Outdoor Excapes of Lake Minnetonka Inc.

A project like building an optional yard lamps and a garden fountain should be fun, exciting and enjoyable.  And that is certainly the way this project began.  A few weeks into the project, however, problems began with Outdoor Excapes of Lake Minnetonka Inc that only became worse throughout the summer:
 (1) the workers drove their truck unnecessarily across my grass when they could have used the driveway, chewing up the grass and breaking sprinkler heads which the company said they do not repair,
(2) the project manager was not a landscape architect as promised but a young student at Hennepin Tech,
(3) this project manager constantly called me to leave my office to meet at my house, but when I got there he failed to take notes or follow-through on matters we discussed,
(4) as a result, Outdoor Excapes employees made several mistakes which the project manager offered to fix through additional no-charge work, which they also did not complete;
(5) material left laying around the front yard blew around, even after I reported it to Outdoor Excapes; the neighbors threatened to report me to the neighborhood HOA so I eventually hired outside labor to go into neighboring yards and pick it up,
(6) Eventually we held an on-site a meeting with the project manager and general manager of Outdoor Excapes, through which I hoped we would be able to bring this $ 35,000 project to even a semi-successful closure. During this meeting, during which he, the GM, and I stood outside in cold November bluster, the project manager denied for 45 minutes the aforementioned until he eventually he admitted he had been not telling the truth or the full story.  At this point, the GM flipped and expressed a sole concern that they receive immediate on-the-spot payment in full for this still uncompleted job.  I told them to leave my property and when they refused to do so, pulled out my cellphone and began to call 911. I promised them I would pay when I paid my normal bills, which I did; mailing them a check for the full amount requested by the GM,
I had the definite impression that Outdoor Excapes overbooked its season or had lost its workers or something bad had happened internally.  Regardless, they largely abandoned the project for weeks while the first winter storms and freezes moved in and I ended up hiring an outside labor and a different firm, which I found on Angies List, to finish the job.
No... I definitely would not hire them again. To the contrary, I have told the firm that if my security cameras record any of their employees on my property I will pursue trespassing charges against both the individual and the firm.  Originally we had looked at doing $100k or more in full patio during the summer of 2016 - the catalogs they gave me early last summer went into the recycle bin months ago.

The design process went well as he worked with us through several iterations getting better along the way.  I think the project initially bid higher and we worked with him to take out some things.  Aaron was also creative and helped us determine where we should be spending our budget.  
The first work they did was to build a large terraced retaining wall on a back sloping corner of our house. It is beautifully done.  The side leading back to that area is narrow and is landscaped with crushed granite and mulch.  There are bluestones as a walking path alongside the house and down through the terraced boulder wall to the grass in the backyard.  The yard slopes pretty severely in back and had a single line of boulders across from which the yard dropped.  We were just going to leave them because of cost, but Aaron suggested narrowing the row by taking the boulders, creating three rows to terrace a slope in the middle of the backyard.  We then were able to soften the slope adjacent to that middle part to make mowing easier.  
Around the house and perimeter of the back yard, we put down mulch with a thin metal edge installed for aesthetics and to keep mulch in.  There is also another small retaining wall on the other corner in back of house.  Much of the terracing has the crushed granite though in larger areas it is mulch waiting for plantings.  We didn't plant anything new, but Aaron suggested taking hastas and another plant and reusing them around the perimeter of our backyard.  We don't really like hastas, but this creates a nice line and makes the perimeter not look bare with just mulch.  Lots of creativity to contain costs yet accomplish a lot.  
They also did the front steps - three large 4 ft by 1 ft slabs of granite and bluestone steps from the driveway to the front steps. 
They also graded and sodded our whole yard (the sodding is outsourced I believe, but is overseen by Aaron and quality checked).  We have a half acre lot so it was quite a large job.
Everything was on time as expected though there were some rain delays.  Aaron was extremely professional, easy to work with, and was creative in suggesting cost effective solutions.  He was very responsive during the process, but more importantly, after the job was done and various things needed to be fixed or last minute items added.  We loved working with Aaron and will have them do some more over time.  Would absolutely recommend as we had a great experience.  I would also say that Aaron has great integrity.

