed it if it hadn't been caught by me and the concrete was poured incorrectly. I just helped to circumvent a mistake before it happened. Another potential error happened at the beginning where Josh's crew starting building the stone steps to our shed area, but had to re-do it 3 times because they kept making them stick out into our yard a little too far for our liking. But Josh was more than happy to make the necessary changes (with no additional cost to us) until we were happy with the result. A final glitch happened when Josh was spraying a muriatic acid solution around our newly installed outdoor stainless steel refridgerator, grill, cabinet doors, etc. The refridgerator door was etched by the solution, and I pointed it out to Josh. He reimbursed me for the $200 it would cost to get a new door for the refridgerator. One time, his crew was digging the drainage trench for the French drain, and they damaged the gas line also. Josh notified me immediately and arranged to have the gas subcontractor out to the house ASAP, and he covered that cost without question. I don't want to paint a negative picture about Josh and Sculptured Earth by mentioning these errors. Quite the contrary, because a big project like this has a good probability that mistakes can and will happen even with our painstakingly detailed planning, the homeowner wants the contractor(s) involved to take ownership of the errors and make things right to the satisfaction of the homeowner. What you don't want is a contractor who makes excuses and tries to avoid fixing the problem, or tries to get away with a "shortcut." Worse yet, you don't want a contractor who will try to hide the mistake from the homeowner. I wanted to highlight that Josh is the type of contractor who will do whatever is necessary to fix any glitches along the way. He runs his business with the utmost integrity, his crew works extremely hard to make sure the homeowner is satisfied, and in the end they do fabulous work! If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely hire Josh again. In fact, when we get around to doing our front and side yards, I'll be calling Josh and Sculptured Earth to do the job."

"We bought an old house from the original owner, who hadn't touched her landscaping in probably 10 years. I reached out to a few companies right at the start of quarantine for a quote on some landscaping work. Brian was the first person who responded to me--he was at my house within a couple days, and we stood 6-feet apart outside as we walked around the house and discussed what we needed done. I explained that I am not outdoorsy and have a black thumb; I didn't want anything that required a lot of maintenance from me. He heard everything I asked for. As we approached the side of the house he paused and asked "Do you get water in your basement." He was right on. He identified an issue I never brought it up to him. He also pointed out that our retaining wall was buckled and crumbling. He had a quote to me within a day. He had a crew at my house as soon as the governor allowed his business to open back up. They worked hard for 4 days, only stopping when it was too rainy to continue. Brian was able to save many of my existing plants and bushes to save on the cost of new plants. Every couple of days Brian would walk around the yard with me to make sure everything was to my liking. When it was all done, he gave me a folder of information--what was planted, when/how the plants needed to be watered or treated, what to do before it frosts. My yard looks 100x better. My neighbors have commented on what an improvement they made. I feel like our curb appeal increased tenfold. And a bonus: I haven't had water in my basement since they were here. Thanks Brian! You were great to work with! We'll call you in a couple years when we are ready to do the backyard. :)"