We have used Outdoor Excapes on several occasions over the years, and they are a fantastic company! Our original concrete steps and patio in the front entrance had been patched numerous times over the years but was now beyond repair. We had the option to remove all of it and just pour new concrete, but we decided to spend a little more on the project to really improve the appearance of the house.
We worked with Dave Hoyt at Outdoor Excapes, and he did a superb job providing ideas and designs to fit our preferences. He was patient with how long we spent working on the plan for the project, and he was always willing to give honest feedback when our ideas wouldn't turn out well. After several meetings, we finally decided on the design and contracted them to do the work last summer.
The Outdoor Excapes crew was equally fantastic! They did a great job constructing the trap rock boulder retaining wall along the driveway, and they meticulously built the walkway and steps leading from the driveway to the front patio. Their attention to detail is quite remarkable, and their guys work incredibly hard to make it turn out as clean and professional as possible. Once the construction was completed, they added path and landscape lighting, planted a few trees to soften the appearance of the stone steps, and reseeded the lawn.
We really couldn't be happier with how the project turned out, and the neighbors are really impressed, as well! When the construction was happening, we had a steady stream of traffic driving by to see the new changes happening at the house. The quality of their work is well beyond the other landscape companies we've used in the Twin Cities area, and I would highly recommend Dave and Outdoor Excapes to anyone!

Everything went well from beginning to end. The landscape designer, Aaron, listened to what we wanted and understood our budget, then developed a plan accordingly. Each step of the way, from the designing to the staking of the trees to care instructions, was communicated thoroughly. The landscapers who carried out the work were on time, careful of the surrounding yard, courteous and professional. The entire process was wrapped up with a final walk-through and notes expressing thanks for our business. Highly professional! We could not be more pleased.

The experience was great overall! I'm very pleased with what they did, included the quality of the work, the creativity, and the engineering. We had four other companies look at this job, and Outdoor Escapes came up with a plan that was both affordable and really what we needed.

The crew of two arrived on time and worked steadily from sunup to sundown. One man did the Bobcat grading and all the laying of the pavers as well as the deck stair addition. The second man was basically his helper. Materials and equipment were delivered to the
site that morning. Dave checked on the progress a couple of times during the day. Everything was cleaned up well when they were done. The grass in the sideyard (access to the back) was chewed up by the Bobcat, leaving two almost bare tracks alongside the garage, but I reseeded the area and it looks good now.

Overall, it went well. They were professional. I will use them again in the future.

To start this project out, I emailed several landscaping companies with a request for an estimate. In my request, I described the major portions of the project in detail (fence, patio, pine beds, etc). Then, I walked around the yard with everyone who provided an estimate, and told each of them that what I was looking for was a back yard I would actually want to spend time in. The estimate from Outdoor Excapes was the most expensive, and was actually larger in scope that we had originally intended. We went with this estimate primarily due to the quality of the plan and the level of detail in the estimate. Working with Dave Hoyt was great, and he seemed to take us more seriously than the other companies. Dave's plan was the only one we really loved as soon as we saw it, and in the end we decided to spend more money to get that back yard we would really like. The project took about eight days of work -- demolition and patio the first week and then sod, beds and planting the second week. The result looks great. During the course of the project, I never found any reason to worry about anything that was happening. In fact, part-way through the job was a huge rain storm where the metro was forecast to get multiple inches of rain overnight. When I saw the forecast, I called Dave immediately, concerned that I might have flooding in the back yard and into my basement. I was relieved to hear that the crew was already on top of things and had taken care to make sure that my house would be safe. We had only one miscommunication, which was in the cost of some additional sod work that was added in the last couple of days of the project to repair damage caused when the shed was put in (I gave permission to go ahead before seeing final numbers). Other than that, the job went quite well and I wouldn't hesitate at all to recommend Outdoor Excapes. It was expensive, and it's more than we originally intended to spend on this project, but I think we got a good value for the money.

As the wall was going up we noticed some blocks that had chips on the corners and brought this to their attention. We were told this is normal, after more discussion we agreed they would replace the bad blocks in the fall after we closed the pool. When fall came they said they would like to fix this in the spring which we agreed. In the spring I received a call asking if we still wanted to fix the wall or keep the money we held back. They said they made more then enough money to cover this and preferred not to fix the wall.

great expertise in landscape architecture, not just moving dirt around. It was expensive, but Dave was very responsive to our needs and put up with the time it took us to decide what to do.

It went extremely well. They were very attentive and straight forward. They were a little more expensive than the other people we talked to but their design was excellent. The design was a little different than what the other contractors provided. The price was a little on the high side but not painfully so. We got a great design from them and they gave us exactly what we wanted. I’m planning on using them again.

They were wonderful to work with. They were able to finish our entire back yard in less than a week - the crew were very nice, professional, and worked hard. We love the way our new back yard looks - a very creative design plan we would have never thought of! I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

The plan was well done as was the installation.

We loved working with Dave who was patient with us as we decided on a design for our backyard. It was a difficult backyard to design and we had many bids (all of which were lower), but we decided to go with Outdoor Escapes because Dave is a landscape architect. The planning process took a long time (our fault), but once we paid the down payment, the work was finished within a couple weeks. We didn't have any plantings done because of the cost of the project. Backyard turned out great.

We loved working with Dave who was patient with us as we decided on a design for our backyard. It was a difficult backyard to design and we had many bids (all of which were lower), but we decided to go with Outdoor Escapes because Dave is a landscape architect. The planning process took a long time (our fault), but once we paid the down payment, the work was finished within a couple weeks. We didn't have any plantings done because of the cost of the project. Backyard turned out great.

The work done was excellent. The crew was courteous and professional. They answered my questions. Project was completed ahead of schedule. They showed up on time and worked until late both days to get the job done. I was extremely happy with the grading. They asked me for my input on grading and placement of trees.

They were the only company that followed through on my bid in a timely manner. Aaron was outstanding to work with, very accommodating in making adjustments. They did a great job! I would use them again for sure.

WE HAD A VERY GOOD EXPERIENCE WITH HANS AND HIS CREW. THEY WERE VERY PROFESSIONAL (ALL OF THEM). CALLS WERE ALWAYS RETURNED PROMPTLY. HANS DID A GOOD JOB OF COMMUNICATING TO US DURING THE ENTIRE JOB. THEY WORKED VERY EFFICIENTLY AND NEATLY. THE END PRODUCT EXCEEDED OUR EXPECTATIONS. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM.

WE HAD A VERY GOOD EXPERIENCE WITH HANS AND HIS CREW. THEY WERE VERY PROFESSIONAL (ALL OF THEM). CALLS WERE ALWAYS RETURNED PROMPTLY. HANS DID A GOOD JOB OF COMMUNICATING TO US DURING THE ENTIRE JOB. THEY WORKED VERY EFFICIENTLY AND NEATLY. THE END PRODUCT EXCEEDED OUR EXPECTATIONS. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM.

OUR BACKYARD WAS TORN UP FROM THE BUILDING OF AN ADDITION. AARON CAME TO OUR RESCUE. HE LISTENED TO OUR IDEAS AND THOUGHTFULLY INCORPORATED THEM INTO THE DESIGN OF THE YARD. HE WAS VERY ATTENTIVE TO OUR CONCERNS, CHANGES AND IDEAS AS WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS. HE EVEN GAVE US DIFFERENT DESIGNS TO COMPARE IDEAS WITH. THEY WERE PUNCTUAL AND MET THE TIME LINE GIVEN. THE PLANTS WERE IN GREAT CONDITION WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE. HE HAD IT REPLACED AS SOON AS HE NOTICED IT. I CANNOT SPEAK HIGHLY ENOUGH OF MY EXPERIENCES WORKING WITH AARON. I AM USING HIM FOR GARDEN AREA ON THE SIDE OF MY HOUSE AND PLAN ON USING HIM WHEN I REDO MY FRONT YARD.

OUR BACKYARD WAS TORN UP FROM THE BUILDING OF AN ADDITION. AARON CAME TO OUR RESCUE. HE LISTENED TO OUR IDEAS AND THOUGHTFULLY INCORPORATED THEM INTO THE DESIGN OF THE YARD. HE WAS VERY ATTENTIVE TO OUR CONCERNS, CHANGES AND IDEAS AS WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS. HE EVEN GAVE US DIFFERENT DESIGNS TO COMPARE IDEAS WITH. THEY WERE PUNCTUAL AND MET THE TIME LINE GIVEN. THE PLANTS WERE IN GREAT CONDITION WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE. HE HAD IT REPLACED AS SOON AS HE NOTICED IT. I CANNOT SPEAK HIGHLY ENOUGH OF MY EXPERIENCES WORKING WITH AARON. I AM USING HIM FOR GARDEN AREA ON THE SIDE OF MY HOUSE AND PLAN ON USING HIM WHEN I REDO MY FRONT YARD.